The Economics of Kindness

GET A NEW ADDITION EACH WEEK - SUBSCRIBE HERE

Follow me on LinkedIn

Key Takeaway

? Treat people right. Take care of people and they will take care of you.

? The the Economics of Kindness (power of treating people right) is universal and can be tapped into by anyone who is willing to put forth the effort.

DID YOU KNOW?

Brad Aronson is the author of Human Kind: Changing the World One Small Act of Kindness At a Time? Deepak Chopra MD (official) called it "An elegant book of love in action." Forbes magazine called it, "The most uplifting and life-affirming book in years."

It has been my utter privilege to not only read this masterpiece of literature multiple time, but I've been honored to get to know Brad and now have what I consider a total blessing, the opportunity to call him friend.

With that said, some may feel I am biased in my opinion of his book. I will admit knowing Brad has made me like his book even more. However, I had already embraced it before I ever had the chance to meet Brad. I read it and felt totally uplifted and energized to go MAD (make a difference). Being the kindness advocate I am, I must admit I was a little jealous because Brad captured and wrote the book about kindness that I wish I had written.

If you hate good, uplifting, heart-grabbing, truly transformational kindness stories that suck you into the reading vortex until you finish the book, then this book is not for you.

If the opposite is true, I can't recommend it highly enough.

What's even more amazing is that Brad has sold nearly 100,000 books and all the royalties go to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America .

Well worth the read!

When we moved to Aurora, Colorado in 2001 and needed a mechanic to look at our little Honda Civic, a co-worker highly recommended a man named Eddie Turner. She had nothing but good things to say about Eddie.

Once I met Eddie in person, I could understand why. Eddie was easy-going, cheerful, and always kind. And, as I learned, unfortunately and fortunately, over time, he did great car work and was scrupulously honest. The need to get the car worked on was unfortunate as it nearly always meant spending money we hadn't planned on spending. The fact that I had a great mechanic who had also become a friend, made those visits a good experience.

As I look back on that time in Colorado, and think about Eddie, a few things come to mind.

First, I remember the number of times when he could have taken advantage of me and charged me higher prices and didn't.

Second, I think of the many times when he did something minor and didn't charge me anything.

Finally, I remember his response when I asked him how he got all his business - he was always packed with work. "It's all word of mouth," he said.

"What? You don't advertise at all?"

"Nope. I've been here twenty-five years, and I've never spent a dime on advertising."

"How have you kept things going, especially during economic downturns?"

"I have one motto," he said. "Treat people right. Take care of them, and they'll take care of you. So far, it's worked."

That my friends, is a powerful statement.

"Treat people right. Take care of them, and they'll take care of you."

In following his motto, Eddie tapped into the true power of doing the right thing, voluntarily, and it paid huge dividends.

When you treat people right, and take care of them, they treat you right and take care of you. Is that always 100% true? Of course not. But, as I've learned over time, it is nearly always true.

The Economics of Kindness

Eddie's motto is what I call an example of the economics of kindness. When you do the right thing, because it is the right thing, voluntarily. This is a power, an asset, that is universal, and anyone who will, can tap into it.

When you see those words, what comes to mind? For me, they open the floodgates of my mind

Imagine a world without war. What if the people fighting started to see each other as human beings who deserve to be valued and appreciated? How would a de-escalation in fighting impact military spending, costs for healthcare, and all the other costs associated with warfare? Millions of dollars would be freed up. What could now be done with that money instead?

Imagine what would happen If people started focusing on learning and embracing behaviors to show value and appreciation for ourselves and others. What impact would that have on alcohol and drug abuse? Think about the millions, perhaps billions of dollars that could be saved in healthcare costs, lowered need for space in prisons, less divorce due to less violence and family unrest. What could be accomplished with the money that was freed? How would society be impacted if there were more good people with sober and useful minds to contribute to the betterment of society?

How would complete honesty at work impact organizations? How would greater loyalty due to greater trust impact the well-being, productivity, and collaboration in an organization? Imagine the impact of having millions of dollars to spend in other ways, rather than on recruiting, toxic environment challenges, employee turnover, or quiet quitting where people become warm bodies in a chair doing the minimum possible.

What would happen is people from differing political views actually focused on finding solutions that will benefit everyone, putting people over politics? How would that impact the negative divide that is currently only getting wider? What effect would greater civility have on our mental well-being, on our public health?

The list of what if questions and answers indicating economic impacts could go on for a long time.

It's not rocket science, my friends. It is something that anyone can start working on today.

Will we, or won't we? That is the question each individual can only answer.

Until next time - Embrace Kindness. It does everybody good.

Randall McNeely is a passionate advocate for kindness and the transformative power it can have in our lives.

He is the author of multiple books including The Kindness Givers' Formula 2.0: A 5-Step Guide to Reaching Hearts, Inspiring Change, and Healing the World Through Love, and The Kindness Library Volume 1: Inspiring True Stories of the Transformative Power of Kindness.

Randy speaks about and teaches how to lead with kindness to bring out the best in others and get fantastic results.

Reach out today to book Randy for your next event.

An easy read (just over and hour) with a simple formula and practical information for ingraining the daily intentional habit of kindness giving. Plus, several heart grabbing stories of kindness in action. Get your copy here.

A heart-warming collection of 12 stories giving glimpses of the transformative power of love through kindness. A forty-five minute uplift you won't want to miss. Get your copy here.

A handy journal for recording daily experiences with kindness that can be referenced over and over again.

Sponsors:

The Kindness Hero Shop

Comfortable T-Shirts and Sturdy Mugs designed to help you unleash your inner-kindness hero. Stop by The Kindness Hero Shop today and get your kindness gear!

Kindness Worldwide has a mission and many initiatives that are focused on bringing a kindness to communities worldwide including Kindness Week, Champions of Kindness and Kindness CoTails.

Stop by their website to learn more about how you can help your city can establish World Kindness Week and become a City of Kindness.