Back when I worked for Weyerhaeuser Corporation, I often conversed with other salespeople around the northeastern United States. I got to know some of them very well, but I didn’t get the chance to meet them until we had a regional meeting. I had an image in my mind of what they looked like, but when I finally met them, I realized that they actually looked incredibly different than what I had imagined.

Things are not always what we expect; they are not always what they seem. What assumptions do we make that keep us from seeing people as they really are? How do our attitudes affect our perceptions?