Let’s talk

Are you going to conferences, happy hours, PTA meetings, swanky soirees, potluck picnics, charity galas, networking events, hip parties, school reunions, or blind dates?  Do you want to strike up a conversation but do not know what to say?  Are you searching for points of interest and common ground?  Do you feel like other people are blessed with the gift of gab, but the cats have gotten a hold of your tongue?

Use the acronym FORM.  Topics you can explore include family and friends.  Ask people about their occupation.  Talk about what they like to do for recreation.  Discuss what motivates them.  One of the tips I read from Keith Ferrazzi’s awesome book entitles Never Eat Alone is that people love to talk about health, wealth, and children.

Use the above ideas.  Now go mix, mingle, and make new friends.

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Book-of-the-month Club

Want to start your own book-of-the-month club? I recommend reading these books. They offer superb perspectives on life, love, and laughter.  To use the words from one my favorite Americans, Benjamin Franklin, these books will help you be healthy, wealthy, and wise.

If I can only take twelve books to a deserted island, you would find these books in my suitcase.  To put it another way, if the house were burning down, and I can only rescue twelve books, you would see me grapping these books while running toward the exit.

Read them.  Learn the principles.  Apply their timeless truths, and experience the quality of your life increases immeasurably.

• Don Aslett – How To Handle 1,000 Things At Once (A Fun Guide to Mastering Home & Personal Management)
• Jack Canfield – The Success Principles (How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
• Dr. Gary Chapman – The Five Love Languages (How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate)
• Keith Ferrazzi – Never Eat Alone (And Other Secrets To Success One Relationship At A Time)
• Benjamin Franklin – The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
• Jeffrey Gitomer – Little Red Book of Sales Answers (99.5 Real World Answers That Make Sense, Make Sales, and Make Money)
• Bradley Trevor Greive – The Blue Day Book (A Lesson in Cheering Yourself Up)
• John C Maxwell – 25 Ways To Win With People (How to Make Others Feel Like a Million Bucks)
• Daniel H. Pink – A Whole New Mind (Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age)
• Tim Sanders – Love Is The Killer App (How To Win Business And Influence Friends)
• Rick Warren – The Purpose Driven Life (What On Earth Am I Here for?)
• Robert O. Young, PhD and Shelley Redford Young – The pH Miracle for Weight Loss (Balance Your Body Chemistry, Achieve Your Ideal Weight)

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