Punching Pluto

It was a little over four years ago when the 'incident' happened, though it feels like only yesterday. We have since called it the 'incident' and it will forever be known as such as it gets retold from generation to generation at countless family gatherings and impromptu get togethers. The 'incident' by some could be considered a crime by others. At the very least a sacrilege!

I had taken my wife and son Zach who was only three at the time to Orlando. The manufacturer my company was working with at the time was having their annual dealer kick-off and hosting us right on Disney property. It was perfect for Kathy and Zach to hang out all day, enjoy the park and I could generally catch up with them after the severely boring meetings ended in the afternoon.

It was just such an afternoon when the 'incident' happened. We had spent several hours walking the Disney World property and we were literally spent. Zach was getting cross and not even the bribery of more Disney joy was going to assuage his audacious outburt. It was time to go and we headed for one of the side exits to catch the boat back to our hotel.

For those of you who have kids, you likely can relate to the powerful shrieks that a child is capable of espousing. Zach was so cross he was being completely unreasonable. He didn't want to leave and didn't mind telling the entire park about it as we began what was now a full on run to the gate.

Then it happened.

A side door opened.

And out popped Pluto.

I think it is law in the world of masked oversized characters that you must get excited at the first site of a new child and immediately rush over and start showing off.

Pluto spotted Zach. Zach with tears streaming down his face stopped his shrills mid-stream and stopped. Zach had spotted Pluto.

Pluto...being the smart oversized dog that he is connects the proverbial dots. Kid was crying. I appear. No more crying. Time to make smiles!

Pluto came bouncing over, hamming it up all the way. Zach starred at him with wide-eyed amazement.

Kathy positioned herself to take a picture of an encounter that would for sure be precious memory for us all. A definite wall picture if you ever saw one right? Right.......

Pluto jumps, literally jumps, right in front of Zach expecting wild giggles and spewing joy at his overacted gesture.

Then it happened.

BAM! POW! SMASH!

Pluto staggered back like he had taken a Mike Tyson upper cut. He stumbled with shoulders slumping but to his credit, never went down. His beak shot up revealing his caved in black dot of a nose. Zach had taken one powerful shot and caved poor Pluto's nose in.

A TKO if I ever saw one.

Pluto slinked back, tail literally tucked between his legs, to the door he had just come from and disappeared.

The 'incident' has me just a bit nervous as we as a family head back to the scene of the crime. Last night I had a dream that somewhere somehow Zach's picture has been posted everywhere just in case he tries to scurry the perimeter of the park again.

I awoke with sweat dripping from my forehead and the mental image of my being handed a restraining order that proclaimed Zach must remain a minimum of 350 feet from Pluto at all times.

Thanks to all of you have taken the time to send your wishes for a great trip. Thank you. I literally have the greatest readers in the world!!!

I will be back blogging late next week unless of course, another 'incident' happens. Josh has a much tougher punch than Zach had at this age.


Until next time.....


Ripple On!!!

Steve Harper

Steve's Steps To Being More People Friendly Step 6.1

ENTRY POINTS

As promised, I wanted to suggest a few entry points of conversation that might assist you in engaging someone new. Keep in mind, one the ways to set yourself apart from the rest of the herd is to be different. Be creative. The following examples are just some of the ways that I have found always garner a smile followed by some sort of conversation. Just try it and have fun with it. When people see you are having fun, they are far more inclined to be receptive and open to you. And, I hesitate to tell you this but I must! Having fun is a sure fire way to BE more people friendly. Ask the following with enthusiasm (not psycho enthusiasm but enthusiasm) and a smile.

• "Doesn't it figure, we rush, rush, rush all day long only to get here to wait, wait, wait!" (great for standing in any line)
• "Ah coffee.....it really should be a food group don't you think?"
• "I came to this place because someone told me that I could actually bypass the whole coffee cup thing and just get an IV inserted!"
  
• "Do you mind if I ask the time?" Wait for answer. "Oh thank you, only (insert estimated inflated hours and minutes) until the weekend!"
• "Excuse me; I have an important client meeting later and plum out of ideas for a great place to take them for lunch/dinner. Would you have any suggestions?"
• "So I was told that very few people were born and raised here in (insert city). Are you originally from this area?"
• "My wife/husband/boy/girl/friend tells me that people will think I am a lunatic just for saying good morning to a complete stranger. What do you think? Oh and by the way....good morning!"
  
• "Can you believe that they let Michael Jackson keep his kids but the Monkey was taken away to a more suitable environment?"
  
• "I don't come in here very often, what would you say is the best drink they serve?"
• "I noticed you reading a book...do you mind me asking what the title is?"
• "I watched program the other night where Bill Gates said he has more money than they could ever spend. Good thing he didn't marry my wife."
• "This might be a reach but did you once (insert work for or go to school at)?"
  
• "Hey very cool (insert IPOD, Shirt, Laptop, Haircut)"
  
• "My 7 year old son the other day asked me Dad, how do you have so many friends? I told him I find interesting people and just start talking..."
  

Remember, entry points are the whole story. They are the beginning of the story. They are focused on helping you start what hopefully becomes a conversation.

Until next time.....

Ripple On!

Steve Harper
www.therippleeffectbook.com

Steve's Steps To Being More People Friendly Step 6

How many people's eyes did you catch last week? Marcie emailed me to told me she met three incredible people simply by engaging them with the step 5 exercise. All three of them approached her to comment what a great smile she had and conversation ensued.

Michael said he tried it and made significant progress with someone he sees at Wendy's every Tuesday at lunch.

Doty said he didn't think he could do it but tried it and discovered it became so easy he lost count on how many people he touched this week. He said he never realized just how unfriendly his lack of engaging eye contact had made him and how much more open the world seemed when he tried conversing without words.

Way go go everyone! You are well on your way to being more people friendly.

Now lets talk about one the most important steps....

STEP SIX: Open Thy Mouth & Practice, Practice, Practice

The making the eye contact is a great warm up for the next step. The next obvious step is to use the power of that initial eye engagement to open your mouth and say something to the person you are encountering. So many of us miss so many opportunities in a given day to say something....anything to the people that cross our path in life. What a mistake! Missed opportunities abound!

So it was two weeks ago and yes...I was at the coffee shop. I was my usual chipper self but not because I planned to have a profitable day of work. No, I had other priorities. I was headed to the lake to go fishing. I was immersed in my own little world and just trying to grab my jolt of java and head out. John, the owner of The Daily Grind, was asking why I was dressed so casually and I proudly proclaimed it was a much needed day off and I was headed to the lake. We chit chatted about fishing and which lake I was headed to as he prepared my large cup of joe. I thought nothing of it at the time and to be honest, did what I tell all of you not to do....I didn't take the time to notice anyone else in the shop that morning. I was too focused on grabbing my cup and heading out. My bad!

As I left, a man who had been parked beside me rolled down his window and said "Excuse me. I overheard you were headed to Decker Lake is that right?"

Looking surprised and a bit taken back, I replied, "Why yes?" The questioning tone of my voice as it trailed off obviously clued the man into justifying quickly why he was asking.

He assured me that he didn't want to jump in my truck and head out to the lake with me. He was part of a bass club in town and fishes the lake very often. He graciously handed me this new bag of artificial worms (Speed Crawlers) and told me exactly where to fishes and where to go to catch. A spot I had never tried before mind you! For the next ten minutes, we chatted back and forth about all things fishing. It was awesome!

Since that day, I have spoken with him two more times as I sat at the coffee shop. His bait worked which was my first connection point into bridging our next conversation. It has been amazing what I have learned from him and I am grateful for meeting him. The point is, during our past several exchanges, I have noticed three different men sort of eavesdropping on our conversations (remember, you see these things when you remain aware and conscious). All vested with interest but obviously fearful of interjecting a comment or directly participating.

After my new friend left each time, I intentionally engaged these gentlemen individually. First I looked at them, caught their eye and smiled. Funny thing happens when this happens, especially if you are male, something has to be said! I make it easy on those that I meet so I am usually the conversation igniter as was the case with these three gentlemen. Mind you this happened three separate times (so I had three separate conversations).

I practiced what I preach here and found three very nice people whom I likely would not have met had it not been for my first fishing buddy. Two of the guys are somewhat inexperienced in the ways of bass fishing as I am. The other, very experienced but new to the area and with no established fishing buddies. In toll, I met four great men and likely found several new fishing buddies and likely much, much more. (One of them owns a pretty fast growing company and has some issues with finding and keeping customers.....MY SPECIALTY!)

So, the moral of this fish tale is you need to talk, talk, talk, and practice, practice, practice. Simple, easy engagement followed by an easy entry to a conversation can open up multiple doors of opportunity. It doesn't always have to be about business!

In my next BLOG post, I will give you some easy "entry" points of conversation. In the mean time, try developing a few of your own and please email me and share with me what you come up with.

Until next time....

Ripple On!!!

Steve Harper
www.therippleeffectbook.com