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?

“The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.” -John C. Maxwell

One of, if not my favorite, books is Today Matters by John Maxwell. It taught me the importance of today and how to get the most out of today. If you haven’t read it, you need to.

I thought I’d share with you some of my daily disciplines in hopes that it will encourage you establish some of your own. I would appreciate it if after reading mine, you comment on this post and let me know some of your habits that you think are great to establish.

Everyday I:

Spend time with God, get in His Word, and Pray

Go Over my Day & Make a to-do list - I try to look through my calendar to see what needs done for that day

Read – I read a chapter or two in a book for personal growth

Workout

Write - I try to write at least a blog post a day. It doesn’t always happen, but I try to at least write something, even if I just journal.

Schedule Social Media Posts - I schedule them in the morning so I don’t have to think through them

Spend Quality Time with Laura & Family

Do My Best at Work

Look over my Goals for the Year - I keep myself accountable by tracking what I’m actually doing compared with what I set out to do this year.

Try to Handle My Finances with Wisdom

Try to find something that scares me and do it! – Whether it’s meeting with someone that intimidates me, going for an opportunity that I think is bigger than met, etc. I want to constantly be tackling my fears!

Eat Well - I try to eat perfectly 80% of the time.
Add Value to Someone – I try to add value to someone everyday!

Endeavor to make Great Memories with People – I want to do something everyday that we’ll remember forever!

Review My Day – At the end I try to ask myself: Did I live today well? Did I accomplish what I wanted to and needed to? Did I add value to someone? Did I ___?

These are some of my daily habits! What are some of yours?