It’s the time of year when grads or career changers come flooding in to try and figure out what’s next. Some are diving headlong into the pool, others are dipping a toe and hoping for remote work, or for those students who have been through the challenging times of the Pandemic, they may be taking a bit of time to rest, relax and then engage.
On the business side, teams stills seem to be rife with opportunity, especially for those who will give it a try at sales, but as one colleague said, “Only if this generation understands they can’t just work from home, you need to come in and meet people, shake hands, smile, to make this work. It may seem old fashioned but we need to be around each other, and Zoom is only part of the sales tools.”
I agree wholeheartedly, because it’s the discovery, the curiosity, the listening and learning, that gives us perspective and the ability to grow. Case in point, was this past Monday morning in Washington.
I love getting up and out early and wandering a bit in search of coffee especially in big cities. You run across the most interesting people between good coffee and the sun rising, no agenda, just give it a shot and see what and who you find.
This time as I collected thoughts for a day full of meetings, I wandered into a just opened Starbucks on 15th and K Streets, and there across the street on the corner, was an older man in a lawn chair, with his own coffee and a bright smile, saying a loud “Good Morning” to everyone coming by. It wasn’t alarming or disarming, it was actually nice. So I got my cold brew and sat outside and watched and listened for a while. He high fived young people, regulars stopped by for a wave, bus drivers and police knew to honk and say hi, and he kept on his chosen message for over a half hour, as the DC heat began rising. As I headed back to my hotel I crossed the street just after seven, and the gentleman gave me a second good morning and asked how my Starbucks was…now he was curious too, so I asked him his name.
He said “I’m Larry The Good Morning Man, I’m here every day to wish everyone a great day, it’s my job.” I asked Larry if I could take his picture and he said yes, but only if I wished five people good morning afterwards. Done.
Larry made my day. I went back and did a quick google search and found the story of Larry…there every weekday rain or shine, Vietnam vet, once homeless, who has taken on a mission in life to make those around him smile just for a few minutes, what a wonderful job.
It reminded me of another instance I had in Madison Square Park a few years ago. There was a man who was homeless washing what was a pretty nasty bruise on his leg, and whistling all the time. I as taken by his upbeatness and went to give him some money as a thank you for showing positivity. He looked up and me smiled and said :Why do you think I need money, take it and give it to a cause, I’m Ok, and my name is the professor, and if you want to do something for me give me a smile and pass the smile along to someone else who needs it.”
Great advice, and a reminder that the little things are so important as we go about our days.
Both Larry and The Professor reminded me of the great Jimmy Buffet song “It’s My Job,” which explained so well how people with what we may think are the most menial and toughest of jobs find ways to bring value.
It’s my job to be different than the rest
and that’s enough reason to go for me
It’s my job to be better than the best
and that’s a tough break for me
It’s my job to be cleaning up this mess
and that’s enough reason to go for me
It’s my job to be better than the best
and that makes the day for me
Now no job is perfect and the ones we start out doing sometimes don’t get us where we want to go at first, sometimes the path chooses you. But making the best out of what your job is, brining value and as we have said before Getting Stuff Done while learning and listening along the way can get us through the valleys and over the peaks.
Just ask Larry. It’s his job.
