Covey's Listen First, Tim: hear what is said.

Covey (The Speed of Trust, 2006, p. 208ff) gives three principles behind Listen First: understanding, respect, and mutual benefit. I added two more: hearing, being fully present in the conversation, and being open.

You not only need to be present in the conversation, be open to new ideas and opinions even those you don't necessarily like to hear, and hearing.

Hearing is more than listening. It's absorbing what is said. If someone says something to you and you listen to it then go on with your life as though that person had never said it, you're listening to that person but not hearing what he or she said.

My goal here is to help entrepreneurs climb all the way to the top. How am I doing?

Entrepreneurship is the life's blood of all my professional activities. It makes them go. It informs my connection strategy.

It makes Sherpa Real Estate , my real estate referral business, go. See www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

It powers my Sherpa Literary. Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com for my ideas on writing and publishing and read my mystery for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.

It fuels my publishing enterprise, By and for Writersgo. See www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com where you can get a poem or a short story published.Dey