Talking too much, not listening enough

     Have you ever had a conversation and immediately regretted everything you said, and wished you could go back and start the whole conversation over?  That happened to me last weekend.  I met a nice old couple, and we were introducing ourselves to each other, and I mentioned that I was a writer.  They said that they were writers, as well, and asked me about my work.

     Now, let me preface this next part with the fact that I don't get out much.  I'm like a stay-at-home mom.  I don't get to interact a lot with adults, so I get a little over-zealous when I actually get to have an intelligent conversation, especially when it's about writing because there aren't a lot of writers in the world.

     So, back to my little encounter.

     I was so excited about talking about what I do, I vomited all sorts of "me" info all over this nice old couple.  Now, I'm by no measure an accomplished author.  In other words, I don't have a lot to brag about.  I wouldn't say I was trying to brag, but I was so excited to talk about what I've been trying to do, that I kind of just took over the whole conversation.  At any rate, we had to do some stuff, and weren't able to talk again for a while after I just spewed my life story to this nice, long-suffering old couple.

     When we got done with our meeting, I came to my senses, a bit, and asked them what they wrote.  This nice old couple were George D. Durrant and Susan Easton Black.  Mr. Durrant was a BYU college professor, and has published over 50 books.  Mrs. Black was also a BYU college professor who has published over 20 books.

     I missed a huge opportunity.  Here were two well established, knowledgeable authors who could have told me all sorts of useful wisdom, and I talked about me...  I can't tell you how dumb I feel.

     First of all, I'm embarrassed that I've become a "Me Monster" as Brian Regan calls it.

     And second, I missed a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn something from people who actually know.

     So this week, for Thursday Truths Day, I have a humbled man's word of advice:  Listen first, then speak, and then listen again.