Six Ways to Get Respect

“I don’t get no respect, no respect at all, I tell ya,” said Rodney Dangerfield. You probably know the feeling. We all want respect, at home and at work. If only Dangerfield had been privy to the wisdom of Meryl Runion, author of Speak Strong and Power Phrases, he might have received the respect he so ardently sought, and wound up as a butcher or barber instead of an iconic comedian. Which raises the question of whether getting what you want is always a good thing. Anyway, Runion says our biggest obstacles are the naysayers we encounter every day. “Be prepared for the wet blankets, gloom and doomers, and buzz killers.” They stand to undermine you and talk you right out of achieving your dreams even before you begin. Dangerfield’s life—or at least his comedy routine—was filled with such folk, from his psychiatrist and doctor to his wife and parents. Runion has come up with six things you can do that will help you get respect and recognition for your personal and professional action plans. Here’s the list, coupled with some of Dangerfield’s best lines.