Awareness is Awesome

In my last post, Putting the "Spontaneous" in Spontaneous K , I talked a little bit about
getting
something out of another person without being dishonest or "having an agenda." I told you,
yes,
there is a way, but that they have to want to give it to you .


This morning, I was on the receiving end of my own exercise, and being aware of my thought
process and the situation made it THAT much more interesting.


I was standing in line at McDonald's, and when it was my turn to order, I politely asked for a
Sausage, Egg, and Cheese McGriddle with a Hashbrown (don't judge me, they're delectable).
What happened next was rather astounding. The cashier, equally as politely, asked me "You
don't want anything to drink with that?"


I take out my wallet, and without really thinking, I say, "Nah, I'm okay." I say this because I'm
trying to save money and I'm just going to go upstairs to my office and get water/coffee for free
anyway. She then follows up with, "Coffee? Orange Juice? Nothin?"


That's when it hit me. Orange Juice. Orange Juice sounds really good. And I am kind of thirsty.
I said to her, "Alright, you've sold me. I'll take the orange juice."


This sounds inconsequential, but it's really quite profound. The cashier literally had no reason
to upsell me. She doesn't see a profit from selling orange juice or coffee, and I'm positive she
doesn't give a shit about the sales record of the McDonald's in suburban station. I've worked in
food retail. It's a pain in the ass. And customers can tell when you're trying to sell them some
shit or if you're just looking our for them. This lady genuinely wanted to make sure I wasn't
thirsty while I was eating a bunch of salty crap, and she figured for 79 cents more, 79 cents I
could most likely spare, I wouldn't be. And here's the kicker...


...the only reason I bought the orange juice is because I wanted it. I just didn't know that I
wanted it. I had hypnotized myself or disregarded the idea of wanting something to drink, so
I overlooked it, but deep down, I actually wanted that orange juice. I just need to be reminded
or convinced that I wanted it. That's the beauty of being genuine. You're helping others realize
what it is they already wanted. And if you want the same thing, that's fantastic.


The cashier wanted me to have the orange juice...I wanted to have the orange juice. Win-win.


Two nights ago, I wanted Francesca to be spontaneous and come out with me for a drink.
Before she even knew I existed, deep down, even if she didn't realize she wanted it, she
wanted something interesting to do other than her law homework. She wanted to go out and
meet a potentially awesome guy. Since she already wanted it, the convincing wasn't so
difficult.


However. If someone does not want something, no amount of convincing is going to change
their mind. They either want it, or they don't. People almost ALWAYS know EXACTLY what
they DON'T want.


But it's interesting how often we don't even realize what we do want. :)


-Spontaneous K