At your first encounter with someone, whether it’s online, during work, or – in my case – at a Toastmasters meeting, you may think they are just a guest. What is a guest, though?
A guest is someone whom you meet outside of your routine life that you may or may not see again. Furthermore, a guest gives you two options to choose from. You can either treat them as a friend and connect with them, or you can carry on with your day without getting to know them.
Interact or ignore.
Laypeople base this decision off the degree of certainty that they think they will see the guest again. Those who expect to see the guest frequently will often choose to sit down and have a conversation. Those who expect to see the guest just this once will often choose to go no further than “Hello there.”
The linchpins of the world know that they need – no… they feel that it is only right to treat guests the same way they would a janitor or secretary, which not coincidentally is the same way they treat the average layperson or CEO.
Successful people don’t look toward equality, they look toward being human, connecting, and igniting positive responses. The only perk is that later down the line, having a conversation instead of ignoring a guest may come to benefit you. Heck, it’s just a simple real-world application of Pascal’s Wager.
Engaging in the life of a guest may or may not benefit you, but it’s always best to interact than to not.
Stay Positive & You Never Know When/Where You Will See Them Again, Trust Me
Garth E. Beyer
