"When people are like each other they tend to like each other"
About this Quote
Robbins lands on a blunt social truth with the efficiency of a slogan: similarity lubricates belonging. The line is almost comically obvious, which is precisely why it works in the self-help universe he helped industrialize. It’s built to be repeated in a seminar, nodded at in a sales training, and carried out of the room as a portable rule. The intent isn’t to unveil a mystery; it’s to give you an actionable lever. If you want influence, rapport, intimacy, deal flow: signal common ground.
The subtext is more interesting than the surface. Beneath the folksy phrasing sits a transactional model of human connection. Liking becomes less a spark and more a system: align your language, mirror their energy, emphasize shared values, and the relationship warms. That’s classic Robbins, whose broader project treats emotion and identity as things you can steer with technique, not merely feel.
Context matters because the quote brushes up against a darker cultural reality: similarity doesn’t just create comfort; it also powers cliques, echo chambers, and exclusion. In politics and online life, “people like each other” has become an algorithmic mandate, sorting us into tribes of the familiar. Robbins isn’t endorsing that, but he is describing the same bias that marketers and campaigners exploit: we trust what resembles us.
What makes the line rhetorically effective is its tautology. It’s so plain it feels like common sense, and common sense is the highest currency in motivational culture. The risk is that it can flatten difference into a problem to be managed. The challenge, if you take it seriously, is to use the insight as a bridge rather than a filter: find likeness without demanding sameness.
The subtext is more interesting than the surface. Beneath the folksy phrasing sits a transactional model of human connection. Liking becomes less a spark and more a system: align your language, mirror their energy, emphasize shared values, and the relationship warms. That’s classic Robbins, whose broader project treats emotion and identity as things you can steer with technique, not merely feel.
Context matters because the quote brushes up against a darker cultural reality: similarity doesn’t just create comfort; it also powers cliques, echo chambers, and exclusion. In politics and online life, “people like each other” has become an algorithmic mandate, sorting us into tribes of the familiar. Robbins isn’t endorsing that, but he is describing the same bias that marketers and campaigners exploit: we trust what resembles us.
What makes the line rhetorically effective is its tautology. It’s so plain it feels like common sense, and common sense is the highest currency in motivational culture. The risk is that it can flatten difference into a problem to be managed. The challenge, if you take it seriously, is to use the insight as a bridge rather than a filter: find likeness without demanding sameness.
Quote Details
| Topic | Friendship |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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