Last night I stayed up and watched Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue win gold - their 5th olympic medal. I don’t claim to know much about the sport, but I do know how watching these two Canadian icons made men feel – Proud and happy.
I found myself smiling so wide as the pair melded twenty years of passion into one of the most beautiful displays of strength and grace I’ve ever witnessed. Thanks to them, I went to bed smiling. It reminded me of a story from my past.
April, 2013: So here I am, sitting in the Denver Airport enjoying a nice Thai lunch. This morning came early, much earlier than most. I was up at 2:30 am for an early morning flight out of Detroit. My final destination is North Dakota for their annual State Students’ Council Conference and State National Honor Society Conference. I am not the biggest fan of traveling; it’s probably because I used to do it a lot. I used to be on the road 4 months of the year. Living in hotels, eating at restaurants and lots of sitting (airplanes, cars, gates, etc.) I used to get grumpy being on the road for more than a week. I would miss my kids, the comfort of my own bed, home cooked meals and the familiarity of my local haunts.
One thing I did to battle the down times was to try and bring people up. I made it my goal to make as many people as I could laugh, feel good or simply smile. I tried until I heard someone saying, “You made my day!” I would accept any version of that statement.
Today, while waiting in line to check into my United Airlines flight, I asked the agent if I could tell her a joke. She looked kind of semi-interested. So I proceeded.
“Why do I Easter Eggs hide?” I asked.
She replied, “Why?”
“Because they’re a little chicken.” I answered.
She laughed out loud and said “Helen! Come hear this! This is your type of pun!”
I then rhymed off four more jokes. By the end of my “set”, I had 4 employees around laughing and sharing their equally cheesy jokes.
As Dorothy (the gate agent) handed me my tickets, she smiled and said “I upgraded you sweetie, no charge.”
When I asked why? She simply replied “Because you made me smile! There are far too many grumpy people on the planet these days.”
It doesn’t take much to change someone’s day, yet the vast majority of people don’t even try: Instead we keep to ourselves, judge others without hearing a word spoken from their mouths, look down, or avoid eye contact.
I have a simple rule: If you want to change the world, start by changing yourself.
I challenge you to be kind today, make someone’s day. If not for them, for yourself.
In Leadership,
