Abundance Is Possible

My first real business was a deli in New Jersey. It was my college. Thinking back, it was that experience that laid my foundation for everything else in terms of relating to people.   

It was a wonderful little neighborhood store, the kind where we didn’t accept credit cards. But for “special” people, we would offer store credit so that family members, both young and old, could come in and utter their favorite words, 

“Put it on my bill.” 

There is nothing more essential you can give to a customer to create loyalty than a healthy serving of the feeling of importance. It is the most addictive drug around. 

When you get the reputation of making people generally feel better, you will find that you will collect lifelong friends and customers. Be warned, they will call you at all hours of the night. 

With that as the backdrop, let me tell you about a great call I got last week from one such childhood friend. He has been using me as a sounding board while going through a rough patch with his crazy wife. 

He called and said, 

“Everything I touch turns to gold.”  

Isn’t that awesome! 

Business is going well, he is accepting all sorts of invitations with new groups of friends, and it is fun to get out of bed in the morning again. 

He told me that he has perfected the skill of not remembering all the wretchedly awful things his wife says to, and about, him. I mean, he literally does not let that stuff enter his memory banks! 

When he told me what he did to get to this state of mind, I knew that he had officially broken open the door to enter the Tip of The Week room. 

As it turned out, I was not the only person, or tool, that he was intentionally using to feel special. He replaced his daytime radio with motivational tapes; not just avoided, but replaced! He replaced the TV news and Sunday football with history videos of the good guys winning. 

He even replaced his morning ritual of lying in bed thinking about all his problems with reading the Bible. This is from a Jewish guy, I might add. 

Here’s the tip: You get to choose the type of person you want to be. Be special and get all the positive benefits that come with it. Others will notice the change before you do. And then one day, out of the blue, you will scream at the top of your lungs, 

“Everything I touch turns to gold!” And you’ll believe it, too!