Are You a Lovecat?

My  friend, John, called me up recently and said, "Deb, I have a book you need to read. Buy it and if you do not like it, I will buy it back from you for double the price you paid for it." Now if that doesn't leave an impression. I can have three to four books on my bedside table at any one time. When I first learned of it, I was leaving on vacation and was hoping to pick the book up in the airport. But I could not find it. When I got home, I requested it from my local library and I eagerly got started. The book is called "Love is a Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends" by Tim Sanders.

Sanders' book is built on three principles: knowledge, network, and compassion. The knowledge and experiences that you have, can have greater benefit to you when shared with others. What good is the knowledge if it can not be shared . What is even better? When you share what you know about a subject, the better you know the material and can integrate the content into your practice. You bring more value to others in helping them succeed. Tim Sanders says, "Everyone in our address book is a potential partner for every person we meet." If you could leverage who you know and connect people with who you think they need to know, you can also increase your network as people will also think of people you should know.

Compassion is the key that brings it all together. It is the experience you give the people who are in your network. This is what attracts people to you. Show people you care and you have a genuine interest in their success. This is how you move from what Sanders calls the service economy to a experience economy. Give people value and show compassion - let them experience YOU! People will be committed to helping you succeed as well. You will want to get your hands on this book.

I love helping people like YOU succeed in reaching their goals!

Did I gain valuable knowledge from this book? Heck, yes! I have 13 pages of notes! It is important to take notes and absorb what you learn and put the greatest tidbits into action. I also have a reference to great content so I can practice being a love cat in a biz world! Without practice, the knowledge learned is just words!

Now let's put it into practice! Let me here you purr or should I say ROAR!

How Likeable Are You?

I have been listening to an audio book entitled “The Likeability Factor” by Tim Sanders. This is an excellent content rich book about what characteristics make people more likeable and how these qualities make them more successful. Sanders states that a person’s “L” factor or “likeability factor” has to do with four key concepts.

1. Friendliness. People make greater efforts to help people they like and who treat them with kindness and respect. Communicating positive feelings.

2. Reciprocation. When people are friendly, you want to reciprocate.

3. Relevance. How does another person connect to your life? Find out what another person’s passions are; this can include their hobbies or interests and remember to also share your passions with them. He recommends that we seek to understand how the person we have met has significance in in our own lives. When someone fulifills our needs they have satisfied a "sweet spot", therefore they become more relevant to us. We can also seek what significance we have to the other person in return.

4. Empathy. Ask about another person’s feelings or think about what you would feel like if you were in their situation. Form an emotional connection and show that you really care. By being empathetic versus simply sympathetic makes you become more likeable. He uses the movie “Groundhog Day” as an example of how a character who insults others can learn how to become empathetic and thus more likeable.

People who are likeable get better treatment and also get their needs met. Sanders elaborates on how the reader can become more likeable with fabulous tips and techniques. Great book for all areas of your life!

One exercise that I enjoyed was...

Think about the qualities that you most often get complemented on. These are some of the “likeability” qualities that people receive from you. Often the qualities you like in others are qualities you also possess. Insightful!

This is definitely a book you need to read or listen to more than once. Better yet add it to your library collection. There is so much great content to apply to your life right now.

Be Likeable from the Inside and Out!

Debra