The 5th way we repel friends & frustrate people is what I will call “withdrawals”. Let me explain: If you deposit $0 in your checking account and go to make a withdrawal, you will get nothing…right? Because if no deposit has been received, then you can’t make a withdrawal. (Unless you are the Federal Government, [...]

In previous posts we’ve been discussing the things we all do to repel friends and frustrate people. Here’s #4 : “Pimping”. Have you ever been pimped? Have you ever been the pimp? I think we probably all have. You strategically create a roster of faux-friends that you can put into the game whenever you need [...]

The third thing I want to talk about that repels and frustrates people is  “categorizing”. We’ve all been the victim and the culprit with this one. Simply stated: We like to put people into nice little categories. For the sake of clarity, here’s the Amplified version of that last sentence for you: We [You and [...]

I’m not finished with our series on “How to Repel Friends & Frustrate People” but I just had to take a moment and discuss something that’s been on my mind about social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, myspace, and blogging. Whether social networking sites enhance or detract from real-life relationships is still yet to be [...]

In Part 1 we discussed the first way to repel and frustrate those around you (Click here to read Part 1…or scroll down about 3 inches). Another way that you and I can repel friends and frustrate people is by being self-centered. This can be tough to recognize but here are two ways it can [...]

Over the next few posts we will discuss a few of the ways that we “repel friends and frustrate people”. By way of disclaimer, I should mention that I know about these because I’ve done them all on multiple occasions. Yes, as hard as it is to believe, I’ve repelled and frustrated a few people [...]

Though it would be a shame for the multitudes to be deprived of my musings, I don’t write for the multitudes. Even though I do have Google ads in my RSS feed, I don’t write for money. And I think it’s great that many people have made a name for themselves through their blog, but [...]

When you’re listening to someone, try listening for these 3 things: Listen to WHAT they said. Listen to what they MEANT to say. Listen to what they WANTED to say, but didn’t know how to say it. These 3 components usually exist in some way in every interaction if we’ll just pay attention. Ask questions [...]

We all encounter noise in our daily lives. What you consider noise one day may be perfectly necessary the next day. For me, noise is anything that I don’t want/need to hear AT THAT MOMENT. Here are 5 ways to reduce noise in your life: Limit your time on Anti-Social Networking sites – I used [...]

If you work with human beings then you have had your share of disappointments. What you expect from them and what you experience from them can be TOTALLY different. At the same time, people have had expectations of me that I couldn’t deliver on…so they experienced something below their expectations. It happens to all of [...]