BOSTON — To succeed in life, don't just strive to make money but also to make the world a better place. To get ahead in business and life, learn to read other people's body language and be sure to know what your body language says about you.
That's the advice of two of the self-help experts who spoke at CUNA's America's Credit Union Conference and Expo.
T-shirt entrepreneur Bert Jacobs said that "Life Is Good" is not just a slogan that has made him millions of dollars but a philosophy that helps him and his colleagues make the world a better place.
"See the glass as half-full," he advised during his keynote address on the first full day of the conference.
Jacobs, who began by selling T-shirts on the street with his brother and now runs a multimillion dollar company, said money is a tool to help people. He talked more about his company's efforts to raise money for organizations that help children than about business.
"I realized early on, we can do more to make money," he said. Business is a tool to help others.
During his talk, he recounted some of the successful fundraising events that his organization has sponsored, including $500,000 at an event on the Boston Common where it set the record for the most illuminated pumpkins in one place and $800,000 at an all-day festival and concert at Fenway Park.
Many people who achieve what Jacobs has have done so in part because of their interpersonal skills. That's where someone like Jeanine Driver comes in.
Driver, who advises law enforcement agencies and companies about how to use body language to achieve what you want, present a five-part BRAVE plan for improving communications:
Build rapport with eye conduct and being specific about what you like about the other person.
Read others with ease.
Adapt your body image to the situation.
Vamp up your communication.
Expand your communications skills by observing and listening more than talking.
–cmarx@cutimes.com
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