I started reading about negotiation out of sheer need. I was tired of getting screwed over or submitting to less than I was worth out of fear. I wanted to reduce my risk when making agreements with people and get more value from the deals I made. I was in a desperate place regarding finances, so every dollar counted more than ever for me. It also led to me learning how not to make promises I couldn’t keep; I learned how to be more true to my word and pace myself when it came to promising stuff to others; I also learned how essential time expectations are when making deals. I think negotiation skills are as useful in my personal life as they are when I’m on the phone with a business trying to get compensated for a disappointing or defective product or service. Negotiation also helps me know when something is a good deal, even if it is a product or service I’m buying that promises a discount or incentive. It’s a knowledge set that has been paying dividends whether I can do Win-Win negotiations or find myself in a Zero Sum situation where I must win the negotiation.