​I used to have this friend that was an on-purpose polarity responder.

Meaning he would always say and do the opposite of what was socially expected.

If a sign said “Do Not Enter,” he would enter.

If somebody told to “wait here,” he would wait over there.

Now, sometimes it was cool to hang around this guy, but most of the time it was kind of annoying.

It was like he couldn’t shut it off. You’d try and have a normal conversation, and he would always say the opposite of what you would expect most normal people to do.

On the other hand, most people are the opposite of “opposite-man,” meaning they ONLY do what is socially expected.

To be sure, this is definitely a safe choice in most situations. Most of us don’t like calling attention to ourselves when we don’t need to.

The trick is knowing WHEN to break the rules, and WHY to break the rules.

Sure, most rules are set up to keep everybody safe and happy. But plenty of rules are set up to protect “some” people at the expense of others.

When you encounter THESE rules, the REAL rule is to “not get caught.”

When I was a kid, we were all taught the “Golden Rule” in school.

“Do Unto Others As You Would Have Done Unto You.”

I had a buddy who had a beach towel that said, “Do Unto Others…Then Split!”

Meaning do what you want, then get the heck out of town before the cops show up!

The other day, however, I read an interesting article regarding the secrets of charisma.

It said the Golden Rule is bogus.

Because if we treat others the way we want to be treated, that’s actually pretty selfish.

Instead, we should treat others the way THEY WANT to be treated.

Problem is, most people don’t ask. They just “do unto others” and assume it’s OK.

Often times it’s not.

Now do you know how to treat others?

Ask them!

(I know, stunning realization!)

Funny thing is that even though this is pretty obvious, most people walk around talking about themselves.

Next time you’re in a group of friends, turn off your yap for a little bit, and listen to the flow of conversation.

Chances are it will be everybody taking turns talking about themselves. Their wants, their needs, their opinions.

At first glance, this seems pretty selfish of them.

But it gives YOU a GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY.

Since they’re saying pretty much EXACTLY what they want, you know EXACTLY how to talk to them, in order to get what you want.

Just take whatever you want, and put it in their terms, and they’ll be glad to give it to you.

What’s more, they’ll think it was their idea!

Learn How:

Interpersonal Resonance