10 Oct 2023 · 8 min
Thomas Anglero shares how a LinkedIn compliment after a conference lifted his mood during a difficult time. He argues that genuine compliments can shift someone's day or even prevent tragedy, and urges listeners to give them freely.
Welcome to the Soul of Innovation podcast. I am Thomas Anglero, and I feel very thankful. I feel very thankful because I received a compliment the other day when I needed it, and I reflected on it and I understood. I said, wow, compliments, the power of a compliment. Do we ever utilize this skill, this tool we have in our toolbox, that could change someone's day, change someone's mood, could, could turn around their negativity. Because you could actually save somebody from doing some really bad stuff with one compliment. Let me tell you a story, and then I'll wrap it all up and remind you of the power that you have with your lips and your words and your breath. That if you give somebody a compliment, give you will change your life. I was at a conference last week where I spoke, and I thought I did a good job on the main stage, and it was okay. I was happy with what I did, brand new material in the presentation. But I was beating myself up a few days afterwards. I mean, really beating myself up, like we always do, you know. We're always our worst critics and things like that. And there's one moment I was just down. I was like, you know, I could have done so much better. This And all of a sudden my mobile phone beeped and it was somebody had mentioned me on LinkedIn. And I read the guy's comment and he said, of all the speakers at this conference, about 170 speakers, he goes, I have to say, I have to give a special shout out to Thomas Anglero, most outstanding speaker at the conference. And then he wanted to detail what I had spoken about and how great it was. And I was like, Is this a coincidence? No. Here in this moment, when I was most down, when I felt that my performance, my words, my impact to the audience wasn't as significant as I wanted it truly to be, here is this random guy who I did not meet, I will never meet, whose words, whose compliment At that one moment when I needed it, changed my mood completely. He lifted my confidence with his compliment. He reassured me that I was not as bad as I thought I was. He made me believe that with his compliment that I can go on and do this not only tomorrow, but the next day and the next day. One compliment lifted me up in so many different areas beyond what I had done. But it lifted me up in my personal life, in my professional life. It lifted up my mood later on that day when I saw my family. It gave me confidence towards the future, not just a week from now, but a month from now, but a year from now. I thought I could conquer the world with one compliment. When was the last time you complimented someone? Society today, with all this arguing that's going on with the wars, with people criticizing one another, people drop criticisms to each other all the time. But why don't we drop compliments as often? It's almost as if, no, no, no, I'm not going to compliment until somebody compliments me, and I need 10 compliments before I compliment somebody else. Are you nuts? I think there are a lot of people who are like me where we're just down, and a compliment from anyone would lift our spirits and would change our day. So that means if everyone complimented everyone, every— the whole world would be in a great mood and these wars would stop. We would stop being mean to each other. Maybe the problem with today and social media is, is all based on criticism. If they flipped it around and say, hey, social— having social media day where you only compliment people I think the day after would be the most beautiful day ever. And I'm not kidding. I think the world would change and we wouldn't go back. When was the last time you complimented someone? Do you know how much of an effect you're going to have in their life, in their feelings, in their emotions? In my lifetime, I've seen a few people commit suicide. And it's— those are memories you never leave, that never leave you, especially when I was a kid. It just— it sort of stops childhood right there. And I think to myself now, those guys that jumped, if someone would have complimented them before they climbed up on the bridge If someone would compliment early in the day, it would stop the cascading of negative thoughts. The same way that gentleman's compliment to me, a few lines, sentences on LinkedIn, stopped the cascading of negative thoughts in my head. One compliment from a stranger could change a person's life. So what I want you to do now, I want you to make it a goal that you compliment people now, even if the smallest things. Tell somebody, "Nice shoes today." "Your hair looks nice today." "Oh, that was very nice that you held the door for me. I really appreciate that." A compliment so small makes a difference in a world that's so negative. Go forth and spread beauty and light and your compliments. Don't go out and just give everybody a compliment all day long, then it's artificial. But the best way to give a compliment is to look someone in the eye, pause, and give them the compliment. Or truly, the best way to give a compliment is like what I received. To give a compliment to someone who you don't know, they don't expect it, that type of a compliment is pure love. It's authentic. So find it in your heart a moment from now, tomorrow, to give an authentic compliment to someone. And you may not see what you've done, but the change you made in their life is giving them a new life. Compliment someone, even if you don't know them. That's the ultimate, ultimate form of love. I'm Thomas Anglero. Until next time. Thank you for listening to that episode. If you want to contact me, you can contact me on my website at anglero.com, and you can also subscribe to the newsletter, or you can find me anywhere on social media with Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. Thank you so much, and I hope to hear from you very soon.
