So, you think you are so wise that you have to give input on everything that is shared. You have an opinion and you feel you need to speak up because what you hear being said is not what you believe to be true.
How many times in the past year– no that’s too long. Let’s say month. How many times in the past month have you been sitting in a group of people and something comes up that is a subject that gets under your skin? You hear someone making what you feel is the wrong point; you know better because you were there. So you speak up, you let them know that is not the truth, you spend about ten minutes explaining, only to feel like it landed on deaf ears.
How many times have you listened in a conversation, or should I say appeared to listen while in your mind you were just thinking about what you were going to say next? Don’t feel bad. This is how most people are. They never stop to actually listen. Then a question is presented to you and it’s time to give an answer but you just look confused because you do not know how to react to what was just said since you weren’t paying attention.
Well a few months back I attended an information seminar on a multi-level marketing company. I sat through the entire presentation and it was good. Like most of the people there, I looked at it as a company that had something that works. The issue that presented itself was one of the companies I am involved with appeared to create a conflict of interest. So I shared that with my potential up-line and explained I had to check it out first to make sure.
I loved the reference that I was given that night. It’s something I would never do, but I watched and listened. I was introduced to someone who was previously in the MLM I thought made a conflict for me with the new group. Rather than answer the question he told me that making money in the program I’m currently in is not possible. Then I was told my up-line does not make the money he was making in the new company I was thinking about.
Sometimes we need to realize what we are saying before we open our mouths. Remember the old statement that someone who holds their tongue could appear wise. In response to the statements that were made to me that night, I could have jumped up and spoken the truth as I know it. I could have shared that in the three years since he had left our company we now have ten times the products and services we had back then; that we now have five more bonus structures that give people what he made in a year in a one-time check.
I chose to hold my tongue and let him keep believing and talking; but what did he really tell me? I started thinking it’s possible the things I just heard from him about the new venture might not be true. If he was lying about things I knew about in the current MLM, was he telling me the truth about the new venture I was looking at?
The hardest lesson that I learned on this subject as a young man was knowing when to keep my mouth shut and listen; knowing when to speak up and when to just leave them to believe in what they believe.
It reminds me of the statement:
It’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.
–Mark Twain
If you want to be thought of as wise, you will also need to watch what you say. Besides, if you open up and listen, you may gain some wisdom as well. Smart people are always learning and growing. Dumb people think they know it all. Start learning again. God gave us two ears and one mouth. Do you think that was a hint??
I’m Tim Gillette, the Rocker Life Coach. It’s time to live your dream, to love what you do and those you share life with. Learn to keep control of your mouth to become the RockStar in your world.
