Tim Ferriss explains how to be likeable, even if it doesn’t come naturally

Being likeable may or may not come naturally, but for those falling into the latter camp, making a concerted effort when it comes to building goodwill credit could pay off in the friendliness and empathy stakes.

In a video posted on Inc.com, author and entrepreneur Tim Ferriss gives his take on why being likeable matters, noting that “money, like power or alcohol, just tends to make you more of what you already are”.

Ferriss lists three factors to keep in mind:

1. You’re not as good/bad as they say… and you are not as good or bad as your press reviews would suggest.

2. People who like you might tell one person, people who love you might tell two people, but people who hate you will probably tell at least 10 people.

3. You’ll meet the same people at both ends: on the way up and down.

“Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about, so if someone is being jerky, and they’re a server or taxi driver or whatever it might be, try to give them the benefit of the doubt,” Ferriss states.

Ferriss recommends investigating “journalling”, such as that espoused by The Five Minute Journal.

“That will help you to develop, in a very direct way actually, a higher level of empathy and compassion,” he comments.

“And that will not only be good for the world around you and the people around you, but it will help you to feel more content and have a greater sense of peace, because your emotions, like anger, won’t be throwing you off and out of your harmony.”

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