Month: February 2020

One of the best things you can do when meeting someone either for the first time or for an interview for a job or even just passing on the street is to make a good impression. If you’re given an opportunity to introduce yourself it’s good to do it well. Firm handshake, look the other person in the I and smile, and say hi, I am so and so.
It’s not hard, but it is a skill that I had to learn. When I was in high school I was a shy teenager with a face covered in zits and a haircut that my mother gave me that was embarrassing when I look back on the pictures. My mom did the best she could, but we were trying to save money and so she cut my hair until it was 16 years old. She was the one that gave me the money to go and get a haircut at a salon that a friend of hers I worked out.
I was in the band and I had a band director that enjoyed his job and he enjoyed developing the people in the band into the leaders. I remember one day I had to go and talk to him about a fee or some sheet music that I had lost or something. He was at his desk sitting. I walked up and I stood in front of his desk and looked at the ground. He looked up at me, smiled, and said how can I help you? Still looking at the ground I told him what I needed. And he said I can’t really help you until you look me in the when you’re speaking to me. Because I don’t understand what you’re saying unless you looking at me. And I met his eyes and said what I had to say in a quivering voice and he helped me.
After that they always look them in the eye when I spoke to them. He always smiled with a twinkle in his eye and answered my questions and patted me on the back verbally and helped me grow into a much more direct and engaging the individual.
I can’t look you in the eye and tell you that you need to look me in the when you speak to me via email, but I can encourage it with my words. I can also recommend searching YouTube for eye contact practice if you prefer to practice on a video before you actually do it in the real world. But I think the best thing you could do is if you have trouble looking somebody in the eye when you talk to them to go and practice. When you go out to eat at either a fast food place or a sitdown restaurant look the server in the eye when you speak to them. You want to look at both eyes, just focus on one of them. Smile or at least don’t grimace and look like you have gas or something. Laugh at how funny it is. People tend to laugh with you and smile with you and you’re happy.
And when you are out there practicing practice saying your name and introducing yourself. It will help you in the long run!

The main reason I started this site and these courses is because I want to serve and help people. I want to help people stay organized or get organized. I want to help them develop skills that will make them literally unstoppable in achieving success success.
How can I do that? It’s a question that I’ve worked through several times over the years. I am the father of four adult children. As they grew up I tried to teach them things that would help them succeed as adults. I told them that my main goal for them was that they grow up to be fine upstanding members of the community and that they be wildly successful at whatever they set their mind to do. And that’s what they’re doing! My oldest son is working for a company and managing payroll for a lot of people. My daughter is married and working with her husband at a church to share the good news of Jesus. My younger sons are adults still in school and learning to practice the things that I and my wife taught them.
And I want to share some of those things with others now. I want to share those things with you. The main way I want to do that is through email. What I’ve learned over the years is a email is very personal. And despite all the spam and junk I still think that email can let me reach you in a way that few other mediums can. Social media is a close second, but it’s still not quite as personal as email. At least if you use email the way I do!
Along the way I hope to offer quick videos and short courses on how to apply some of the things that I want to share. If you’re interested please do sign up for the email list. I try to be very open and honest and will not share your email address with anyone except the service that I use to manage it. And I selected them because they don’t share with anybody else.
My focus is teenage and college-age guys, although girls can benefit from this also. But the skills are necessary at all ages, more so for adults but also applicable to middle school as well as high school. I hope you find what I share here useful.