Everyday, everyone is selling something.
Professors sell their ideas to their students, while students sell their interpretation of those ideas to the professors.
Businessmen sell their products to consumers.
Lawyers and doctors sell their services to their clients and patients.
That one brave soul in the friend group who suggests a place to eat sells the suggestion to the rest of the group.
Everyday, we are selling.
But evidently, not everyone can close the sale. Why?
Because, not everyone intends to give.
People see through us. Our tone, nuances, and tendencies point to our intentions. And when we’re trying to sell anything, be it an idea, product, or service, we have to be selling with the intention to give. I’m no expert salesman, far from it. But I’ve noticed that people can tell whether we’re only selling to gain a profit or selling to actually offer something of value.
So when we sell only because we’d like to take something in return, people won’t buy or people will buy but not buy again, because eventually, they will feel cheated and taken advantage of.
The only way to create a sustainable and mutually beneficial exchange of value is to give first. Taking simply follows.
Sometimes I catch myself thinking why my ideas or products aren’t selling as much as I’d want them to. Maybe it’s because I had not intended to give, at least not enough.