Walker Armistead @wkarmistead: When trying to get what you want, how do you manage the tension between being nice/rational/reasonable and a complete lunatic?
Only idiots listen to a lunatic. Your goal with everyone you meet is to listen to them. They are human beings. They have something important to say. To tell you. They have been bottled up for so long, so frustrated, so miserable, that when someone turns an ear towards them they will talk, they will freely confide in you, and eventually the will listen to you.
This is because you are nice and rational and reasonable. Not a lunatic like the rest of society. You have something you want to sell. Listen first to see if they need it. Listen first to see what they need and how you can help.
Then help them. That’s how you get what you want. The riches will never stop flowing if you consistently do this.
That’s not lunacy. It’s the ultimate in sanity.