One time early in my career as a professional speaker I had a call from the Iowa Hog Grower Association and they wanted me to do a banquet speech for their members at an annual meeting. They were working on a limited budget and I quoted my fee and estimated expenses and try as we might we still ended up about two hundred dollars from what he would give and what I would take. I’d never tried this before but I asked him, “Do you have many hogs there in Iowa?” He laughed and said, “We’ve got more hogs in Iowa than in any other state in the Union.” And I said, “Then one or two wouldn’t make a whole lot of difference to you then.” He said,”What do you want?” I said, I love baby back ribs and bacon and my wife loves hams and I just remembered that I would be driving into Des Moines with an empty trunk in my car.
He said, “I’ll fix you up.” And he did. My wife and our extended family and a few other families in our neighborhood ate really high on the hog for a couple of weeks after I got back home. Mmmmm Mmmmm that was good eatin’. Just thinkin’ of it makes my mouth water.
You know life can be a whole lot better for a lot of people if we’d just do a little negotiating and keep our minds open to possibilities.
Recommended Reading
The Platinum Rule by Art Fettig
The Age Old Secret to Happiness and Prosperity. If you believe in the Golden Rule then, just maybe, you are one of those fortunate few who are ready to take a giant step forwaqrd in your lives to fame, fortune and a great new plateau of personal satisfaction.
Art Fettig has identified a little known key to wealth and happiness in his book The Platinum rule. I hope that millions of people discover this little book and apply this giving formula. Trul their lives will be enriched and certainly this will be a better world.” – The Wickman Formula, Executive Press 1991
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