Patience, compassion rule and begin with listening

Old guys rule. Yes, but how?

Patience...what is patience?
Step 1 - Listen
Step 2 - Make sure you listened. You can make sure by you're listening by counting in silence until the person you're listening to speaks again after their initial statement. You might have to do this 2 or three times, because once the speaker realizes you're listening, they will talk. Just listen.
Step 3 - Wait, listen some more. Temptation will be to begin formulating your response. Resist. Wait. Wait. Wait.
Step 4 - Slowly say to yourself what you thought you heard. If you can do this instead of saying to yourself what you'd like to say next, then you've probably listened. I say probably, because this kind of listening will take a lot of practice to develop.

Patience begins with listening skills you can develop.

My mentor for many years, Ron Southerland, taught me, "Let the story unfold. To do otherwise is to get involved in some very egotistical ways." When we stop listening and start formulating a response, we've decided against letting the story unfold.

Listen, let the story unfold. This is how OGR!