Meeting New People: Starting out on the right foot.

Just today I put on the best uniform I had. I made sure all the patches were placed correctly. Quickly grabbed a cup of coffee and headed out the door. I was heading to my new unit here in Texas. This would be a day of in-processing and getting to meet new people. How would they receive me? Who will be my new 'best-friend'? Will the Commander/CSM like me?

This may not apply to Chaplains but to anyone endeavoring meeting new people or new bosses.

Here a few tips:
1. Pray first. Ask the Lord for confidence and a honest presentation of 'who God made you to be'.

2. Take a shower. Shave. Brush your teeth. Pop that pimple. Put on some deodorant.

3. Grab some gum. Nothing worse than looking great and your breath wilting the flowers.

4. Think of a couple of positive things about your past units and say them. No one likes a person who harps about his OLD UNIT. If you aren't in the Army, and maybe applying for a minister job...don't slam the old pastor you worked for back at 'whatchamachalit church'.

Finally my Golden Nugget:
"Never assume that people are as nice/or as bad as they first appear." ~ Richard Baxter.

This put more simply is this: If they are buttering you up...you might be being thrown in the oven soon. Or the guy that you might write-off as particularly odd could be your greatest asset.

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