Connecting with people

I've never really gotten a complete handle on why we connect with some people and don't with others.

Some of it might be due to the fact of having the same goals, backgrounds, likes and dislikes. Yet I can't help but think that there is something intangible there. And to further the complexity of it, at different seasons in our lives we connect with different people in different ways.

I naturally gravitate toward people who are outgoing, love God, follow sports and can speak about such things as politics and they latest books that they have been reading.

Yet I have also had deep relationships with some who don't connect with any of those qualifications.

In his book, Becoming a Person of Influence, John Maxwell identifies nine steps for connecting with people.

1. Don't take people for granted.
You can connect with people and lead them only if you value them.

2. Possess a Make-a-Difference mindset.

3. Initiate movement toward them.

4. Look for common ground.

5. Recognize and respect differences in personality.

6. Find the key to other's lives.

7. Communicate from the heart.

8. Share common experiences.
No one ever achieves alone what he can do when partnering with others.

9. Once connected, move forward.

Number 5 just really resonates with me. We all are the same yet vastly different. And we are to respect those differences, in fact, we are to celebrate them.

I can't change you and you can't change me, so why don't we accept one another for who we are?

Just a thought.