To Start

When I was 13 years old my parents went through a very rough divorce.

During that time, my mom loved to go out and get a beer. She was a good looking lady and didn’t want to get hit on at some trashy bar.

So of all the places on planet Earth she would go to hooters at happy hour. 

The girls would joke around with her, she loved the oysters there and I LOVED going there for some strange reason. But as much as I loved looking at them, I was terrified. 

My mother, ever the instigator, would then play a fun game. Every time she wanted a beer or food, she would point a waitress out and I would have to walk up to them, give them a compliment and order whatever she wanted. 

Now thinking back, I don’t actually remember getting anything in return for this but I do remember thinking “you cannot look like a little bitch right now” 

What Did I Gain?

So this went on for 3-4 years.

During that time two things happened 

First, I got a girlfriend who worked at Hooters (Hi Sarah!)

Secondly, I had a superpower. While all of my friends 16 or 17 years old, could hardly muster up the strength to look a girl in the eyes. 

I would throw compliments at 32 year old Mrs. Hooters International without batting an eye. (That too also happened, Hi Rachel!)

Over those years I got some comfortable with giving compliments to pretty girls in orange booty shorts, that I could talk to anyone. 

Without exaggeration this helped me so much in life I attribute it to most of my success in my career. Just simply being ok with uncomfortable conversations has given me a lot of advantages. 

That is also a huge factor of why the 91//9 has a daily compliment to a stranger on it. The growth you get from a 5 second interaction is undeniable. The level of energy input you get in comparison of the output is astronomical. 

Here are some links to information about studies that have been done on compliments

5 reasons why… you should give compliments