Six Sure Ways To Make People Like You

It’s been weeks since you started your job. But there’s this one thing that’s bothering you. You wonder why you haven’t met new friends or why some people seem to avoid you. You feel this and it eventually gets in the way with your work. You may notice people leaving you alone, it seems that no one cares if you exist or not. So there goes your regular days, attending your shift like a zombie, eating alone, and going home on your own (this might be on the extreme but you get the point). Then you notice everything becomes dull and meaningless. Are you to blame? I’d say yes, for most part.

You might be like the person above. If so, these tips you are about to read is for you. What if you find out sure-fire ways to make people like you? You might not consider this as of any importance but having a fine social life, of having people around happy to see you, actually makes life a lot better, meaningful, and colorful.

After reading How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, I am eager to share the timeless lessons to you! Let’s start with the first one.

1. Become genuinely interested with people

If you are genuinely interested with people, you tend to appreciate them and what they do. It’s more probable that if you like people, you like yourself as well. We are fans of someone at one time in our life. Discovering the reasons why you like these idols actually help. It shows, in one way or another, the people who we want to become.

2. Always make a good impression

You’d be amazed to learn that people can tell if you are likeable or not in just as little as 2 seconds! That’s right! Now, what can you possibly do in such a short time to impress people? Actually, there’s a lot. For one, it mostly involves body language. Exhibiting that you are confident and worth anyone’s time is the secret. So you better stand tall and avoid looking down or slouching.

There’s also another technique that works all the time to win a good impression. It’s smiling. Smile can brighten another’s day and it’s very welcoming. So smile.

3. Remember names

Here’s a quote from the book, “Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” Treat people’s names as instant uplifters. Make an effort to remember names when you meet them the first time. Ask their name again if you forget. On your next meeting, especially when it is by chance, surprise them by addressing them with their first names. It works like a charm and it instantly makes that person like you.

4. Truly listen

When we converse with others, we are usually overwhelmed with our life that we end up talking mostly only about ourselves. People tend to hate anyone who talks only about their own struggles and problems at home, what they ate yesterday, what they think of TV shows, and so on. It pays to listen yet the rewards are tenfold. Once you intently and genuinely listen to others, they will feel that you are interested with them. Try this out especially when you are just making new friends. Listen to their story, ask questions, and only share when they ask. Don’t worry if you think they won’t stop talking. Eventually, they’ll get tired of talking, that’s the cue for you to talk just for a bit. As you do this, the other won’t help it but like you.

5. Talk about their interest

Now that you truly listen, you may want to add another ingredient in the mix. Talk about their interests. Do a bit of research and know their likes and interests. You don’t have to know everything about the subject matter, just know a thing or two. Even just by asking questions about it can already lead to a meaningful and fun conversation. They’ll feel that you are someone they can freely talk with since you both seem to have the same interest.

6. Make them feel important

Now for the last tip, make sure you make the other person feel important and appreciated. Not in a flattery way, but in a genuine way. You can do this by complementing on what they tried to change in their appearance, since it’s the most obvious. However, you can find thousand more ways to show this. This can be through commending their work and effort in the office and so on. A little “you’ve done a great job with how you made that last call,” could mean everything to them.

There goes the six sure-fire ways to make people like you and to win more friends. As you can see, they are pretty doable. With just a little practice, I’m almost certain that you’ll have a meaningful and colorful social life compared before.

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Mutual Fund Curious

Hey guys. Here’s another financial post regarding one more investment model called Mutual Funds. I have been into Stocks for a year now but that does not stop me from reviewing other investments models.

Mutual funds for one is a very interesting model that I’ll be joining very soon. I firmly believe that when it comes to passive investments, it is always best to diversify. This is exactly what I’m trying to do in this early stage of my life - that is is to try every investment option and eventually figure out, through a means of evaluation, what’s the most effective of them all. By then, I’ll focus on the strategies that are most effective for me. 

An American colleague called the very logical method above as the “shotgun effect.” I think it’s effective. Furthermore, at this stage of my life, it seems like I got nothing to lose. It’s not like I have people relying on me already, the thing I just worry about perhaps only include phone bills, food, gasoline, and other stuff (socially related stuff and anything in between). I guess to put it simply, this stage of life as an optimal period to try everything especially as it relates to long-haul investments. So yeah, (I do apologize for the long chitchat) let’s get on with my basic understanding of MF.

What is Mutual Funds?

From what I understand, mutual funds is where you put up money to professional stock or security trader, who in turn do the trade for you for a little and at most on a standardized fee. This works best for people who are not really into trusting themselves in picking up companies as what you do on active stocks. You just have to put up the money with someone who’s capable of making the decision for you and hope everything goes well, which is hopefully that they make the right decisions, and by then you could get a raise of your money after a length of time.

However, the option of Mutual Funds also works best for people like me aiming to diversify investments. In addition, it pays to have an option that gives people a “worry less” setting (that, if you trust your MF company’s performance enough).

Don’t get me wrong. Mutual Funds is not a fast money scheme. It’s also a long-term investment unless you place a bulk amount of money, I’m talking about millions of pesos, which could give you high gains right away. But if you don’t have that sum, then you could just, you know, drop money once a month or whenever you can, and enhance your portfolio as time goes on. You reap what you sow perhaps after 10 years or 15 years, well that depends on you already. Mainly, that’s how I think I’m going to do it.

Of course, there are a lot of MF companies/association out there. I’ve heard about PAMI and PhilEquity and other MF companies. I’ll be checking them out, and I’ll certainly post something about them once I get to join them, which includes my experience and probably some tips and how to’s.

Risk Profiles

As to any investments, there are risks involved. Although a lot of people say that mutual funds are safer than manual trades in the stock market, I don’t entirely agree with that. They also have risk profiles. It means you could settle for an aggressive, moderate or safe approach (not all companies use the same terms). Also, I heard that you could transfer from one risk profile to another to make the most possible gains. I heard this is very possible for PAMI and they allow you up to four changes free of charge in a span of a year. I’ll certainly get you more details as I join them and move along.

Basically, aggressive approach gives you the highest gains but probably the highest loss as well, while safe approach gives you the least gains while having the lesser risk of losing. You have the freedom to choose which profile to take, and also the ability to check the companies the traders invest in, including progress reports, statistics and so on.

That’s all about this topic for now. As usual, I’m hoping for the best. It’s funny. While writing this, I recall a conversation with a friend. We were saying that we all prepare for the future but what if the future becomes a bitch (sorry for the term) and you know, become unpredictable and ruin everything that we’ve done so far. Well, it’s not our hold anymore -- it’s a fact that the future is uncertain. I think the process of all these investing and managing our money is not about what you get in the end. I came to realize that the process is what really counts. The lessons are the ones lasting, the ones that stay with you - just some random thoughts. Thanks for reading.

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