You’ve likely heard people publicize the fact that they were fans of a popular musical artist before that artist went mainstream. Prior to all the radio plays and the fixation of fickle recent fans, this particular individual was there through the thick and thin. They not only know every song on every album, they can also cite unreleased tracks and the one off singles.

These people seem to take pride in being interested in a particular topic before anyone else was. The idea that seems to drive this feeling of theirs, is the fact that they were early investors in what turned out to be a “good” thing.

Akin to investing in a stock of a company nobody thought would do well, these people perceive themselves to be winners at the current time.

They invested early, but unlike investing in stocks, they are not rewarded for their investment. They thereby seem to take it upon themselves to remind others that they were early investors in things others later perceived as good. Much to their dismay, their reminders are often deemed to be annoying to others’ ears; but that’s a topic for another article.

This article aims to explore the idea of playing into people’s desires to be early fans of good things.

Rather than being annoyed at their attempts to be labeled as pioneer fanatics, give them what they want. It seems that these individuals like those who accept and admire their position of being early investors. If such an individual is an important person in your personal or professional life, being willing to label them an early fan may work to improve your dealings with that person.

Remember Who Introduces You to Good Things

Sharing our interests and knowledge with others is a sensitive undertaking. We risk our interests and ideas being rejected and mocked. We risk the things we deem to be important to be minimized by those we share them with.

On the other side of that same coin, being rewarded for sharing our interests does well to make us like the people we share our interests with. We develop connections with the individuals who like the same movies, the same games, and the same foods as we do. We unlock new points of conversation with such individuals, and introduce a deeper level to the interactions we have with them.

Make it a habit to cite who introduced you to the things you love and enjoy.

Particularly, allow the specific people who did introduce you to the good things in life to know about their act of doing so.

Thank your friend for introducing you to a new artist, and express gratitude to your coworker for suggesting an alternative way to fix the leak in your roof.

Label people to be earlier adopters of good ideas than yourself. Placing yourself second in the search for those specific good ideas seems like a loss on the surface, but it is arguable that you gain more from a social perspective.

If nothing more, the people who you label to be early adopters of good ideas will be willing to share more good ideas with you.

In addition to enjoying your presence more than with the ones who don’t recognize their early adopter status, they may even begin trusting you more. By labeling them as effective holders of information, they may go on to trust you with information they haven’t told anyone else before.

Remember Whose Ideas Were Rejected First, Only to Be Implemented Later

The only thing better than being an early fan of a thing others have grown to love, is being an early fan of something others hated first.

A common example of this circumstance is the act of presenting new ideas at workplace meetings.

There are times when people think so far ahead, that they see all the pitfalls in other ideas before others do. In doing so, they come up with an idea which others will eventually end up implementing without yet knowing.

The reception to those ideas is often negative, as they don’t seem to be the best ideas out there to excavate at the current time. As these intelligent individuals sit and wallow in the early negative reception they received, the others continue onward to finding what they think to be a good idea.

A day, or month, may go by, and the very idea that was rejected prior may be the one others land on. Far too often, the people who suggested that same idea, only to be shut down, are not recognized in being pioneers.

Make practice of being in tune who whose ideas, interests, and actions are negatively perceived at first only to then be quietly accepted and enjoyed. These people often feel alone in their attempts to propagate what they believe to be true.

Publicize their early efforts, and label them to be the original owners of the good ideas others first rejected then accepted. Partner up with these individuals, and show respect to their ideas at face value down the line. In presenting yourself to be understanding of their efforts and position, they will come to like and trust you.

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