A "secret" little talked about toll position...

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by GordonJ

When you meet someone, you say you assess them? How?

By gut feel? Any things to look for? Markers? Indicators?

A 1 from a 2 from a 3, may be a difficult thing to guess.

Giving stuff (time) for free is what you do?

So, is it based on reciprocity? IF they give back or at least respect your time and acknowledge your gift?

If you give, and they just keep taking, and taking...does that help with the assessment?

You've discerned the four projects are worth your time to pursue, out of what number of projects? Is it about potential? Or more personal about trying something new?

Hi Gordon,

A "gut feel" is certainly part of it... But not everything, I think...

For example, the "No. 3" type of person - the person with a "hidden agenda" - there is a fundamental dishonesty there, with having a "hidden agenda." If I "catch" someone lying, to me it is a sign to be very wary. It can even be a little lie - in general, I think people who can make up small lies can easily make up bigger lies too... They don't even have to be lying to me. If they lie to someone else, it tells me something about their character...

The "No. 2" type of person is the person who wants to share in the reward, but doesn't want to lift a finger to help. This is the opposite of a hard working person.

You can usually tell, after knowing a person a while, if they are a hard working type of person or not. Since I'm more interested in people who are entrepreneurial, I look for people who work hard on entrepreneurial activities. They don't even need to be "successful" yet... If they're not willing to work hard, then they are probably not a candidate for someone I'd want to work with and help out...

So, perhaps some of the "shortcuts" I use are, I look for hard working people, who think in an entrepreneurial way, who are honest...

As for which projects... I think high potential is a big factor to me nowadays - these are all high potential projects! It's also the person - I like to work with people I like personally. But in addition, you know me well enough... I can't help myself, I like to try out new things, which can be good, but it can be a fault, too!

By the way, Gordon, remember how you helped me last year when I wrote that sales letter to farmers? (Gordon helped me out, because he's a great guy, and he's also an ace copywriter!) That was an example of me helping someone for free (I wrote the salesletter to help a friend's business...) That particular one didn't go anywhere, but that was an example of me trying to help out someone for free, that you saw yourself, and that you gave me great advice on...

Best wishes,

Dien