3 Great Life Lessons that Can Be Backed with Physics
Over the years, I’ve found links between quantum physics and the way brains behave. Since the laws of nature apply to tangibles, I started turning to the same laws to explain more philosophical concepts and the inner-workings of conscience.
I lucked up into a rare and lucrative job opportunity at T-Mobile to be a vendor at national retailers. The position required I frequented Walmart, Target, and Costco stores within a two-hour radius of my home. It also required I drove two hours from Milwaukee to Chicago to attend the two-day orientation. When I arrived, we received a brief tour of the T-Mobile corporate office, and then we got down to business. The first matter of business? Introductions.
Everyone went around the table introducing themselves and listing their impressive accolades as justification for why they were chosen. I kept thinking, “How did I even get chosen?” I was only ten days into being 22. I worked my way up to unofficially managing a premium retailer for Verizon inside of a dead mall, and I went to school for two years. Those were my top professional accomplishments. After meditating on it too long, it became my turn. I quickly realized there was no hyping it up, so I told the unprepared truth.
“Hi, my name is Omie — like you-owe-me-a-dollar. *pause for guaranteed chuckles* I got my start in customer service working at McDonalds when I was 17. From there I simultaneously worked three retail jobs all located in the same strip mall. Most recently, I’ve just came from working for Verizon where I was a team lead at a premium retailer. I maintained being in the top 50% of sellers every month. I enjoyed being able to quantify my accomplishments and I hope to do grow my skills as a salesperson even more with T-Mobile. I’m happy to be here.”
I had no idea how that was going to carry over, but I was glad it was over. I scanned all the other people on the team and then the management. After a brief silence, the director from T-Mobile lit up with a smile, “I really like what you did. There is something to take from what she said. She humbled herself and mentioned her first job at McDonalds and that’s how you reach sales people at Wal-Mart — by letting them know you can relate to them and meet them at their level. No one wants to be told what to do or talked down to. These workers do not earn commissions for selling phone plans, so the only motivation for them to sell T-Mobile over Verizon or anyother competitor is you.”
It is better to relate to people to get what you want.
In physics, there is a inverse correlation between the bond distance and energy needed to pull two atoms completely apart. The closer two atoms are to each other, the more energy you need to separate them. The same is also true for creating the atomic bond; the closer the two atoms are to each other, the minimum energy required to create a bond is lower. The more you can relate to someone on their level, the less energy you have to put in to win them over. It will happen more naturally.
That was a huge moment for me. I remember feeling worthy of being at the table and eager to succeed. A fire was lit under me that day that never extinguished. There was something so empowering and freeing about that idea when it came to sales because it leveled the playing field and gave me an equal opportunity at success. Experience, social class, race, appearance, wealth and whatever other factors that made me previously insecure became an insignificant factor to me going forward because I had willpower and motivation. I strongly believed that was all I needed.
In order to sell something, you don’t need gimmicks, certifications, or a schtick — just yourself.
Personality is the juxtaposition of energy and intent. In physics, you can use the magnitude of projection and the angle of force to determine an object’s trajectory, therefore your personality determines your trajectory in life. However, there is also a matter of friction and obstacles.
I had enough percipience to know I had better kept my eyes down on that table after what was said because the energy quickly shifted in the room. I could tell from my peripheral view, a few faces turned sour since I was the only one who received a compliment that day. Perhaps the director did that on purpose to evoke a little competition. Whatever the reason, I understood that life has a way of teaching multiple lessons in one moment. The last life lesson?
Not everyone dislikes you because you did something wrong — sometimes you did something right.
Wolfgang Pauli is one of the pioneers of quantum physics. I’m no quantum science expert, but I pick up articles here and there. He is responsible for the concept we now call Pauli repulsion force. In short, two electrons cannot occupy the same space. Their repulsion is proportional to the overlapping spreads of their existence. When an electron absorbs energy, it temporarily jumps to a shell further away from the nucleus, therefore increasing the atomic radius — otherwise known as the spread of its existence. In this situation, we were all electrons and the compliment the director paid me increased my spread of existence which in that point, temporarily overlapped the existence of others in the room.
The laws of physics are everywhere and in everything. Drawing connections and understanding how the patterns of nature repeat themselves has rewarded me with some interesting views on life and paradigm shifts as well. I truly believe things are to design, and it is my speculation that the magic of how we interact with the world around us is the result of billions and trillions of ones and zeroes. When so much can be logically explained, ask yourself, what else can be?
