Everything we do in life has some undertone of manipulation. My grass was growing at an alarming rate. Of course when I pull out my lawn mower for the first time this season… it dies. So as I was leaving the house my neighbor asked if I wanted him to cut my grass. I said, “No thanks , I need to get a new mower this week.” He does landscaping for a living & I didn’t feel like paying for the grass to be cut when I could do it myself in a few days.
Oh boy did my lawn look nice!
So when I got home later that afternoon there my lawn was cut. I was happy & annoyed because no matter what my neighbor says I’m going to pay him. We played the game of he didn’t want money, he was cutting his so he just figured he would be nice. So his wife came out front for the ice cream man as we were speaking. I gave her 10 bucks and said, “At least let me buy you guys ice cream.” Feeling as if my debt was paid I went on about my day.
Later that same night as I was cooking dinner on the grill, my neighbor poked his head out of the window and asked, ” Hey man can I borrow your wheel barrel for a week or so?” I smiled & said, “No problem.” Now I see why he wanted to cut my grass, because it would have made him feel a lot better about asking me for something. It’s amazing how many different ways things can seem thru a different set of eyes & ears.
My neighbor got what he wanted & I’m fine with that. We are all subjected to manipulation everyday. I mean when is the last night your food at a restaurant looked as good as it does in a commercial? Rarely I’m sure if ever, does it look as good as they make it out to be. As long as you know how to do it in a way that in the end doesn’t really matter, people will allow you to manipulate them. Why? Because on some level they have already done it to you. Or they plan on doing it soon.
Life is a game You might want to suit up!
Written by Owen JJ Stone
I run Inquiring Mindz Media, enjoy being a dad, building brands, designing, making videos, and meeting people. For more info, check out OwenJJStone.com, @Ohdoctah or IQMZ.
