I’m about to give you the number one success secret in life.

This secret is so powerful, it’s going to change your life and perspective.

This secret is something that so many people don’t understand.

This secret is going to lead to your next love relationship being the most powerful, amazing love relationship you’ve ever had.

This secret is so strong, so powerful, it’s going to help you become a better father or mother.

This secret is so strong, it’s going to help you become a better worker, a better co-worker, a better boss, a better friend.

This secret is something I learned a long time ago, but my stubbornness wouldn’t allow me to embrace it. As a matter of fact, this secret was one of the first secrets I ever learned when I met guru Juan Thomas. Have I ever told you about guru Juan Thomas?

Juan Thomas is this guy who used to come into a bar when I was hanging out. I was a bartender at this place called the Bear Bar on Broadway and 75th in New York City in the 80’s. Juan Thomas used to come in all the time. He was a grizzled old guy.

We always used to tell the ‘Juan Thomas’ stories. We didn’t know what he did for a living.

Some of us thought he was a millionaire.

Some of us thought he was a homeless guy.

Juan Thomas always told stories about his life, and Juan Thomas was always took responsibility for everything he did in his life.

Juan Thomas used to tell me all the time, he used to look at me and say, “David,” literally like the karate kid, “the key to life, the biggest secret to life, is listening.”

Listening. What do you mean? I’m listening. He’d look at me and say “you’re not listening. You’ve got to really listen.” That was his big secret. Juan Thomas would always say you’ve got to really listen.

I am listening to you, and it turned out I really wasn’t. The number one secret to life, success in every way, shape, or form, is to listen to other people. You want to know why?

When you listen to other people, you learn things you’ve never learned before.

People like Juan Thomas are going to come into your life and you’re going to listen to them and actually hear what they have to say.

Your love relationships are going to last a lot longer because you’re actually listening to you’re partner and not defending yourself with your ego.

In your work relationships, you’re going to hear what your boss is saying about you instead of defending yourself because of your poor performance. You’re actually going to hear the critique he’s offering you and you’re going to grow and learn.

With your kids, even though they make absolutely no sense at all sometimes, you have to listen to everything they say. So you can put the pieces of the puzzle together, especially when they’re younger. Ask a child why they don’t want to do something and they shrug their shoulders. Four hours later, the little gem comes out somewhere, but you weren’t listening. You were looking at your iPhone.

Listening is the key to success in life. success

The more you listen, the more you learn, the more you listen, the more you grow, the more you listen, the more your heart opens, and the more you love.

Listening is such a beautiful thing and it can change your relationships.
But most of us don’t listen. Most of us are what we call ‘fighting listeners.’ We’re listening so we can get our point across.

We love to get our point across. Actually when we do listen to somebody, we’re listening only so we’re able to break through, and do what? Get our point across.

That to me is not listening. Listening is to truly sit there and hear what someone has to say. Listening is not defending yourself with your ego. As a matter of fact, to truly listen you need to take your ego and throw it over the balcony. You need to get to the tallest building in the world, maybe the Empire State Building, and throw that fucking ego out the door.

When you get home at night and your partner wants to talk to you, you need to take that ego and put it outside with the dog. Outside with the bears if you live in the mountains. Outside with the wolves if you live in Montana. Outside with the homeless people if you live in the city.

You need to take that ego and you need to throw it out. When you talk to your boss, or your employee comes in and talks to you, you need to drop the ego. You need to drop having to be right.

That’s what ego is. Ego always needs to be right. Ego always needs to be heard. Listening is the key to life. Listening is the key to success in everything. Every relationship you’ll ever have.

Every relationship that you have is based on listening.

Whether it’s a love relationship, a relationship with a father, a mother, a daughter.

Whether it’s a relationship with a coworker.

Whether it’s a relationship with a friend. It all takes listening. Just like my grizzled wisdom guru said almost 25 years ago.

Listening is the key to life. Once you listen and truly listen, then you’re going to be far more successful than ever before. Your relationships are going to yield you the results you always wanted.

You’re going to make the money you always desired.

You’re going to have that relationship fixed between you and your mom and dad. Because we all have a fractured relationship of some kind with our parents or a brother or a sister.

To truly hear somebody is to be open. To truly hear somebody you have to live your life through your heart. To truly hear somebody is to live an amazing, powerful, beautiful life. That’s what love is. Love is listening. That’s the key to life.

Until you listen to somebody, and fully listen, then you don’t fully love. You don’t understand what love is until you fully listen. I’ve just shared with you a secret that’s been passed down from generation to generation. A secret that I try to remind myself of every single day. A secret I’d like you to remind yourself of every single day.