Treat People Like this and you will Lose!

I was 24 years old and 1 year into my first business venture

I recently moved to Texas because of an assignment from my day job

I wanted to make my business work but I was scared. I was still overcoming my negative programming and fear of people

I didn't have a network in Texas so I was forced to create relationships cold. It was the only way I could expand my business

One day I walked into a  supermarket near my home. I needed to talk to somebody...anybody

But I was scared to open my mouth. So self-conscious. What will people think of me? This is so weird...nobody talks to a complete stranger at a supermarket!

But I didn't want to be a Nobody. I wanted to be a Somebody

Then I saw him...a young guy. Most likely a couple of years older than me. He was wearing the popular navy blue New York Yankees baseball cap.

We were both in the freezer section

I'm from New York City - he must be from there as well. We have something in common - this is easy!

So I struck up a conversation, asked if he was from New York, and he was!

We talked for a bit and he seemed pretty friendly. I told him I was new to the area and looking to make friends

He was too. We exchanged contacts

So weird! Yes I know. Nobody does this

But I ain't a Nobody

A couple of days later I called him, asked if he was a business-minded person. He said he was and we scheduled a time to sit down to talk about what I was working on

Later that week, we met at a Panera Bread, I had my laptop ready with a few slides. I was going to present to him a business opportunity

I was excited - I am building my network of valuable relationships!

A few minutes into my presentation, I could sense that the vibe was off about this guy

He sat there, guarded. Arms folded. A disinterested look on his face. He didn't seem like the same guy that I met at the supermarket

But I was nervous so I kept talking. He hardly said a word to me. I didn't know how to handle the situation

At some point during the presentation, he interrupted me. He proceeded to laugh a little bit and started poking fun at what I was doing

I was struggling for words as I've never been in this situation before. I'm not a mean guy and didn't want to say anything bad to him

But he was making me uncomfortable

He then accused me of doing something illegal and threatened to call the police on me!

I got even more nervous. Was he actually going to call the cops?

Although I was scared, I knew what he was saying wasn't true. He was bluffing

At this point, I realized that I was wasting my time sitting with this joker

Without any warning, I closed my laptop, got up, and said goodbye. I left the Panera Bread

I was walking to my car trying to process what just happened

As I pulled out of my parking spot getting ready to drive off, I saw him come up to my car and motioned me to put the window down

I don't know why but I did. He warned me again to stop doing what I'm doing with my business. It's no good.

Being too nice of a guy that I was, I told him "no thanks" and drove off

I should've shoved a middle finger in his face instead

I got home that night flustered. I kept replaying the whole meeting in my head, wondering what the hell I did wrong

Then I got a phone call. It was him

Again, I don't know why, but I answered the phone

I didn't expect to hear what I heard next

"You know..." he started. "You have some pretty good communication skills and you are good at sales..."

Bullshit

"I'm working with a company that is developing a state of the art product line. I know you would be a great fit for it. I'd like to tell you more about it"

What the...!? This guy had some nerve. He was talking to me about a business opportunity that was similar to mine. You know, the one that he called illegal and threatened to call the cops on

Is this guy serious?

Still being the nice guy that I was, I politely told him that I wasn't interested and hung up the phone

I just sat there, processing what happened

Years after this event occurred, I figured it all out

I had the courage to talk to a complete stranger, call him, and present an opportunity to him

Something that he was absolutely afraid to do himself for his own business

My actions exposed his own cowardice and his only response was to treat me poorly. Just so that he could feed his own ego and make himself feel better

He thought that he could break my confidence and take advantage of me. By doing so, he could convince me to join his business

He was a manipulator. A pretty bad one

He didn't burn the bridge between him and myself. He incinerated it

What he didn't realize is that you never, ever, treat anyone like dirt in an attempt to manipulate them

It may work on some people but it will eventually backfire

In sales, they teach you to never talk negatively about the competition

Instead talk about the value of what you offer and how it can help the buyer

If nothing else, you compliment the competition. You respect the game that they're playing

Because with an abundance mindset, there is more than enough to go around for everyone

But when you put that negativity out on others, it never works out well

Looking back now, I actually felt sorry for this guy. No one taught him an abundance mindset. No one taught him how to treat people

I don't know what he is doing now. I hope that he is in a much better place - but I seriously doubt it

Either way, I'm thankful that I didn't cave in and fight fire with fire. It may have felt good in the moment. But It was energy that I didn't want to take with me. It wasn't worth it

Moral of the story: Treat others with respect...always!

And pray for the ones that don't