The lesson

It happened on a school bus - a clunky old yellow school bus.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

When I was in about the seventh grade, my parents and I went to live for a year on a farm. We rented a house in Chamboree - about halfway between Las Cruces, NM and El Paso, Texas.

It was an old house.

That stood splat dab in the middle of a field of green chiles.

And every morning I took the bus to school and home again in the afternoon.

So, there you have me. Geeky, chubby and 100% socially awkward (some things never change). I had signed up to play trumpet in the band, and was well on my way towards complete “nerdom”.

Needless to say, it was not an entirely friendly situation.

Lots of the guys on the bus were bigger than me. Most (all?) were far more worldly, and I don't think any of them read Heinlein novels. Quite a few were jocks, and even more were latinos and “low riders”.

And yes, I was the butt of many jokes.

Which gets us to the story at hand.

Always fascinated by words, I had set a goal for myself to choose three words from the dictionary each day and find a way to use them before going to bed at night.

That day, one of the words I randomly picked was “recalcitrant”.

Anyway, that morning on the ride to school the sport of the day was, “laugh at Dennis”. And Dennis had had enough.

So, figuring I might as well get two tasks out of they way at once, I looked the bully in the eye and called him a “recalcitrant primate”. Snickers, four letter words and a near miss from his fist landed us both in the principal's office upon arrival.

“I didn't say anything untrue. He is a recalcitrant primate, and it's not my fault he doesn't know what that means!” I defended myself.

I'll never forget the sly smile that almost emerged on the principal's face.

We both got off with a halfhearted scolding, but Dennis learned two lessons that morning.

First, the power of words. If I had just insulted the big guy, I probably would have earned a bit of respect. However, by highlighting his ignorance in front of others, I provoked a substantial rage. I learned the power of a hot spot.

Second, I realized that those very words had earned me an unspoken respect from the authority who thought the whole thing pretty funny.

So, the moral of the story is that your words matter too.

Are you using the absolute best words to market your business? Would you like some help?

If so, click here http://trk.greenlight.digital/dennis and schedule a time to have a conversation with me.

I'll be glad to help you find a few new words!

Yours,

Dennis
Listen. Think. Do.

P.S. Later that year (on that same bus) I also learned just how worldly some of my contemporaries really were. But, that my friend is a story for another day!