F53-015: How To Be Everyone’s Favorite

Back in show 13 on Hustle, if you haven’t listened to it, go check it out. I said that was the first time I lined up my show number with the theme of the show. This is the second time and this one I did plan. The show today is talking about how to be everyone’s favorite. No, I’m not talking about me. I’m actually talking about #15. My #15 is my best friend, who’ve I met in 3rd grade when I moved schools. Sam.

I’ll start with the end result and the moral of the story and work backwards. Sam is, without a doubt, the kindest, most respected and well-liked person I know. He’s not a business owner, an entrepreneur or a networker. He’s pure and genuine.

As I look back I must give myself credit. In 3rd grade, I must have had some type of spidey sense about this. I was a little round mound, a short chubby round mound that just moved to a new school. Fairly awkward, pretty shitty in school (except math) and very goofy looking (not much has changed there). Sam, on the other hand, was popular, good looking, fast (that’s how you use to measure the best athletes back then) and loved by teachers, parents, and our peers.

We get it Ryan, Sam is a cool dude…but how does this tie into business? Well, there are 3 things that have shaped me into being a pretty damn good business person. Playing sports, my family and friends like Sam. Here are a number of things I learned, admired or picked up from Sam…you can judge if they’re important to business.

1. Being nice to everyone. I mean nice to everyone no matter where they came from.a. As the new kid, I was a bit of an outsider already, my parents were more on the liberal side, and I used to push the envelope a bit (cursing and screwing around)b. The reason he was/is liked by so many people is because he genuinely likes so many people. He’s kind. Aside from my old Football coach Frank…you can’t walk through our neighborhood without stopping because Sam knows somebody. He’s like Ferris Bueller.

2. Don’t Judge. I had great parents but we were basically the Clampett family (of Beverly Hillbillies fame) when my dad ascended through Pepsi. For those of you that don’t know the analogy, the Clampett’s were Hillbillies who struck it rich with oil and moved to Beverly Hills where their lifestyle obviously wasn’t in alignment with Beverly Hills.We didn’t fit in, my parents had lots of parties, entertained, and were fun. Looking back now, I can see how parents of my friends may have been less than excited to have their kids come over. Soda whenever we wanted, whatever food we wanted, Playboy magazines casually set in the house next to Sports Illustrated as if it were just another magazine. Since I wasn’t popular, or good looking, or athletic I had to do whatever I could to get attention and that came in the form of screwing off. Sam never judged, never left me hanging…he was cool as a cucumber.

3. Hard Work. Sam was our running back in high school and he struggled with blocking. Sorry Sam, it’s part of a good story. After two-a-day practices (yeah man…2 a day. For you young kids that don’t know what that is. We practiced twice a day. Water was a privilege). He would stay in his gear and take extra blocking. In the off-season before we did offseason training, Sam and his dad would train, work hard and he showed us the value of hard work by doing. Sam blew us all away in our conditioning tests.

4. Follow Greatness. Now…this is what I learned. I knew that Sam was, and still is, the boy, person, man I wanted to be. I try my hardest to model my life after him. I certainly didn’t get any better looking (hence why this is an audio show and not a video), but I did learn how to work hard which served me well going from a round mound to a decent football player. I saw how to treat people and try my best to have this attitude with everyone I interact with from the CEO’s down to the cleaning lady who just literally stopped by my hotel room. I literally had a 5-minute conversation about where her family is from. She is a sweet lady. 30 Years ago I knew, before all of the fancy self-development narrative, that I was the product of the top 5 people I hung around. And that’s why Sam hasn’t been able to shake me!

5. Be Genuine…The reason Sam has such a powerful impact on people and the same reason great sales people, leaders, and business owners succeed in the long haul is they have a genuine care for others. There is no agenda, there is no “what can you do for me”, there is a genuine and deep care/love you get when you interact with people like Sam.