Many years ago my wife and I started a company selling products to stores and gas stations.

This is back when I was about 19 I think somewhere around there.

And I developed a route where I would go around with my products, kind of like a traveling salesman.

No suit though, a little different, but that type of thing.

And at least for me, selling was quite difficult.

And I think the toughest part was dealing with what I would call a categorical rejection.

I think they saw me just as this salesperson, and the store owner just immediately put up this wall

rejection before they even knew what I was selling

Now instead of realizing that you know I may have something to offer them that they could make money on

They wouldn't even hear it. They just sort of say, nope, not interested right off the bat.

So obviously I realize that if I could just overcome that initial rejection, I had a substantially higher chance of selling the product because the products

they sold were good, they sold well and there was a good profit margin in them for the owner

of the common interest that they had with me, like hiking, cycling, dogs, whatever the case was.

As soon as I connected through something else, that common interest that we would have,

that the wall just sort of dissolved.

I mean, it was gone.

Suddenly they were open to listen to what I had to say.

Just one connection opened the door,

at least to a conversation.

It was like they suddenly saw least to a conversation.

It was like they suddenly saw me as a human.

It was suddenly saw me as a person worthy of discussion

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