Get others to laugh at you!

My alma mater invited me to visit my college. While I was excited to visit my college, I was also apprehensive. I was anxious as I did not want any publicity for my visit to the college. In my mind, I had still not achieved anything that deserved to be celebrated by the college. I thought that I was worried about what others would think, how they would react and whether they would laugh at me. I was worried about how I would be perceived.

But when I dug a bit deeper, I realised that I am not that important. People do not spend their time thinking about me. The source of my anxiousness is me. I constantly second-guess myself and lack the confidence that I am the man. If I have to fix anything, it is me. I am the man in the arena. I am the person who needs to believe in myself that when the metal meets the road, I will deliver. I am the main guy who does things and wins.

This brings me to the point which most people have about not doing something because people will laugh at them. No body starts perfect. The golden rule of sales is to get to a no. The golden rule of moving out of your comfort zone and to be on the path of achievement is - get others to laugh at you. Laughter is a defence mechanism of their psyche to convince them that what they are doing is okay and the other person is a fool. The laughter dies down once they see your persistence. It is replaced by jealousy, then anger, and finally respect.

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”