When studying for GMAT back in 2015, one of the tips in writing our essays is to write our strongest argument first. At first, I thought it was strange. Haven’t we always been told to save our best for last? To not tell people our most memorable stories at first?
A few weeks ago, my mother and I looked for a place we can call home. We found a place that we really liked. When I placed an offer to purchase the place, the realtor recommended to put our best offer first. I had an initial offer and backup offer in case there was a bidding war among us buyers. After reading online forums recommending what to do in these situations, almost everyone recommended to place our best offer first.
This concept of Always Giving Your Best First Step reminded me of a skill learned from consistently writing for the Noy Sauce blog this past year and being more active in social media: having an impressive cover photo gets more views and feedback than a not-so-impressive one, even with better content written. It’s why almost all news today have strongly worded (and often misleading and opinionated) titles, even though the articles themselves aren’t well-written. The intention for most news today is to get views and higher ratings, moreso than telling the truth. (Noy Sauce does his best to have both impressive titles and content 😉)
Our attention these days is limited (thanks social media and 15-second videos!) and we have a short window of time to leave a lasting impression on others. We are only a moment in people’s days, so it is nothing personal if we do not attract peoples’ attentions.
Giving Your Best First Step can also be applied in dating. Leaving a strong, positive and authentic impression on a lady makes you more likely to receive her phone number and a first date. Be the guy who makes a lady laugh through corniness. Confidently and playfully tell a backhanded compliment, such as “she looks okay” or that you find her “somewhat attractive”. Once she reacts, laugh it off and then tell her you’re just kidding. Remember back in elementary school when us boys used to tease girls whom we liked? It’s the same principle! Sure, Noy Sauce may have gotten in trouble as a kid, but it was in the spirit of fun and trying to articulate this concept of “feelings” 😇
If you can balance confidence with the right amount of humility as you Give Your Best First Step in genuinely sharing your experiences with someone, you will leave a stronger and more authentic impression with women (and people in general) than if you saved your best for last. Like Giving Your Best First Step in placing an offer for a new place, you make your intentions clear and show how serious you are.
A few days after putting in my best offer for the new place, our offer was accepted by the seller. There was a sense of amusement felt despite being relieved in getting a new place. Contrary to how many people portray accomplishing a goal they reach as this extraordinary event (not to discount their accomplishments!), getting a new place felt like an ordinary day to me.
Ordinary in the sense that my mother and I made many sacrifices over the years to get to this point.
I slept in the living room of my mother’s one-bedroom apartment for almost five years to save money. During that time, the desk where I’ve been working from home is right next to my bed. This was after having my own apartment for four years! It was a sacrifice of space and privacy made to save just enough to be in a better financial position to have the kind of place and amenities I wanted, not settling for what we knew we could have gotten.
The sacrifice going through the process of reaching the goal was the dream and reward itself. The process of building the skills to get promoted at work and to be the person worthy of better pay were the dream that when the goal of getting the place was reached, I was better prepared. This comes back to a previous post of how Games Are Not Won in the 4th Quarter. When we focus on the fundamentals and make the sacrifices to reach our goal, Our Best First Step shines when the 4th quarter comes.
Take action. Humble ourselves to not allow setbacks discourage us to the point of giving up. Live and learn. And of course, Always Give Your Best First Step.