You can greatly increase value of your conversations with clients, friends, family and probably even your dog by truly hearing what they’re saying—“I need your help with this. I’m not doing very well today. I’m hungry.”—that last being dog.

Your coaching assignment for this week is to think very deeply about how you can hear more and just listen less—and then implement those thoughts into your daily life starting tomorrow. Think tonight, hear in morning.

If you have any questions or comments about magic of hearing, please feel free to drop me a line at mailto:angie@discoveringtruenorth.com. I always want to talk to people who’ve read my articles and discuss what you’ve gotten from my writing.

I really believe that people who never have miracles in their lives have given up five minutes before miracle. I honestly feel that’s true. Yet here I sit, ready to give up, not knowing if there’s an even better dog (that’s what it is—I had perfect dog picked out and was told I couldn’t have him) waiting around corner. While it seems no dog would be as perfect for me as one I didn’t get, it’s possible. I’ve looked at a lot of dogs. Why not look at a few more? Five, say. Look at five dogs and see how I feel about them. If I want to decide not to get a dog after all, I can do that tomorrow, or next week, or next month. I can even do it after miracle, if I decide to.

The key is just, as I’ve said, not bailing out five minutes before miracle.