13 of 100 – Smile and Make People Wonder Why

People often read me wrong. I had someone at a networking event tell me, "You look exhausted." I didn't overtly feel that tired, I had been up since very early that morning. I'm sure others notice it too and I'm sure it influenced the way they approached and interacted with me.

People often read me as being more serious and intense than I am. Some might read me that way and be intimidated. I'm actually pretty lighthearted and optimistic. (Just ask my wife. She'll vouch for me.) I'm sure that affects people's eagerness to approach me.

We all come across in different ways and often have no conscious control over it, but often we do.

Do this experiment and see what you find? Make a point of smiling to stranger as you walk past them. Do this in the grocery store, bank teller lines (if anyone goes to the bank anymore) or any other public place. Take in people's reactions. Many times people will wonder, "What it is you want?" or "What wrong with that person?" Go figure.

To get myself to smile some more, I have a trick. A few times a month, I'll go and buy a single lottery ticket. It's a $1 expense. I keep the ticket in my wallet so I see it every time I pull it out. The thought of taking home $5 or $25 million immediate puts a smile on my face. It really does. And I'm not planning to really win. I've got 6 semester of statistics in my background and I know my chance of winning is about zero. But the thought of winning a massive windfall gives me a smile.

If something as stupid as this works for me, what are the other things I can do give the world around me a smile. And in the process, make people wonder why.