Any style of developing new friendships works wonderfully well as long as you are sincere in your intentions. Are you the go-getter with your hand outstretched, reaching for new friendships any and everywhere you can find them? Or, do you hang back, watch, size things up, and then carefully select the individuals you’d like to include in your circle of friends? Either style of developing new friendships works wonderfully well as long as you are sincere in your intentions. I don’t meet any strangers and I’ve been that way my whole life, but I am not always the first one to say hello.
The secret to my many good friends is not a secret at all. I approach every possible friendship with an open mind, an open heart, and with zero expectations.
Meeting new people is like opening a gift. While you’re taking off the ribbon and the wrapping paper you’re not sure what will be inside or if you’ll like it, but once you get the lid off and have a good look you’ll know what you think. I feel so sad for folks who aren’t curious enough to open the present of possible friendship.
Meeting new people is like getting to read a book jacket to find out more about what is inside the book. I am curious about people and that natural curiosity makes it so much easier to know people at a deeper than surface level fairly quickly.
I want to know where they were born, if they have moved, why they moved, and all about their family. I learned this approach from my mother, Jean Abernathy Ziglar. She knows every checker and bag boy or girl in her grocery store. She knows their name, if they are still in school, if they are married, how many children they have, how long they’ve lived in her area and if they have plans to get ahead in their jobs. It’s the same for wait staff at her favorite restaurants, the people at the dry cleaners and the carwash… my mother knows the people who work at her church as intimately as the people who attend and belong to her church. As you can well imagine, my mother is a much-loved individual.
My mother’s example of growing a relationship goes far beyond the initial “getting to know you” stage. Mom remembers to ask how the new grandbaby is, if someone’s feeling better since their surgery, and if the vacation to Disney World was everything they hoped it would be. My mother cares… and she remembers what is important to the individuals she chats with. Actually, I’m thinking Mom would really do well in direct sales! She is a natural network marketer. Hum, I’ll have to suggest that idea to her; she wouldn’t run out of prospects or connections… EVER! Maybe we should all consider my mother’s approach to friendship… she’s always open to loving one more person.
