Winning With People #1 – The Lens Principle
Aditya April 17th
Targeted Audience: Entrepreneurs, Students, Recent Graduates
Background: Renowned leadership expert and author John C. Maxwell describes how anyone can improve his or her relationship skills with 25 principles in his book Winning With People.
I plan to cover each of his principle in this series.
We all know that good relationships are the foundation for almost all achievements. Relationships are more than just the icing on the cake in life: They are the cake — the very substance we need to live successful and fulfilling lives. Many people fall into the trap of taking relationships for granted. That’s not good because our ability to build and maintain healthy relationships is the single most important factor in how we get along in every area of life.
Not everyone has the skills to initiate, build and sustain good, healthy relationships. Some people are so focused on themselves and their needs that others might as well not even exist. It takes relationally healthy people to build great relationships.
John Maxwell’s "The Lens Principle"
Who you are determines what you see and the way you see it. What is around us doesn’t determine what we see: What is within us does. And who you are determines how you see others. If you are a trusting person, you will see others as trustworthy. If you are a critical person, you will see others as critical. If you are a caring person, you will see others as compassionate. The way you view others is determined by who you are. If you don’t like people, that really is a statement about you and the way you look at people. Your viewpoint is the problem. If that’s the case, don’t try to change others. Don’t even focus on others; focus on yourself. If you change yourself and become the kind of person you desire to be, you will begin to view others in a whole new light. And that will change the way you interact in all of your relationships.
I learned a lot about this principle from some of my very close friends. They are VERY GOOD at building new relationships. And they are BEST at caring for those relationships. And thats the reason they are one of the most likeable people in our friends’ circle – and successful too.
