Pause to Pay it Forward

Pause to Pay it Forward

Several years ago, I pulled into a Kroger Fuel Center to fill up my car with gas. As I got out of my vehicle, the man filling up his truck in front of me said, “If you aren’t in a hurry, I’d like to fill up your car when I am finished.”?

To say I was delightfully surprised and shocked would be an understatement!?

I was having breakfast in a diner in Wichita, Kansas a few years ago. During a conversation with the restaurant manager while I ate,?I told him how much I loved visiting Wichita. When I went to pay for my meal, the manager told me it was already taken care of and that I owed nothing. When I pressed him, he told me that a regular customer had heard that it was my first time in Wichita and wanted me to leave with a good impression.

I was already in a good mood but left the restaurant encouraged by the generosity I had received.?

Last year, my wife had the idea of keeping a quart jar in our kitchen and whenever any of us had spare change or a few dollars we would put money in the jar. At Christmas, she gave it to a man in our community who cooks dinner for those less fortunate every week.?

I thought about these things when I read a story my friend Joe Calloway posted on LinkedIn about seeing an employee of a wine store cleaning the pollen off a customer’s windshield because he did not think it was safe to drive a car with thick pollen covering the glass.?

Right after I read Joe’s post, I read another LinkedIn post by Nate Randle, CEO of Gabb phone, who offered to pay $50 dollars for the first three people who ordered from his sister’s flower shop. He also regularly helps single parents find new jobs by allowing them to post their employment needs on his LinkedIn page.??

There are many creative ways to show kindness to others. You could help your elderly neighbors with yardwork. You could pick up liter. You could anonymously pay for a meal for someone at a restaurant or coffee shop. You can share your time, resources, and attention with those in need. ?

Whether you are the giver or receiver of a kind deed, the impact is significant. Selfless giving has the power to alter the course of someone’s life. Sometimes we will never know how many others benefited from a simple kind act. And of course it feels good to give to others.

Good Friday seems like a good day to remember the importance of doing a good deed for someone else.?

Jim Carpenter

Musician - Cartoonist

11 个月

Hi, Tim. Another great post. The best way to establish a good and productive relationship with anyone is to create value for the other one first. I have found this approach to be effective; it starts things out on a positive note.

Victoria Cowart, CPM, NAAEI Faculty

Experienced educator, sales director, and former operator facilitating educational sessions for associations & companies.

11 个月

Thank you for sharing this Tim Richardson. We completed what is likely our 25th Bunny Hop this week at the country's oldest orphanage, and tying all of this together with a bow like you did just makes me smile and grateful for friends like you, and all the Bunny's supporters, who paws ?? to make a difference!

Tim Richardson

The Power of the Pause/Exceptional Service keynotes, workshops, and panel discussion facilitator. Speaker, author, husband, father, outdoor enthusiast, and aspiring jazz pianist.

11 个月
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Tim Richardson

The Power of the Pause/Exceptional Service keynotes, workshops, and panel discussion facilitator. Speaker, author, husband, father, outdoor enthusiast, and aspiring jazz pianist.

11 个月

Joe Calloway and Nate Randle thanks for helping to inspire today's post!

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