William King said, “A gossip is one who talks to you about other people.  A bore is one who talks to you about himself.  A brilliant conversationalist is one who talks to you about yourself.”

From John Maxwell’s book, How Successful People Think:

Forget About:  Searching for ways to make yourself look good.  Instead, search for ways to make others look good.

Do it:  Give everyone you meet the Triple-A Treatment — attention, affirmation, and appreciation.

Remember:  Within the first thirty seconds of a conversation, say something encouraging.  Compliment them or validate something they just said.

Kirk Out.

Empathy 14: A female humpback whale had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Faralon Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so badly off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her…. a very dangerous proposition. One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer.

They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her.

When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, nudged them, and pushed gently, thanking them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.

The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

May you be so fortunate … To be surrounded by people who will help you get untangled from the things that are binding you.

And, may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.