Success Quote by Bo Bennett

Bennett is selling a form of decency that still thinks in terms of transactions. The opening clause, "not just those from whom you want something", names the ugliest truth in networking culture: attention is often a currency, rationed out to people who can advance your goals. By calling that out directly, he preempts cynicism and tries to rebrand social ambition as character. The line works because it acknowledges the audience’s inner calculator, then asks them to outgrow it.

The subtext is a corrective to a particular business-era moral hazard: the performative warmth of the hustle economy, where curiosity becomes a tactic and kindness gets optimized. "Show interest" is framed as behavior, not as feeling. You can do it on purpose. That’s pragmatic, and it’s also revealing: the advice is for people who might not naturally default to broad empathy, or who have learned to narrow their attention to high-yield relationships.

"Making people feel important" carries a whiff of Dale Carnegie, but Bennett adds a stabilizer: it’s not just effective, it’s "the right thing to do". That last phrase is doing reputational work. It tries to separate genuine regard from manipulation, even as the preceding language admits how easily the two can blur. The intent isn’t to romanticize human connection; it’s to expand the circle of who counts when you’re building a life, a company, or a brand. In a world that rewards strategic charm, he’s arguing that integrity starts with where you spend your interest.