Ravi Vora

No matter what it is that you desire, you can have it. Easily. All you have to do is really, passionately, truthfully want it and be willing to do what it takes to get it. Following these simple steps you will be on the path to getting whatever you want, from your smallest to biggest dream.

1. Make sure you know what you want. People are a lot less likely to help you if you can’t come up with a specific goal. You have to be confident in wanting a $20,000 per year raise. If you just say “I want a raise,” your boss can give you any amount of money they want. Even $0. Once you have a complete goal in mind you can fully use your resources collectively to achieve it. You have to know for yourself what you want before other people will care about what you want.

2. Know what they want. If you plan on getting something, you’d better know what the price is. What you can trade to get what you want depends on what people value. You have to know your target audience and what it is they desire that is of equal value to whatever it is you desire. It is even possible that what they value is of little to no value to you, which means you’ve hit the jackpot. All you have to do is to provide them something that you are willing to trade for the thing you desire. How do you know what they value? All you have to do is…

3. Listen. People love to talk about themselves and what they love. Sometimes all they want is someone to listen to them. This phenomena is the driving force behind blogging, postsecret, flickr, book discussions, forums, and relatively anything social. You can find out anything you want to know about a person if you just listen long enough. With just a little time and a little insight and you can pretty much figure out what someone really values.

4. Make them want to give you what you want. Whether it’s your offer or they just feel bad for you, the only way you’re going to get what you want is if they want to give it to you. Of course you could take it by force, but the repercussions can usually be less than positive. When people are willing to give something to you with a smile on their face, they are even more likely to give you what you want in the future. So offer them something they want (which should be easy since you followed steps 2 and 3) and you will get whatever it is that you want. Sometimes you can even get what you want for free. Or, what you would consider free in terms of what you value and what they value. Sometimes it’s even easier if you…

5. Give them something for nothing. Don’t stop reading. I know it sounds like you are having to sacrifice something for nothing at all, which is the exact opposite reason you’re reading this. However, I’m not talking about sacrificing things you value. A smile, a kind word, or the last half of your candy bar (ok, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but if you were full or something) is all it takes to get the person to open up to you and what you want. You are asking them to go out of their way to give you something. That’s the “something” they are giving you for “nothing.” So, in return, you can repay them with a simple gesture of kindness or amiable manner. If they see that you are willing to go out of your way for them, they’re likely to repay the favor ten fold.

6. Ask. Speak up. No one is going to know what you want until you make an attempt to let it out to the world. Don’t sit in the back of class and never ask the girl of your dreams on date. Let them know what you want and what you’re willing to do for it. You never know what could come of a simple question until you ask it. The response could be even better than you ever dreamed. The absolute worst case scenario is the word “no,” in which case you’re right back where you started. There is no negative outcome, only positive or none at all. So stop fearing the unknown, follow these easy steps, and you can get anything you want.