I think… because I can

For many years now, the only reading I do is trade industry magazines/books and news information. Sneaking a history or How it works book in there when I find an interesting one jump out at me. Mostly though, I’m a sponge for information.

It wasn’t always this way, my early reading days was filled with the Tom Swift series. My folks took me to a local discount store every month to see if they the latest release. I wonder if those are still in their basement or my sister cleared out that corner.

When I hit elementary school, every teacher encouraged me to write stories. By the fourth grade they had me reading the stories to the class. This was good and bad. Being thrown into a pressure situation to read my creations to people I didn’t know helped my public speaking later. The tough kids in school thought that anyone that could come up with stories needed to be slugged regularly – a interesting outcome of this was a development of the senses to ready people.

As time went by, I found that I took more notice of people’s actions in different situations. Face activity, posture, arm placement, breathing, eye movements, as well as how they are timing their speaking. Early on this help me know if a bruised arm was in my near future. Now though, putting people’s actions in conversation has led me to now be able to say: everyone has a agenda in every conversation. They may or may not consciously know it, but there is a reason we are talking. Is the agenda to chat to let me know you are having a bad day or are you hoping to get a contract… taking the time to pay attention in the beginning, you can see how the next few minutes will go. Do it long enough and you no longer have to think about it. Continue reading I think… because I can