That's what you want to hear. Most of the time. 

What is this I talk about here? What expression should always be near? A smile😀

Let me explain

Everywhere you go, you are going to meet people. Unless if you are going to live under a rock. But even if you do so, you will attract YouTubers who will come and document your bizzare story, and guess what? You will meet people.

I find that most people focus on many hard skills. They focus on reading at the speed of light. (Of course that's impossible but you get what i'm saying). Others focus on being technically proficient in their field and having the answers to most of your requests (yes i'm talking about the know-it-alls). Others focus on being as precise and accurate as possible (a.k.a. the perfectionists - the guy who makes you stay up late because the colour you have chosen isn't the right shade). 

Hard skills are good, but I guess they were given that name for a reason. When they hit you in the face, they knock you out. Let's have a story shall we?

Once upon a time, in an imaginary land where nobody pays taxes, lived a guy called Hardo. He understood rock formations and was the best geologist you could find. He, however, had one big problem. He was difficult to work with. In a team, he would never agree with his teammates. He called them ignorant and showered them with curses. He would come "fashionably" late for meetings, dressed in clothes last washed when the dinosaurs got extinct (but hey did dinosaurs really exist? Nevermind, i'm getting distracted. let's focus on this story) Nobody liked Hardo. His mother didn't like him, his wife didn't like him, his neighbours didn't like him, and even his own dog didn't like him. Hardo was very unpleasant to be around.

In your life, you don't want to be Hardo. You don't want to have the magical superpower of making feelings of joy and happiness instantly once your name is mentioned. You don't want to be used as a punishment and have people say "If you screw with me I'll make you work with Hardo!" 

Wherever you go, you want people to say "When I think of ..., a smile comes to my face"

How can you become such a person?

1. Understand that there is no magic potion that makes you become somebody who is easy to work with. No amount of wongotoshi spider sauce or ingamabungra powder will make people you work with become your #1 fan.

2. Make life easy for the people you are around. How? Use your brains, and perform the recommended action - ask! By this I don't mean that you should become a doormat and become an i'm-here-to-make-everybody-happy type of person. What I mean is that you need to identify the things that cause dissatisfaction and work to address such things.

Here's a quick example. You may be in a place that's constantly messy. Because of that mess, work is hard because you spend more time looking for stuff than actually working. In such a case, create a system which encourages good practices to declutter the workspace and promote a culture of "A place for everything, and everything in its place" Such a simple action will make life easy for the people you are around.

Ask! You never know. After all, we are human, and to be human means to have unique needs. Somebody may have a really simple problem that you can fix. Maybe your boss/the-important-guy has a commitment, everyday at a certain time, and needs just a few minutes of your time to do some trivial task. Do it! At the end of the day, it's the tiny things that count.

3. Practice good hygiene. Unfortunately, we are not cows, donkeys, or dogs. This means that we have to bath everyday. Wear clean clothes. Bath. It is hard to forget somebody who smells bad. Everytime people will remember you for the wrong reasons and you don't want that. 

4. Be respectful. Keep your mouth shut when you need to. You won't believe how many people DO NOT KNOW how to do this. I kid you not.

5. Understand the simple rule - a time for everything, and everything in it's time. When it is time to do stuff, do it. Do it like you have never done before. Do it as if that thing you are doing is going to be the thing that your descendants will say "My grandmother did this!" When it is time to rest, do exactly that - rest. Many people do this foolish thing. They do stuff when it is time to rest and rest when it is time to do stuff.

Do this, and wherever you go, people will say "When I hear your name, a smile comes to my face"

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See you next week Wednesday!