The Forgotten Lesson

A week or so ago, I picked up a book I'd read about a decade ago.

A few pages in, I ran across an image I'd seen before. One you've probably seen too.

It's the kind of picture where, at first glance, you see one thing. Then you keep looking, and after a while, you see something totally different.

Take a look for yourself. What do you see?

I remembered the picture. And I remembered the lesson that went with it: perspective. We all see different things when we look at the world.

But then the deeper part of the lesson hit me like a ton of bricks.

I couldn't believe I'd somehow missed it the first time I read the book. Or maybe I'd caught it back then and forgotten it completely.

As I sat there with that picture, I thought of one of my sons.

He's often in the habit of arguing back with things other people say. In almost every situation, he feels he needs to prove he's correct, and show the other person how their perspective is off.

I saw an opportunity.

So I invited him to breakfast.

While we ate, I pulled out the image and asked him what he saw.

"A young woman," he said.

I asked if he saw anything else.

"No, it's a young woman."

I kept asking. After several tries, he still only saw the young woman.

So, with some painstaking care, I began pointing out the details of the old woman hidden in the same picture.

Finally, he said, "Ah. I see the old woman."

(If you're still hunting for her: the young woman's jawline is the old woman's nose, and the young woman's necklace is the old woman's mouth.)

"Yes," I said. "In this picture, some people see the young woman. Others see the old woman."

Then I asked him one more question.

"Which one of them is right?"

That's the forgotten lesson.

Yes, we all see things differently. Some people see the young woman. Some people see the old woman.

But both of them are right.

The lines on the page are exactly the same for everyone who looks at it. Nobody is imagining anything. They're just seeing a different picture in the same drawing.

Just because we see things differently doesn't mean we are wrong.

I've been building residual income from home for 20 years now.

Network marketing might not be my current preferred vehicle. But that doesn't mean it's wrong. And it doesn't mean the people building a network marketing business are doing anything wrong.

It just means it's different.

The same goes for people building an affiliate marketing business. For people working a job. For people building a traditional business.

Each of them is looking at the same drawing and seeing a different woman.

Just because we see things differently doesn't mean the people who see it another way are wrong.

That is the forgotten lesson.

If you can help people feel seen, supported, and respected, you'll build far better relationships. And over time, you'll cultivate a much stronger following and alliance, in life and in business.

This is a big key to building an attractive brand. And an attractive personality.

Think about it for a second.

Do you like it when someone tries to prove you wrong?

Even if you are wrong, you probably don't like it.

Neither does anyone else. We're all the same that way.

That's something we need to remember in how we treat people, in our communication, and in our marketing. The next time someone sees the young woman while you're staring right at the old woman, skip the urge to correct them. Ask them what they see. Then take a second look yourself.

Which one did you see first, the young woman or the old woman? Tell me in the comments below.

Hope this was some good food for thought on your home business journey today.

And whatever you do, always go for your dreams.