Hello, dear one!
After you’ve witnessed the recent banking collapses and economic weather storms, will you be interested in learning a weatherproofing skill to defend yourself against unpredictable disasters?
Let me tell you a story of how one skill saved lives.
In the twelfth century, the Mongols invaded China. Their leader, Genghis Khan was a barbaric peasant who had no reverence for Chinese civilization, which had been slowly established and thrived for over two thousand years.
A wilderness horseman in heart, Khan wanted to level all buildings and turn robust cities like Kaifeng into a pasture for his horses.
As for the people living in Kaifeng, Khan regarded them as useless eaters and an impediment to his dreams. He decided to massacre them all as he did to other cities that had resisted him.
But a foreigner was called to rescue. He was Yelu Chu’u-Ts’ai. He wasn’t a warrior on the battle filed, but being wise and well-versed, he proved to be more powerful.
Effective and eloquent in his communication, he managed to become Khan’s trusted advisor. Possessing a sense of keen insight, he prudently and thoroughly studied Khan.
Understanding Khan had no appreciation for Kaifeng’s refined culture, Yelu used Khan’s greed as bait to spare the innocent lives in Kaifeng.
He proposed an infallible vision that Khan couldn’t resist. Yelu persuaded Khan to keep the people in the city because many of them were the finest craftsmen and skilled workers to prosper Khan.
“Tax them, “ Yelu advised, “So your barn will always be filled, and people will pay you and thank you at the same time.”
Thus, using greed, the only emotion that would work for Khan, Yelu banked on Khan’s self-interest and succeeded in saving the city of Kaifeng.
How did you prevent a disastrous situation facing a ruthless and ambitious murderer? If you tried to reason with him and be righteous, your head could have been cut off instantly.
This was when Yelu’s skills shined to prove that if you can master a skill, like effective communication with critical thinking, it could protect you better than bullets.
How important is communication skill?
Scholar Jordan Peterson emphasized this to his success-seeking students in the universities:
“There is nothing more powerful than your words…Get our points organized. Formulate your argument coherently. Make a presentation. If you can speak to people and lay out a proposal, people will give you money and influence…”
As a Bible reader, I learned the importance of communication in David’s discovery. Young David was recommended to King Saul because he was well-spoken. At the time, he was an out-of-sight shepherd boy in the wilderness to his father.
His excellence in communication continuously promoted him and eventually raised him to be one of the greatest leaders in history.
Do you know that 85% of your success and happiness in life are determined by your ability to communicate with other people?
Communication is a learnable skill, like bike riding or swimming. When you master it with your intuitive listening, unique vocal variety, eye contact, and body gestures, you’ll open new doors and entice other people for a better perspective.
How do you survive and thrive in an unscrupulous corporate environment during a down spiral economic time? Invest in yourself quietly and incessantly.
Your old friends and associates may regard you as preposterous in pursuing communication investment, rather than pragmatic material possessions like cryptocurrencies, real estate, or stocks.
But invest in your communication skill at all costs. One day, you’ll reap its increasing dividend that no one can take away from you!
Keep writing because it will help you with critical thinking; polish speaking because it will set you apart from the average and the majority.
On your journey of investing in yourself, you’ll meet successful people who are likely to improve you, so one day you may find yourself living a life of EASE.
The more you invest in what’s worthy inside, the more people will notice and pay your worth outside. Like Yelu, the communication skill you master inside will weatherproof your battles outside.