A trick for giving someone the greatest compliment and giving them the best day

Years ago, I read about a trick (although a trick might be a bit of a misnomer, you aren’t really trying to deceive anyone) about giving someone the best compliment. Basically it involves two steps, an offhanded question that you ask and a lot of time.

1. The offhand question

In a conversation with a very good friend or partner of yours, ask them this simple question: If they could have one sentence on their tombstone, something that they could be remembered for, what would that sentence be? Next, pay very close attention to what they say.

For example, they might say “I want to be remembered as a great father, husband, son and brother” — you can surmise that family is very important to this person. Or they might say “I want to be remembered for being extremely generous, kind and giving with my time” — you can guess that this person wants to give his time and energy to making others feel good. Although these are just examples, you can see that there’s something deeper in the statement — a deeper value that you can derive from what the person wants to be remembered for.

1. Wait

Keeping that statement and value in the back of your mind, wait for a few months or a year (longer and it may not be as effective). Wait for…