Good listening skills are scarce, because it is easier to speak than listen. As soon as someone speaks, we relate their conversation to our philosophy, knowledge gained from pass experiences, or past references to things we may have heard or seen. In our haste to add to the conversation we formulate ideas without hearing the rest of the speakers thought process.
When we close off our ears and concentrate on our own reply, sometime our reply is based on what we think the speaker is saying not what they actually said. I listen to the Jim Rohn tapes and take a lot of notes because Jim listened to Earl Shoaff and within five years turned his life around.
Jim Rohn is the farm boy who became a millionaire in the multi- level marketing industry. He then traveled all over the world spreading basic success principles. I can give you my perspective of working for over 40 years, serving in two branches of the military, and traveling to distant parts of the world.
But Jim Rohn spent 40 years, honing his craft. FORTY YEARS of working on his personal development, and then communicating it to all who would listen. When he was on the road, he was speaking to thousands of people. He became the master motivator. I am just a student and a good listener. I hope you become one also. Success is a process and if you study, why not study from the best. If you want success, why not go to the Success Store.
When we listen, really listen, sometimes we get a different message. Hearing something and listening to something in not the same. Hearing is where the sounds are registering in our ear and maybe our brain; listening means, ideas are registering in our mind and may affect our heart and soul. Ideas for success is something, we can all use. You can learn a lot of things from reading or listening for ideas.
You can even learn by being around successful people. Listen to what, and how they say the things, they say. Don’t become a follower but listen, think on what you hear, then make up your own mind. Make sure that your decision is based on your own collusion.
Develop all your observation skills. Look and listen. Don’t just go through the motions, participate in life’s events. Preoccupation is fatal to those in search of success. Preoccupation is also fatal then you text and drive (my public service message for today). For those in search of success, develop and fine tune your observation skills. As you fine tune this ability, you will notice the little things that most people overlook.
Success and failure leave clues. The minor details may make a major difference. Just like there is a difference between hearing and listening there is a difference between sight and insight. Sight is when you see with your eyes. Insight is seen only within your mind.
Be aware of what is going on around you. Write things down in your journal. You want to learn “from the day”, while most people just want to make it “through the day”. You think you know what happened. But how does it affect you, and your future plans. The time to do it, is today.
H.G.M.
Internet comments
Lucie Flowers
I was never very good with listening. I get easily distracted and unless a conversation is genuinely interesting I zone out. This is great when it comes to gossip, as it don’t register and I forget it without trying.
Luis Craveiro
Great post Earl. Listening is a great skill and can change your life and that of others. My greatest success came from listening and finding solutions to others. Thanks for sharing
Lynn Brown
Oh, this is a good reminder how important it is to be open to listening and learning, especially by mentors and others that have more experience, success and knowledge than we do. We can certainly gain so much more value when we decide to put down our ego, listen and learn. Thanks Earl for sharing.
Earl E. Hackett
I was not listening when my mom told her stories about “that old Indian”, named Green Smith. She didn’t really know him. At the age of 90, when she went on to glory that’s when I got the whole story. Mom was a county girl that never learned how to drive, but never let it stop her. She caught public transportation to where ever she needed to go, even in the bitter Detroit cold into her mid eighties.
Green Smith was a Mississippi Delta Native American who kept track of all his off-spring and when mom was born in 1918 she was the last of his 33 children. That’s probably why she maintained her independent spirit.
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