How to “Think Like” Others – Episode 393

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[00:01] Welcome partners to another episode of the podcast. This one is going to be called thinking like and it’s an experiment that I run with and Kim and I spoke about this before we hit the record button and we want to bring you on an adventure with us. And here’s how it works. We want to think like the other person in our situation. So if you happen to be meeting with lawyer, with counsel, or if you happen to meet me financial advisor, whatever that is, we want to be thinking like them. How can we step in their shoes? Because there may be very beneficial experiences from that. So, Kim, first off, how do you think like others? And this is some call empathy, but it’s beyond that. Well, I think putting ourselves in another’s shoes creates massive opportunities for

[00:54] learning and collaboration and getting the best out of whatever the environment is. So one of my bullhorn messages with thanks to my sister, Tammy Brannon, for helping me identify this is win, win, win. So you hear all the time about win, win, right? You’re talking about something you want both parties to win. Well, I believe that there’s almost always three parties in the discussion. So let’s say that you are sitting down with a financial advisor. There is a third party in that and it’s usually the product. It’s what the financial advisor is trying to get you to do. Maybe it’s buy a product or maybe it’s implement a strategy. But nevertheless, there’s a third element there to the relationship.

[01:36] And so by thinking like that financial advisor, I can do so much better job of learning how that financial advisor, as well as how that product or that strategy is going to benefit me. So now my learning is faster and I can have a better discussion because I can ask better questions. And when I’m thinking like the other person, I can see the discussion from their perspective and learn so much more. And again, so much quicker because of it. And I think that’s true in numerous ways. You know, we’re out and about in our community and we see something that we don’t like. Well, if we start to think like the person or the group that is doing or saying this thing that we think we don’t like, we will gain a different perspective

[02:32] from it. And there can only be good from that. You know, it’s almost like parenting in a way. You know, we getting down at a child’s level and understanding how they think And in many cases as a parent, because we have a different perspective, the initial reaction is that they’re wrong or that they’re not doing something correct, whatever that may be. But as we get down and we look through their lens, we realize they’re operating from their best. And then that becomes a teaching moment for both parties. So we can learn and observe and take that away. And then we can also educate them. And it may help them take that moment and realize they have a new paradigm shift they can work. I think it works the other way, too.

[03:17] We have in our family life a variety of senior statesmen, shall we say, elders. You know, I was thinking the other day, why is it so cool to be a senior in high school or a senior in college? But then all of a sudden when you’re called a senior because you’re over age 80, that’s not cool. Like, that’s a weird twist on that word. But nevertheless, we have some seniors in our lives, elder statesmen, if you will, and they often will say or do or act in a way that makes me kind of roll my eyes or get frustrated or wish that they wouldn’t do or say that. And again, if I can think like they do, even if just for a moment, then it just lets me relax into the situation and help in whatever way I can and help us all move forward and with a heck of a lot more grace than if

[04:10] I don’t take the time to think like they’re thinking. I am going to put a caveat for myself. Let’s say this in humor and some truth. There’s one person, one category that I really can’t think like which are DMV employees. I’m sorry. No, but there are some some complexities that we deal with, depending on the type of profession that you have, that it just doesn’t make sense. But if we take the time to really understand that, you know, they’re thinking about the security of their job, they’re thinking about the frustrations that they’re dealing with, it may give us an opportunity to shed a little bit of light, to give them some additional grace that you mentioned with the senior and to show some gratitude.

[04:59] And that may be enough that it helps them. And we might not see those long lasting changes, but it might be enough that it brightens their day. And that can be good enough. The additional element that I would love to add in is to be thinking like an owner or thinking like an entrepreneur. I have for a long, long time had a vision for my children. And that is that they are entrepreneurial thinkers. I don’t need them to own a business. They can be a W2 employee and be happy at that. And I will be happy at that as well. But an employee that thinks like an owner, an employee that has an entrepreneurial mindset, even though they may not own the business is going to be so much more valuable, valuable to themselves, because that

[05:44] means their brain is on and they’re actively looking at how to create value and make things better as well as valuable to that business that they’re helping create value for and that the business is valuing them back. And of course, the business is creating value on the marketplace or it wouldn’t be a business. I just love how, you know, we use this term nonprofit as an example. So, okay, you have business, we’re all aware they are for profit, but then you have these, these organizations called nonprofits. I own one of them. I totally get what a 501 C3 is all about. Well, guess what? That nonprofit has to make a profit too, or it’s not going to continue to be able to do the good that it’s doing in the world.

[06:24] So all of these aspects in our lives, if we think like the owner or we think like an entrepreneur, we think like, and, you know, even a consumer that comes in to be benefited by that business or that nonprofit, we’re going to get so much better results from our life and our work within those organizations. One of the things that I would love to wrap up with is this constant source of good information and valuable insights that you’re providing. So one thing that you have created in your company is a newsletter that goes out and it educates people. Can you give us a resource of how our listeners can sign up for that newsletter so that they can see that and they can start to hear more topics like this to help them?

[07:12] Absolutely. So on the website, partners number four, prosperity.com, there is a prosperity accelerator pack and it’s on the right-hand side of the website, almost any page that you’re on. And if you put your email in there, then you will get our weekly newsletter, which often promotes one of these podcasts as well as pairs it, not always the same subject, but similar to an article that we’ve written that is on our blog. And so that’s another resource for people. If they want to have just direct access to the articles, the partners for prosperity blog is there and is evergreen. Whereas the newsletters are only for our email subscribers. And here’s the reason why if you sign up for that, I guarantee you will be

[07:59] thinking more prosperously as an individual and as a family. So go ahead, go to the website, partners for prosperity.com, look at the accelerator pack, sign up, and I guarantee you will feel that. Thank you for listening to the prosperity podcast to take control of your money and have it work for you. Visit us at partners for prosperity.com. If you liked this episode, make sure you subscribe and leave a review.