Happy Easter everyone and welcome back to the best blog on this site. Do you know the saying.. "Don't judge a book by its cover"? Yes it is a cliche saying but the saying applies to a lot of things in life. Since I work in retail this is a concept that applies to my daily activities. Listen I am not talking solely on judging a person by their skin tone but rather the person as a whole. If 'How to win friends and Influence People' talks about this topic, then it must be important.

Whenever I think of this topic an episode of The Nanny comes to mind. In this the nanny (Fran Dreshcer) is in a local park and sees someone who appears to be homeless and she gives him a bucket of chicken. Towards the end of the episode the man comes to her place of dwelling and it is revealed that the man is a millionaire investor who because of the nanny's kind heart is investing in the bosses play. Before you start saying that it all worked out at the end, think if she treated this person badly because she judged them without getting to know them. Her boss would not have had an investor for his latest play and she might have gotten reprimanded for her actions. An example of judging someone wrongly actually happens to me whenever I go to certain places. When I commute to work I am usually dressed down so sweatpants and a hooded sweater so people tend to look at me with a notion that I am lower class. I sometimes buy a couple of things in grand central terminal such as two packs of Altoids. When I buy multiple of an item they clerk makes sure that they tell me the price is a couple of dollars each and if I am sure I want both. That is the worst thing you can say in this situation because you are openly telling the consumer that you are judging them.

By judging a person or an item you are sending signals to your brain that the next couple of events will turn out in a negative fashion. There is an on going joke in my work place about a sandwich named the Bronx Tale. I was very adamant that I did not want the sandwich because of its contents and wanted something else for lunch. When that was the only option and I took that first bite my whole outlook did a 180. That sandwich literally brought a tear to my eye and made me eat my words. If I would have just said no and bought a slice of pizza I would have missed out on one of the best sandwiches I have ever had. So if you take anything from this post let it be this... Whenever you see something for the first time have an empty glass because a half filled cup can only take so much before over flowing. Remember the man behind the clown mask are usually the saddest people you will meet.

Thanks for reading,

Josh