EMPATHY IS THE CHOICE and ability to understand another person’s thoughts and feelings. It’s not about feeling bad or sorry.

Empathy means standing in someone else’s shoes with a sincere desire to know them, caring about their questions – how they see the world – their dreams – hopes – fears – uncertainties – failures – successes – yearnings, and an unlimited amount of other essential things.

You choose to have empathy because it matters to you. It’s a human choice. After all, the positive results it can have on other people are profoundly good, gratifying, and truly deserved. It’s a better decision than being heartless.

You don’t even need to be in the presence of the person you’re having empathy for. You don’t have to like the person or agree with their thinking or actions. You can imagine what they feel – imagine the shoes of a president or first lady, union worker, professor, housekeeper, caregiver, or even a ruthless tyrant.

You can practice empathy and see it gets easier the more you practice. Empathy can become natural.

I’ve tested business empathy, and it works phenomenally well, helping me know the people I am trying to serve – what they want – and then when I figure out some of the facts, I start working my butt off to get all of it for them, learning and growing all the time, offering better solutions, service, products, and results.

Empathy is kindness. It’s goodwill. It builds character and is one of our greatest successes in life.

I have tremendous gratitude to Seth Godin, who first taught me about empathy in his Akimbo Workshop – The Marketing Seminar – May 2017. It changed how I saw my purpose in business and how I treated the people I serve.

I work with empathy every day. It runs me. It’s the best way to work and achieve the success and respect I desire in life.

Thanks – Michael (he, him)

Please share this Daily with others.
This is crucial too – Empathy is Goodwill.

#1406