Quick Ideas 22 to 24 Epilogue Be genuine. People will respect you for it. Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously Life, work, and Assignment relationships are im- portant, and require Inventory your attitudes at work. serious attention. Are you too serious? Do you need to But don't be so seri- lighten up a little? Or are you one of ous about every- those people others like to be around? thing that you can't laugh, smile, or be happy. If you take yourself too seriously, others will begin to look at you as someone with whom they have to do business, but not someone they want to be around regularly. You know people like this. Take Frank, for example. He takes everything so seriously that he never cracks a smile, never tells a joke, never lightens up enough to talk about the ballgame over the weekend or the things his kids are doing in school. He's always on task, focused on the mission, business all the time. He's a likable guy, but he's so intense that most people can only take him in small doses. He's just no fun to be around! Don't be that way. Be one of those people you want to be around. 24 41