By Phillip Hines 

A newly–graduated lawyer had just opened an office.  

A shadow appeared on the other side of the frosted glass in the door. He thought, “My first client. I must make the right impression.”   

As the door slowly opened, he picked up the phone and said, “No, I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t take your case for any amount of money. I only have a limited amount of time available in the next six months.”   

He replaced the receiver and looked at the visitor. “And what can I do for you?” he inquired. “Nothing really,” was the reply. “I just came in to connect your telephone.”  

Trying to impress others never works. 

Recently I was making conversation with a friend I had not seen for some time. We talked for at least 30 minutes. After we had departed and I was driving home, I thought about our conversation; it was then that I realized I had spent most of the time talking about me. I talked about my family, my work, places I had spoken and things I had done. No wonder I thought we had a great conversation!   

At that moment, my mind brought to my attention the words of Philippians 2:3-4: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests but also for the interests of others.” 

How often do you find yourself trying to impress others? Whether it’s in our work, with our friends, on Facebook or Twitter, at a class reunion, at a networking event, with our family or just in everyday life, we waste a lot of time and energy trying to impress others.   

Think for a moment about being with people who show an interest in you and encourage you to talk about yourself. They are letting you impress them.   

Chances are, you spend 90 percent of the time talking about yourself and go away thinking what a great conversationalist they were!   

Friends, why don’t we work a little harder on letting others impress us by listening to them for a change!