Lazarus - Listen like a dog : ...and make your mark on the world

Barks and Wags for
Listen Like a Dog...

Listen Like a Dog offers a totally fresh perspective on attaining success in our personal and professional relationships. Jeff Lazarus gives you the tools to get out of your own way and experience the miracles that will come to you when you model the behavior of mans best friend. The witty and wise advice he offers will enable you to become a master communicator in almost any situation. Take the lead from your dog and reap the rewards.

Jack Canfield , co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul
series and creator of The Success Principles series

Theres a reason so many people have a strong bond with their dog. A dogs full attention invites us to share more of our real selves with them, and opens the way for pure and positive communicationeven if it is nonverbal. Jeff Lazarus has given us a roadmap to living a happier and more productive life with this invaluable book. His tongue-in-cheek style will leave you laughing, but ultimately make you realize that your canine companion seriously has much to teach you about how to become a better listener!

Dr. Marty Becker , Americas veterinarian
and New York Times bestselling author

There is no doubt that the ability to listento really, authentically listenis one of the most important qualities of an effective leader, top salesperson, good friend, and successful family member. Who in the world, however, would believe that the very best teacher of this vital skill would be... our dog? Well, actually, practically anyone and everyone who has ever had a dog! In this terrific book, told through the eyes of a true dog-lover and expert on the topic of listening, we learn how to master the skill applied so naturally by our canine children.

Bob Burg , coauthor of The Go-Giver

Chew on this: your dog is your mindfulness guru! You will bow, and say WOW, when you learn how.

Michael J. Gelb , author of
How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci

Listen Like a Dog

... and Make Your Mark
on the World

Jeff Lazarus

Health Communications, Inc.

Deerfield Beach, Florida

www.hcibooks.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available through the Library of Congress

2016 Jeff Lazarus

ISBN-13: 978-07573-1898-6 (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 07573-1898-3 (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-07573-1899-3 (ePub)
ISBN-10: 07573-1899-1 (ePub)

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

HCI, its logos, and marks are trademarks of Health Communications, Inc.

Publisher: Health Communications, Inc.
3201 S.W. 15th Street
Deerfield Beach, FL 334428190

Cover design by Jef f Lazarus

Illustrations by Steve Feldman
Interior formatting by Lawna Patterson Oldfield

ePub created by Dawn Von Strolley Grove

Thank you to all of the dogs who have

listened to me bark over the years;

I always ended up feeling better.

Contents

All of my knowledge and abilities in the art of listening can be attributed to my dearly departed listening guru, a gold-colored, four-legged fur angel named Roamy; the funniest, smartest, and cutest being I have ever known. Roamys contributions to my life are with me every day and I miss him dearly.

The endless love and support from D.E. helped to make this possible; youre the best! Thank you, A.W., for your friendship, your support, and for pointing out the obvious to me; this is a book that Ive been writing my whole life. Thank you to the folks at HCI for loving dogs and helping me to spread the word about the importance of listening. Those who have believed in me and encouraged me over the years, in any of my endeavors, should know that they have had a positive impact on me and my work. I have been blessed to have had the experience of being truly listened to over the years, mainly by dogs, and a few humans along the way; and its always been a rewarding experience. Its now my desire to make the world a better place, one listener at a time.

Thank you to dogs everywhere. Without you there would be a lot less joy, happiness, and fun in the world.... and squeak toys and liver treats.

ROAMY , my listening guru. Here he is on his first Thanksgiving, fresh from the backyard and guilty as can bewith evidence of his infraction still on his nose. He may have denied knowing who was digging in the garden, but he sure listened to me when I asked him about it.

There is no psychiatrist in the world
like a puppy licking your face.

Ben Williams

Have you ever talked to a dog? Not just the Whos a good boy? Spikes a good boy stuff, but really talked? About your struggles, your heartaches, your joys? Have you ever thrown self-consciousness to the wind and bared your soul to a canine friend?

If not, you might want to try it. No appointment necessary, no co-pay required. Well, maybe a walk or a treat...

If you have talked to a dog this way, how did it make you feel?

You probably felt free . Free to say whatever you wanted to say, without the burden of making logical sense, justifying your position, or having to tell an entertaining story. Free to feel whatever you needed to feel.

You probably felt unrushed . As if you had all the time in the world to speak your pieceand your listener wasnt checking his watch or cell phone and edging toward the door.

No doubt you felt accepted and un-judged . You could have confessed to a triple homicide and your listener wouldnt have held it against you.

Odds are you felt supported , as if your listener was on your side. You felt positive, compassionate energy coming your way.

You probably felt as if you were the center of another beings world, the most important thing in that beings life, at least at that moment. You almost certainly felt a connection with that being: a life-to-life connection uncomplicated by abstract concepts, such as credit card bills or dinner plans or the fight you had last night.

Most of all, you felt heard . Received. Taken in. Though your listener may not have understood the words you were literally saying, he heard you the person behind the words and feelings. And so you felt complete in your communication.

When was the last time you felt that way talking to a fellow human being?

When was the last time someone felt that way after talking to you ?

Couldnt the world use a little more of this kind of listening? A lot more?

Real Connection: Where Did It Go?

We live in the Era of Connectivityor so were told. Over the past few decades, trillions of technology dollars have been invested in developing cool new ways for humans to connect with one another. With each new connectivity platform that emergescell phones, chat rooms, e-mail, voicemail, instant messaging, texting, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, online gaming, etc.the community of mankind grows closer to us. Our cell phone and e-mail contacts often number in the hundreds, and many of us have hundreds, or even thousands, of LinkedIn connections, Facebook friends, and/or Twitter followers. We hold the world, almost literally, in the palm of our hands. How unbelievably awesome!

Well... maybe...

So how are we using all this new technology? Do we suddenly have more meaningful things to say to one another? Are we breaking new ground in our personal and business relationships? Have we deepened our connection to humanity at large? Do we have more intimate friends?