Breaking all the rules:
Today I am breaking all the rules. All the rules about writing blogs, using pictures, headings, how to tell a story, and everything else you are supposed to do to create engagement and capture your readers.
And here’s why: I just want to share a story about something that happened today. I don’t want to edit it, make it sound pretty, although there is a short lesson attached. So here it is.
My 15 year old daughter was driving my son and I to my other daughter’s volleyball tournament today. It was raining, however she was doing just fine. We decided to grab some lunch before we went to the tournament at a favorite local chain.
Now, my daughter is a very cautious driver and was waiting for traffic to open up so she could turn left into the parking lot. She had already missed one opportunity and a line was forming behind us waiting for us to turn.
Just as the way cleared and she started forward, a young guy in an SUV darted in front of our car from the parking lot on our right, directly into the place we were going. My daughter hit the brakes and I threw my hands up in an “are you kidding me?” gesture. The guy looked directly at me and gave me a similar gesture in return.
To add insult to injury, we didn’t make the turn and the car behind us laid on the horn. Fortunately, shortly thereafter we were able to turn in to the parking lot. As we pulled around to the drive-thru line, guess who was directly in front of us? That’s right, the same guy.
Yeah, I was not a happy dude at the moment, but I was with my kids, so I just moved on and ordered our food.
Then, when we are about to pay, the cashier says, “the guy in front of you paid for yours and he said to say ‘Sorry'”
WHAT?!?
Instantly, my attitude changed from frustration to gratitude. Boom. Why?
Because he took responsibility for his behavior.
He could have done nothing. It wasn’t that big of a deal, but he took the extra step to apologize and make a little (unnecessary) restitution.
I call that taking leadership.
[reminder]Have you ever had that happen? Share your story with us.[/reminder]
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