What would you do if you found $4,200?

Have you ever found a lot of money? I am not talking about finding a ten- or twenty-dollar bill behind a bench. I am talking more about meaningful cash like thousands of dollars.

This past veteran’s day while having lunch at a local restaurant I ran into this dilemma. After needing to go to the bathroom I found on the floor a bank envelope. Upon inspection I found $4,200 plus in it.

After counting it twice and realizing that this is for real, “someone has lost this”. A lot runs through ones mind. At first this might feel like Christmas has come early, but the reality is that you really do not know whose money this is, the purpose for it, the impact it has to them or the people around them.

For me it became a very simple thing- just do the right thing. Get the money to the rightful owner.

A good plan helps

There are many things that can go into a plan. Also many plans can still have the same outcome. If there is one thing I learned from my time in the military is that there are a few components to a good plan what includes the following:

Determine where you are. This is harder than it looks. Getting an accurate picture of any situation is key. There are many factors that should go into consideration. Some of these factors will be straight forward, others might not be as obvious. Just remember, it is about getting a clear understanding of the situation.

Identify what's important. Focus on where you where you want to end up. From this analysis, you can determine the priority issues. A.K.A those issues so significant to the overall well-being that they require your full and immediate attention.

Define what you must achieve. Define the expected objectives that clearly state what your must achieve to address the priority issues.

Review. Review. Review. It’s not over. It’s never over. Till you have reached the desired outcome. To ensure the plan performs as designed, you must hold yourself accountable, review the process, and refine as necessary.

In the case of the found money

At first I had a hard time figuring out where to begin. I knew I wanted to get the money back to the rightful owner, but how?

Figuring out where I am. I searched to see if we could get clues from my surroundings. The money was in a bank slip, but that by itself was meaning less. I checked for a receipt inside the envelope, but only found the money. I looked around to see if there was any individual that was panicked. However, that did not work out. Then I thought I will just turn it over to the restaurant, but then what happens if the money does not make it to the person.

Know what is important to you. I wanted to make sure that the money returned to the right person. The was no reason to believe the restaurant if given the money would not give it back to the correct person, but there was also no quarantine and for me getting it to the rightful owner what I needed to achieve.

Know what you need to achieve. I felt at this point, the best option forward was just to turn it over to the police.

In the end I left the restaurant with the money. I had a business trip that I was leaving for. I had several outside factors that needed attention. We had an issue with our heat in our house and I need to be back home when the service person was going to be their.

The next morning I left my house for a whirlwind trip. I needed to be in NYC for 9:30 am and 3:30 pm for a meeting in Philly. FYI- from my house with morning traffic it takes 4 hours on a good day to reach NYC. Just do the math. I spent the day doing several meetings and after a long day and two cities need to head back home to CT.

I planned to take the money to the police Wednesday morning first thing, but before I was able to do that my wife saw a news article talking about a Veteran who lost $4,200 dollars at the Angie's a local pizza place in mystic CT.

Review. The funny things about a plan is they are just that. As more information comes in. Plans need to be updated. My wife sent me a article in a text to inform me that she thinks she knows who's money it is.

The article continued to outline how Donovan an Army Veteran said he went to the bathroom inside the restaurant at some point and came back out to realize his back pocket was empty.

"As we were leaving, we went to the paint store right down the road and as soon as we got there, I went in my pocket and I’m like oh no," Donovan added.

Donovan owned a painting company and that money was a deposit for a contract.

At that point I knew we found our person. Inside the article there was an email address. Tuesday was a very long day. It was 9:30 pm at night when my wife sent the text. I was glad that we had found the rightful owner of the money, but I still had 3 more hours of driving a head of me. The next morning I updated my plan to send an email first thing explaining how I found Donovan's money, what happened, how we want to return the money to him as soon as possible, and to call me so we could work out the details.

A few minutes after sending the email I got the call.

After talking we both decided it best to meet up. We actually meet up at a Home Depot. I turned over all the money. Donovan was very generous and thankful for the money returned. We chatted about the army. Found out we had a few similar friends and experiences. He tried to offer money for finding it, but it did not seem right for just doing what was right.

My plan had come full circle at this point. Goal achieved.

I know some people say things should maybe happened a little different, but let me tell you it is very hard to be in the moment and know what the exact right steps to do is. Hindsight is always 20 / 20.

My advice when you are in those situations. Take a deep breath. Empathize with the how the other side might feel. Place yourself in the other persons shoes. Think, if I where them how would I want things to work out or be handled. The right answer is there. We all have this special power to do the right thing. A plan is just a plan. It is OK to change a plan. Also there are many ways to achieve a desired outcome.

This story had a happy ending. I am very glad it all worked out the way it did. I have no regret on the way it was handled. I sleep well because of it. I also made a new friend out of all this. To me this is a win that was supported by a good plan.

Details of the story can be found below. It was truly a great outcome.

Channel 3 Coverage

Fox 61 Coverage

Patch Coverage

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