Publishers Clearing House Anyone?
I love surprising people. If I could figure out how to make a living from it, I would do it in a heartbeat. So far I have come up with being the person who delivers the check to the Publishers Clearing House winners and being a Helpful Honda Person!
In a world filled with so much uncertainty and upheaval, I think we all need to believe that sometimes people will go out of their way to make our life better. It doesn’t happen every day, but when it happens, it can change our perspective instantly. In times like these, we need to remember how it made us feel so we can summon up that feeling when things are hard.
Out of Business
Right after I graduated from college, my significant other bought me a half hour massage for Valentine’s Day. Months passed before I finally called to book the massage. Unfortunately, the spa was out of business.
I really wanted that massage so I called other spas in the area with a similar name. I knew that the odds were very low but I was determined to see if I could track someone down who knew more information about the closed spa.
Are You Kidding Me?
After calling several spas, a woman who owned her own massage company told me that she would honor the gift certificate because it was a gift and I should get the massage that I was promised.
I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was too good to be true but that didn’t stop me from showing up for the massage. She was warm and lovely. Instead of the 30 minute massage, she gifted me with a free 60 minute massage!
To this day when I think of that woman, I have an overwhelming sense of gratitude. She was kind and generous when she didn’t have to be. Was she hoping I would book another massage? Probably and I did book several more sessions with her. However, I believe she genuinely wanted to do something wonderful for me.
Box Tops Bonanza
This school year, I volunteered to lead our Box Tops program at my son and daughter’s elementary school. Our goal for the year is $100 and in the first few weeks of the school year, I bought more cereal than I usually buy in a year! I had cereal boxes in the pantry, in the game closet and in the guest room closet. My husband was convinced I had lost my mind. I can’t say I blamed him!
To reach our goal, our school community would have to purchase 1000 Box Top products if we didn’t take advantage of any of the bonuses. That is a lot of cereal, mac and cheese and granola bars! I joined a Box Tops group on Facebook to ask a question about cereal bars (it sounds like I lead a very exciting life, right?) and to figure out how in the world we could make $100 this year.
A woman named Tawanna answered my questions and proceeded to share more information than I could ever imagine. Then she called me to explain the magic of the Box Tops Locker Game, purchased graphics of our mascot for our flyers and continued to encourage me for months. To be clear, I have never met this woman and she lives on the other side of the country. Because of her generosity, our school has made almost $8500 from Box Tops this year! All because she wanted our elementary school to succeed.
My Challenge To You
Life can be really hard. But it can also be surprisingly amazing when people take a moment to make someone else’s life better. I challenge you to be that person at least once this week. Not only will you make someone else feel special but you will know that you made a difference in someone’s life.
I love seeing the look on someone’s face when they are genuinely surprised. Bringing people unexpected joy by surprising people is addictive. Try it!
Always a good encouraging read!