by Beth DeLemos

My dad is a big fan of Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People, and as a kid, it seemed like he was always grooming us to be good employees/volunteers and overall a great person. Countless dinners were spent imparting wisdom to me and my twin sister & my brother, and I thought I’d share some of it with you. Dad always said…

Don’t be just another average employee who clocks in a few minutes late and clocks out a few minutes early, who just “does their job” for the most part because Anybody can do that!

Be EXTRAORDINARY. Brainstorm; provide vision and ideas; and celebrate the growth and success of your organization. If you see a need, fill it (gracefully of course). When you go to your boss with a problem, bring a solution, too, one with some thought and reliable research behind it.

Don’t lie – EVER!! Always be honest but measured. Our society has lost the art of holding ourselves accountable to always being honest while maintaining professional decorum. If you are juggling too much, and you are concerned and stressed about dropping everything, don’t say, “No sweat; I got it.” Ask for help prioritizing the jobs or projects. Then you have their blessing to rework your timing. On the other hand, no one needs to know the gross details of your illness, so just say it was difficult… and that you are glad to be back. Don’t be crass. It’s unnecessary, and it doesn’t belong in the workplace.

And finally, be a blessing and a joy to work with by observing those you work for and learning how to truly please them. If you can bring light to their day rather than being another problem to deal with, you will truly be invaluable and irreplaceable.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: The Winn Group has not received any compensation for writing this post. We have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that we have mentioned. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

We’ve all seen those insurance commercials where one kind act passes from one person to the next. You know the ones – a man helps a woman get her baby and stroller onto a bus, then the woman picks up and returns someone’s wallet when they drop it, and on and on. It makes us wonder, can kindness really be spread like a virus?

In 2008, one act of kindness turned viral when Carolee Hazard paid for the groceries of a stranger. Jenni Ware was that stranger, stranded at the grocery checkout having lost her wallet. Jenni later sent Carolee a check to repay her for the $207 bill but rounded it up to $300 as a thank you, suggesting Carolee use the extra $93 for a massage or something nice for herself. Carolee posted the story on Facebook, asking her friends what they would do with the extra money. “Give it to charity!” they replied.

Carolee chose to match Jenni’s gift and donate the $186 to a local food bank, since the original event had occurred in a grocery store. Inspired by the story, friends also began donating $93 of their own, sharing the story with their Facebook friends, who shared it with their friends, and since that time nearly $120,000 has been donated to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley! And thus was born The 93 Dollar Club.

Kindness, particularly unselfishly motivated kindness, is a powerful thing. Before that one event at the grocery store, all those people could have been giving to the food bank, but they didn’t. Why not? Was it because they were unkind or uncaring? Obviously not, or they never would have given. It was simply because they were uninspired. One woman’s kind act reminded them of the kindness they were capable of and inspired them to act.

We know that your organization is doing good work motivated by kindness and love, so get out there and inspire others, and let us help you. As the 93 Dollar Club proves, people want to spread kindness, they just need you to show them where it’s needed.

So, tell your story, share your numbers, and be the inspiration you are!

*See more about The 93 Dollar Club here*

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Disclosure of Material Connection: The Winn Group has not received any compensation for writing this post. We have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that we have mentioned. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

God goes to great lengths to up-end our misconceptions of mercy
by Guest Blogger – Melissa Riddle Chalos

I’m a ‘glass half empty’ kind of girl. ‘Skeptic’ is written on the hard-drive of my psyche, with a melancholy tune hardwired into my DNA. I’d like to say I wish for a more enthusiastic disposition, but I never really have.

That said, my life has been a series of signs and miracles, jarring little revelations from God, mud for my blurry-blue eyes, always asking, always answering: ‘See the beauty in this life I’ve given you? Look. Right. Here.’

The most recent, glorious speck of mud looked just like this:

Once a month, I deliver meals on wheels to elderly people in one of Nashville’s lower income housing projects. One of my deliveries is to Mr. Warren* an older gentleman, much like I imagine my father would be if he were still on the planet: an alcoholic Vietnam vet, a chain smoking, always-shirtless widower who, before he lost his wife, buried his only son.

This time last year, the only joy in life he had was in the form of a feisty, yellow cockatiel named, ‘Lady.’ She sat on his shoulder and ‘talked’ to him, when he had no one else. But the bird died. And with the bird, what was left of Mr. Warren’s hope.

Now granted, I learned all of this over the past four years, in five-minute increments at Mr. Warren’s front door. But you can know a lot in five minutes, if you have an ounce of curiosity.

The last time I spoke with the old man was in November. He was barely there, but I gave him his meal, and said, ‘You know, Mr. Warren, I really think it’s time for you to consider getting another bird.’ He schluffed off my suggestion with a ‘Nah, it’s no good.’

But then last Wednesday, God washed the mud off my eyes.

Two months after our last encounter, I returned to deliver Mr. Warren’s meal, and as I was heading up the sidewalk, he opened the door wide and said, “Come meet my ‘Pretty Girl,’” his eyes all lit up. “I got her on the 4th! Isn’t she a beauty?!”

She certainly was. In fact, you could spend your entire life counting Puffins and Quetzals and African Crowned Cranes and never see a more beautiful bird than Mr. Warren’s ‘Pretty Girl.’ Because she softened his stone heart and shined life back into his eyes.

And once again, God has revealed himself in the humblest of circumstances, shattering our misconceptions of mercy, bolstering our understanding of grace.

Once again, hope takes flight on the tiniest of wings.

*not his real name

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Disclosure of Material Connection: The Winn Group has not received any compensation for writing this post. We have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that we have mentioned. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”