Looking Out My Back Window #202

Originally posted on Facebook HERE

Looks beautiful out there today. 41 degrees. Seems like it should be warmer than that if you just look at the photo. And the more I live, the more I realize that we make a lot of judgements in life based on packaging that may or may not be true. For a brief time years ago I worked at a factory that processed potato chips. The potato chips would go though and get bagged and boxed, then shipped off to be sold. The same chips – the exact same chips – went in several different packages. Those packages, depending on which one you bought, had vastly different prices. But inside it was all the same thing. Because I’ve been in sales for so long, I realized many years ago that looks can be deceiving when it comes to people. You can’t prejudge, or you’ll wind up missing some great opportunities. We all have our own unique style. No two people are exactly alike, and we present ourselves to the world in whatever way we are comfortable with. And even with that being said – we present ourselves differently depending on the situation as well. I noticed years ago when I began working my current job that basically requires a full suit and tie every day – people treated me differently when I was wearing a suit. I don’t really notice that any more because it’s been so long now, but at first it was something that I noticed right away. It’s like for whatever reason – you get treated with more respect in a suit. And, the opposite is also true. I will never forget years ago my first wife and I were moving, and she had already picked out all the furniture we were buying for our new house. We had a truck full of stuff to drop off at the new place, we were grungy, and all we needed to do was stop at the store so she could show me the stuff and we would buy it and move on. There were several sales people in the store without customers, talking among themselves. They totally ignored us. At one point I was looking at the mattresses and a sales person came up to me – the mattresses were all in a row and I was at one end… and he said “the less expensive mattresses are down there (pointing to the other end), they’re lined up in order of price”… and kept walking. Wow. So I went to find my wife and get out of there when the only competent sales person in the place asked if he could help. She had already printed a list of everything we wanted, he rang the sale up (easiest sale he ever made), and we were on our way. Sometimes what looks one way can be quite the other. Our greatest opportunities in life are often disguised as our biggest obstacles.