The Tenacity Of Pets
We had an incredible weekend in here in Austin. My three nieces, ages 4, 6 and 9 came to visit. My stepdaughter, 16, came with four of her friends to attend the Randy Rogers concert down at Nutty Brown. Including me, that was 9 girls here for the weekend. Needless to say, it was an interesting time for Ben (my 10 year old) and Todd (my husband). Makeup, nail polish, lotion and perfume were the order of the day!
Sunday night, Todd’s brother and his wife came to get the girls. He was nice enough to get on the roof and help us get the rest of the Christmas lights up. As they were about ¾’s of the way through, one entire side went out. I guess it’s going to be like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, where we’ll be out there for hours trying to find the bad bulb…..(I thought they stopped making lights that that!)
We ended the night with a pizza party and a game of “Imagine If”. If you’ve not played that game, it’s hilarious, and best played with lots of people who know each other fairly well.
Anyway, with this many people in the house, interacting with each other for extended periods of time, there were a few opportunities to get offended or for feelings to get hurt. Has that ever happened to you in business? Whether it’s people you know, or you don’t (i.e. your prospects), it’s easy to take personal the things that people say or do. Often, we can let one offense stop us from even trying to push through towards what we want.
My all-time favorite speaker, Dani Johnson, uses the “tenacity of a 3-year old” to show how they don’t let a little word like “no” stop them from asking or continuing to try to get what they want from their mom. “Can I have it?” “no”…”can I have it, please?” “no”….”please let me have it mommy” “no”…”just this once, can I have it?”..sigh…”ok”.
I had a thought along this line this morning about pets. If you know me very well, you know that I have a houseful of pets. Unfortunately, they had to be jailed (kenneled) this weekend while everyone was here. One of my little nieces is deathly afraid of both cats and dogs.
So, Sunday night, after everyone left, we let the babies (my pets) out of their cages and let them run through the house. I felt so bad and was babying them, but I realized, as much as they hated being locked up, they weren’t offended or and they weren’t sulking about what happened.
Have you ever bonked a dog in the nose, not realizing they were in the way when you turned around? Or tripped over a cat when he found himself under your feet? If you’re a pet lover, your initial reaction is to say “oh, sorry” and give the pet attention…like it’s going to be mad or something. For the most part, they don’t hold a grudge and they don’t take it personally! What is it that makes us connect with our pets or give in to the three-year old? They’re irresistible!
My mom used to say “you’ll get more flies with honey than with vinegar”. And to that I say, “I don’t want any flies” 
The point is, the next time you pick up the phone, send an email or walk into a prospect’s office, always remember, don’t take anything personally and don’t get offended. Be charming, be persuasive…be irresistible!
——————– If you’re new to my Monday Message and would like to read past issues, stop by the Newsletter section of my Get The Word Out! Marketing website http://www.gtwomarketing.com/?cat=13
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Make it a great week! Wishing you great success,
Ricci Neer
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