Don’t Trust Anything before the “But”

A buddy of mine had this up on Twitter a couple weeks ago something along the lines of, “discount anything that comes before the word but in a conversation.”

There’s a whole lot of truth to that phrase and it’s one of those things that will forever shape how I approach conversations, both on the end of speaking and the end of listening.

love catching up at TomTap

I had a chance to catch up with a buddy last night that was about 6 months overdue.  He’s a busy guy now, big time attorney with a wife and 2 adorable kids–and has 12 million things on his plate; so it was awesome to unwind a bit with him last night and talk both personal and professional life.  I’ve known him for years and he’s an active board member with the non-profit, so the conversation bounced around a ton.

The one thing I noticed was that he was giving me a ton of awesome advice last night and being a great sounding board, all without him ever interjecting “but” into the discussion.

And it was awesome to catch up, it’s been crazy for obvious reasons over the last few months and it’s always nice to unwind with true friends.  In fact, it was the perfect end to a great day that included getting a ton of work done, reviewing the survey process that Nine13 has officially partnered with an IU Bloomington class to help better understand client needs, a wonderful interview with Twenty Something Indy online magazine and prepping for a big meeting I have here this afternoon.

Just another day of fighting to the stars and back for hopes and dreams–the best kind of fight to have.