My Mind’s Made Up—Don’t Confuse Me With The Facts

As announced last week, here is my first of what I will call podcast reflections.

Applying the principles of experiential learning, my intention is extract an unexpected lesson learned from podcasts that will be published over the next couple of months.? Nothing profound or earth shattering here:? just acting a personal belief that we can learn from each and every experience that comes our way.

My first Podcast interview was with Joe Dimino on his Famous Interviews series.

What a fun conversation.? Although we had never met before, the interview was more like a casual conversation between two friends than a formal discussion, being recorded for podcast purposes.

Joe asked a number of excellent questions which triggered spontaneous and meaningful responses.

In response to one such question, I told a story about as a lawyer my meeting with a client about an issue that he was having with a neighbor.? The gist of the story was that while my client was telling his story, I was coming up with solutions. ?By the time he finished his story, I told him what his ideal solution was.?

But much to my surprise, my proposed solution was not what he wanted. Ouch!

When I listened to the recorded podcast today, I was reminded of a social situation that I experienced yesterday. You have most likely had similar experiences, but possibly not recognized what was happening.

In a nutshell, there were eight family members gathered for dinner. Four of the eight are what I would call opinionated know-it-alls.? These people always seem to have an opinion on whatever issue may arise, regardless of their level of knowledge or available facts.? Kind like—my mind’s made up, don’t confuse me with the facts.

As Joe and I discussed following my story of my client meeting, sometimes we get so involved in other things--including talking—that we don’t always listen to what others are saying.

Daniel Dae Kim (American Actor) nailed it: “There is as much wisdom in listening as there is in speaking…”

Enough said.

To check out the podcast interview click here .