I love people! I love connecting with them! I am energized by being around them. I’ve been told one of my greatest strengths is my ability to connect with others. While I don’t claim to be an expert by any means, I thought I’d share some assumptions I make when I connect with people.

When connecting with people, I always assume:

Everybody Needs Encouragement – Encouragement really does change everything. Everyone needs encouraged to be their best, do their best, and encouraged to keep going. I try to encourage everyone I come in contact as often as I can.

Everyone Has a Dream in Their Heart – Everyone. Even if they have never gone after it. Even if they think it’s impossible. I try to find out what the dream of their heart is and find ways I can help them make it happen!

Everyone Wants to Talk About Themselves – This is key in conversations! Especially interviews. If you get people to talk about themselves, often you won’t have to contribute a lot to the conversation. I try to be a better listener than I am as a speaker.

Everybody longs to be Loved, Wanted, Liked, and Accepted – This is common sense, but the key is realizing that most people are willing to do anything to be loved and accepted. I try to love people, no matter what. I also try to make them feel accepted & wanted in whatever social setting we’re in.

Everybody Wants to be a Part of and Contribute to Something Big – Whether it’s a concert, a movement, a church, a organization, everyone wants to say they were a part of something big. If I’m a part of something, I want to bring as many people along for the journey as I can. I want them to feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves!

Everybody has a Good Heart - I know this assumption can lead to some extreme negatives, and I wouldn’t recommend any girl thinking that every guy has a good heart! However, I generally try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt! I believe everyone, deep down, has a good heart and means well. As a result, I’ll love on everyone I meet and assume that they’ll a great person!

Everybody Has a Normal Life – I can’t say I never get star struck, but I can say when I meet successful people, once I get over their “success” and see them as a person, I always remind myself that as successful as these people are, they still come home and probably act goofy in front of their family, they still have problems, and they wanted to be treated like a normal person, not as a celebrity. My goal in these situations is always to get to a point in my relationship with them where we can treat each other like family!

Everyone is Good at Something and Passionate about Something – I always try to find the “key” to someone’s heart. What are they truly passionate about? What do they love to do? What are they good at? Once I find it, I try making that the subject of the conversation and try to find ways to put their gifts and passions to work!

These are just some assumptions I make when connecting with people.

What assumptions do you make?

I really enjoyed this short Ted Talk. It’s so true. It got me thinking, what I am going to try to do in the next 30 days to add value to my life! I have some ideas that I’m going to try! I’ll let you know how it works out!

What will you try for 30 days?

This is an excerpt from a video teaching by John Maxwell that I watch on a consistent basis to remind me that the bigger I dream, the bigger the price I’ll have to pay to make my dreams happen. I hope it encourages you and challenges you to give up to go up!

“The problem is never having the dream. That’s why I’m never impressed when people say, “Well, I have a dream” So does everyone, you go to sleep and you get one. I’m really not impressed with your dream. “Well, I’ve written out my goals.” That’s wonderful. That means you had a little time and a legal pad and a computer.

What really impresses me is not your dream. What really impresses me is when you show me how you’re going to pay for it. What really impresses me is how you are going to get there. You start telling me the price you’re going to pay, the hours you’re going to give up, the relationships you won’t have, the money you will spend, the time, energy, and effort.

Everything has a price. The bigger the dream, the higher the payment. Small dreams, small prices. Big dream, big prices… Any person that got to the top, paid a price to get there. The higher you go, the greater the price. The price isn’t much at the bottom.

When people start off in life and say, “I gave up everything.” I say, big deal, you had nothing. That means you gave up a coffee table and an old tv. I’m never impressed with people who give up in the beginning, because they didn’t have much to give up.

What really impresses me is when you have something and you give it up. I am impressed by what you willingly give up, to go to another level” -John C. Maxwell

What are some of your dreams?
What are some of the things you’re going to have to give up to make them happen?

Thoughts?