Building Yourself: Putting Your Success Together

Building Yourself
Putting Your Success Together One Piece at a Time

These pages contain the complete 2005 revised text of Building Yourself, public speaking trainer Elliot Essman's guide to living the successful life.

Elliot Essman Public Speaking Training
Building Yourself Table of Contents
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Chapter 8: STRANGE
8.00 Strange Is Perspective

You've kept an open mind, so far. Good, so far. But this chapter is where keeping an open mind really pays off. To build yourself to the maximum, to get the most out of yourself, you must cross the great hurdle of “Strange.” What we're talking about here is how you react when you're confronted with the strange, the different, the new.

You inhabit only a small corner of the world. In your life you'll meet but a minuscule percentage of the earth's people. Most of the people on this earth are “foreigners.” Most people differ from you in some fundamental way. Don't feel threatened by these people. They offer you a fabulous richness.

Viewing someone or something as strange is purely your choice. It reflects your attitude. It's something you have total control over, something you can change if you want to. How you handle the different, the strange, the new will often tell how you handle life itself. You only have one chance to go through life. Better to do it with your mind open.

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Building Yourself Table of Contents
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