How to get people to like you

When I get home after work and walk through the door, my little girls yell "Daddy!" and come running up to me to give me a hug and kiss. At that point, they can do no wrong, as far as I am concerned. My day is brighter and I am reminded how much I love my little girls.

Have you ever noticed how a dog acts when it first sees it's owner? Excited to see him. No matter what the owner has done all day, good or bad, the dog will come running. The wrong dog may pee all over the place because he is so excited to see you, but that is another story. You get the point.

I think we like to be around those who like to be around us. No duh, right? But do we show those around us that we do, in fact, like to be around them?

Is it too much to give a big smile and a friendly hi when you see someone you know? Seems to me a very easy way to make people feel comfortable around you.

Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Someone forwarded on an email today that I really liked so I thought I would post it here (part I copied and pasted). It was a story about a girl who was complaining to her mom about how life is hard. The stressful events never seemed to stop.

Her mom started 3 pans boiling and put a carrot in one, an egg in the next, and coffee beans in the last one.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners.. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.'

'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity:boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however.. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity?

So, are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?