Cover Picture: Gone But Not Forgotten by Damian Hirst – Installation at The Faena Hotel, Miami. @FaenaMiami

A while back, my wife and I were talking about how people can have mistaken perceptions of others. Specifically, our conversations circled around health, veganism, and humanitarian causes (I’ll save that post for a future date). Being the only Edmund Amoye I know, I had to personalize the topic of perception (inspired by this post’s cover picture).

In my line of work, I get to meet a lot of people, and make impressions. I’ve found that there are usually two camps on people with views of us: they either like us or they don’t. 

Seriously that’s it. The descriptors people use to remember us are either positive or negative. However, sometimes people make mistakes. Most folks have told me I am very passionate about my work; and they love my approach to customer service. There’s another group that will see passion as being snobby; or service as pandering. Confidence can easily be mistaken for arrogance.

The feedback we receive from others can substantially affect how we act. Just read this article on confidence. If you need help differentiating between a true perception (people have of you) and a mistake (bias), consider the hidden agenda(s) of the person giving feedback. Think about the layers of the onion, not the surface.

I am comfortable with people having differing opinions about me. I can’t (and don’t intend to) make everyone happy. That would require way too much energy and would make for a very boring world.

You don’t have to respond, but I would like to know how you handle the perceptions people have of you.

Cover Picture: Gone But Not Forgotten by Damian Hirst – Installation at The Faena Hotel, Miami. @FaenaMiami