Growing up, my grandfather was my role model. My dad traveled extensively for work back then, and we didn’t see him often. However, we lived in a joint family, and my Grandpa was always there for my sister and me. He took great care of our family.

We had a small retail garment store back then. He managed that store with the help of one employee. I went to the shop quite often to manage customers and the cash counter, especially during peak business seasons. (Yes, retail stores did have peak seasons back then).

I did not enjoy going to the shop as such, but I did that to help him take some rest. My Grandpa was in his late sixties then and also suffered from mild arthritis. Standing long hours wasn’t good for his health. I was studying in school then and had some spare time after I was done with my studies and play so it worked out.

My grandfather had strong routines and habits. While most of those made sense to me, I could never really understand one piece of it. Every evening, when we had a relatively quiet time at the shop(lesser footfalls), he would call one of his friends there and just talk to him about life in general and check in on him. There was no agenda and no outcome for these meetings. His friends came, had a cup of tea with him, and spent 30–45 mins talking about anything and everything under the sun.

Most of his friends had retired by then and easily found time for this activity. Their conversations were fascinating. They ranged from politics to cultural musings to sociological issues. No matter what the conversation, they always ended it by asking if there was something they could do for the other person. Every conversation ended like this. “Is there something I can do for you?” or “Any help that you need from me?”

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