My Reality Check Bounced! - Jason Ryan Dorsey [38]
Similar typos in written replies occur all the time, professionally and personally. These errors show readers that you’re not paying full attention to them. I remember, when I was a teenager, I sent a thank-you card to someone who helped me get a job. He was kind enough to take a red pen to my note and send it back to me—corrected! From then on, I read my written replies out loud and haven’t trusted spell check to save me.
When you reply to someone in writing, nothing makes you look sillier than errors confusing write and wrong. Take your time and get it write.
TO PLUG IN: Before you send an important written message, get a friend to proofread it.
3. Be a welcome mat. With all the traveling I do, I end up eating alone at least three or four meals a week. After nine years of life on the road, eating alone is pretty much second nature to me. I usually bring a newspaper to read or sit back and watch the locals come and go. As accustomed to eating alone as I am, it’s always nice to visit a new restaurant in a new city and have a local introduce himself.
These human welcome mats are the best public relations people a city can have. By showing solo travelers a little hospitality, they make their entire city feel more inviting. They can turn a silent meal into a memorable conversation. They also can recommend places to visit off the beaten path as well as well-traveled places to definitely avoid.
When I’m home in Austin, I try to be one of these welcome mats. If people are lost, I give them directions. If someone is sitting alone at a social place, I try to talk to her. When you’re friendly, you never know who you’ll meet.
Once I was in line at a lunch buffet and wound up helping a little kid in front of me scoop some potatoes onto his plate. His dad saw this and came over. He thanked me for helping his son and asked if I wanted to have lunch with them. I was alone, so I quickly accepted. I had a nice lunch with their family, and as I was leaving, the kid’s dad gave me his business card. He said to call him if I ever visited their hometown. Until I read his business card, I had no idea the kid’s dad was CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company. I was just trying to help the little kid get some potatoes.
You never know who’s sitting next to you until you introduce yourself. Or until he invites you over and you’re brave enough to accept!
TO PLUG IN: When you see a person sitting alone at lunch, invite him to join your table.
PLUG IN AND GO!
I learned or refined all the strategies and actions in this chapter on plugging in from many afternoons and evenings hanging out with Jerry Harris. He’s called the Mayor of the Four Seasons for good reason. He listens to people so well that he makes friends everywhere he goes. He asks good questions, keeps the conversation lively, and always invites strangers to his table. Strangers such as a wide-eyed, twenty-one-year-old kid who became a much better person for knowing him and learning from him.
By this point you’re probably asking yourself, “Okay, now that I know how to plug in, who in the world should I try to connect with first? And how do I spot the people I need to help me make my Future Picture come true?” Fret not, the answer to those questions begins in the next chapter.
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INSTANT MESSAGE
The signals you send and receive determine how well you connect.
Once you learn to plug in, you can build a global network starting right where you are.
When you’re fully plugged in you can make one call and get what you need!
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BOUNCED:
I need to meet and greet as many people as possible to help me reach my Future Picture.
CASHED:
I realize that plugging in with quality people makes reaching my Future Picture much easier.
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ONLINE: Read more about Jerry’s networking adventures at www.myrealitycheckbounced.com/book
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6
SECRETS TO BUILDING YOUR REAL-WORLD DREAM TEAM
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It’s not who you know, it’s who you can count on that matters.
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REALITY-CHECK MOMENT—
BUT I DON’T KNOW THE RIGHT PEOPLE.
In the last chapter,