Yesterday’s post was one that got me thinking even more.
I realized I probably could have added one more trait that successful people have.
And maybe successful isn’t the right word. It just seems that happy people have this trait.
What it is?
They trust people.
Getting Burned
In just about everything in life you’re going to get burned.
An example that happens in business is not getting paid by clients.
It’s happened to me at Ghost Blog Writers a number of times. It’s never fun, but it does happen. It can lead you to go crazy and to make some drastic decisions, which are usually not good especially in the heat of the moment.
It’s always bothered me to owe money. But even if I agree to pay for something and it’s not the best service or product in the world I still live with the decision. I’m bad at returning things. It drives my wife nuts.
But I figure that I took a chance. It didn’t work out. It was my decision to buy it and if I don’t like it then lesson learned; I won’t buy it again.
That’s why it always baffles me that some people just won’t pay the money they owe. I guess they can live with it.
It used to bother me more, but now I’ve made changes. We invoice a little different and I try to weed out the potential bad clients before we even get to the point where they can burn us.
Trusting People
And it’s not just business and getting paid. It’s about all promises that people make. And it’s about trusting people that you meet for the first time in a business or personal setting.
I see people that have been burned and as a result they build up suspicion about just about everybody they meet.
I don’t think that’s a good way to live in your work or personal life.
If you shut yourself off from people then you’re missing out on a lot of great opportunities.
For every 10 clients we get at GBW, 9 are wonderful. I’m excited to have them on board. But there will be that one that doesn’t pay or does something else to burn us.
And it’s probably not even that high of a percentage. It’s probably 1% or 5% or something.
And that’s the point. We remember the times we get burned. It’s easy to take for granted all the good people out there.
So if you got burned, let it slide this time and don’t let yourself become shelled off from new opportunities.
Trust people. Trust that they’ll be good and live up to their word.
Give yourself a few red flag indicators, but if things pass your test then go into it with open arms.
You’ll be rewarded more often than not.