Teaching pigs to fly & pushing on strings | The 67 steps program - step 33

Teaching pigs to fly & pushing on strings

When to persevere and when to quit

Have you ever heard the saying know when to hold and know when to fold?

Well, this 67 step explains just how to do that but in perspective to people. Think of people as pigs and strings as we use these two words to metaphorically explain the essence of how teachable a person truly is.

Now, what kind of people are the pigs and strings? They are the people that don't know and don't care to learn, these kinds of people are the worst to have around.

However, you must take into consideration that some just appear to be pigs or strings but in reality, they just need a little bit of motivation to stray away from acting as such. You must learn how to differentiate the real pigs from the innocently ignorant, for the pig is unteachable and the innocently ignorant simply doesn't know that he doesn't know.

The importance of learning how to distinguish someone who is a pig versus someone who is not is pretty detrimental in guaranteeing your success when searching to be surrounded by people whom really holds your best interest. It is so important that even the bible mentions how to deal with the so called pigs.

"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.".

In Mathew 7:6, the pearls symbolize your most valuable knowledge and wisdom, and swine symbolize the people who will not only NOT realize the value of what you are giving to them but they will also turn around and cause you pain, either by bad mouthing you to others and betraying you someway, somehow.

On that note, you know you are dealing with pigs when the more you help or try to help, the meaner and more combative they become towards you. And if that isn't enough for you to cut them out of your life, here are just a couple of more reasons why you should stay away from pigs:

1 - Not only will they not listen to you but they will turn around and betray you

2 - They will frustrate you

3 - They will take time away from you

4 - They will take time from the people that can really use your help

HOPELESS PIG VERSUS HELPLESS PIG

Furthermore, there is also that scenario that a person may just be acting like a pig without necessarily being one, knowing how to help them conquer the pig within themselves is most of the battle.

As Voltaire already said, "It is not enough to conquer it, one must learn to seduce".With that being said, some cases will require a little more "seduction" or convincing than others.

In this thirty third step of the 67 steps program, Tai Lopez tells a story about a time when he worked on Joe Salatin's farm and they had to move a set of pigs from one side of the farm another, and in order for that to be done, they needed to get all the pigs inside the trailer for the commute.

However, the pigs were comfortable where they were and they refused to get into the trailer and as much as Tai and another helper tried to push them in, they would just squeal and lock their feet into the ground, not moving one inch forward.

After a couple of days trying different methods, a strategy finally worked that got the pigs from the barn into the hauling trailer quicker than any one expected. Now, the analogy here is that pigs are strings and you can't push on a string, you have to pull on it and bring it towards you so you can have it do what you want it to do.

With that in mind, the method Tai Lopez and Joel Salatin used to get the pigs from their comfortable environment into the trailer is very simple yet intricate and will require quite some patience on your behalf.

HOW TO TEACH SUCCESSFULLY

1 - Do it on the person's timeline, not yours!

2 - Control the rewards of the person you are trying to convince and change the reward structure if necessary

3 - Add some pain (not physically) or discomfort or the idea thereof ( examples could be removing video games, not giving out bonuses, salary cut)

BE PATIENT BUT NOT TOO PATIENT

Truth of the matter is some people will never change, primarily because they don't want to, while others just don't know how and need some help with the process.

However, you have to be patient and have a realistic time frame for a change to actually happen. Do not become impatient and learn how to control the rewards, become more persuasive, this is how you will discern the hopeless pig from the helpless one.

Now, if you have have done absolutely everything in your power and the person just refuses to change then you must assume the he/she is a hopeless pig and move on. You must cut that person out as soon as you realize that pulling nor pushing on that string will have any positive effect.

Finally, come to terms that not everyone will align with you and your vision, in fact, some people will be on the complete opposite side of you. GET RID OF THEM! It's best for the both of you and you make space for the people who is genuinely on your side and humble enough to learn.

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Books mentioned in this step:

On the shortness of life - Seneca

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