Serve!

Greetings everyone! Today's word is brought to you courtesy of one of my new workshops ;-)... "Servant Leadership."

Today's picture is brought to you by a good friend who kindly helped me celebrate my graduation by hosting a dinner for me. Yes, that is a "cupcake tower" and yes, those cupcakes were as good as they look (and really cute, too, in UF's orange and blue colors!). Sandy is the epitome of a great hostess - she has such a willingness to serve others and seems to thoroughly enjoy creating an "experience" for everyone - and as you can see, she is quite successful!

As I thought about today's word, I thought about how many different ways there are to serve - and how all of us can find our "serving" niche if we look around us. Perhaps you heard about the server at a Steak 'n' Shake this week who received a $446 tip. One of her regular customers witnessed other customers giving her a hard time, so the regular customer decided to make her day by leaving a huge (make that enormous!) tip. So...who was doing the real "serving" here? I think the customer actually served in a more memorable and meaningful way - not because of the amount she left, but because of the thought behind it. The server made the statement to an interviewer that "I didn't think I was worth $400, but apparently she does."  WOW.

Just think how each of US can serve others through our words and deeds - and it doesn't have to cost a cent. Yet we can make them feel so much better about their own worth. The next time you eat out - or go to a retail store - or a bank - or just about anywhere where someone is serving YOU, take notice of their name badge, look them in the eye, use their name, and comment on the good service (or pleasant smile or...). You will see a visible difference in the way they respond to you after that brief interaction.

Please don't take this to mean we are to be manipulative to get people to respond differently. That's not my intent at all. My intent is to help YOU see how you can serve in lots of different ways.

So...how can you serve this week?

• Look at a "server" as a human being?
• Pick up someone's mail while they're out of town?
• Take someone the extra serving of lasagna you prepared?
• Stop and wait while someone crosses in front of you?
• Let someone go ahead of you in the grocery line?
• Pick up something that has fallen onto the floor at the department store?
• Drop someone an email to let them know you are thinking of them?
• Pick up that old-fashioned phone and actually CALL them?  ;-)
• Do a family member's chore for them today?
• Offer to help a co-worker finish up a project?
• Blow the leaves off of your neighbor's front porch?
• Bring the newspaper from their driveway to their front door?

I know you'll find lots of ways to serve others this week - and I know you'll find that it brings a bit of sunshine into your day, too! Drop me a note and let me know what you come up with!

Blessings,
Linda
www.LindasWorkshops.com
Linda@LindasWorkshops.com

A time for GIVING - wait, isn't Christmas over??

Hi everyone,

I hope you all are keeping warm wherever you are!

The word this week is GIVING - and I am intentionally bringing it to you after Christmas. We all think about giving at Christmas, usually connected with something that costs money.

I want you to think about giving from a different perspective...to just brighten someone's day.

Maybe you can give a smile to someone who sorely needs one. Years ago, my husband went to the "Big Chicken" in Marietta, GA, near where we lived at the time (the Big Chicken was a historic landmark - really just a fried-chicken joint, but with a huge chicken mounted on the roof; hence, the "Big Chicken" name!). As he was waiting for his order, the counter person said, "I'm not gonna give ya these fries until you smile." He did, she did, and he's never forgotten that - she took the time to "give" him something that day -and it was just a few seconds of human connection.

I was helping Guy in the music store before Christmas. The mother of one of the guitar students came in on a Friday evening and we visited while her daughter was in her 30-minute lesson. I found out that she is originally from Paris, worked for the US Embassy there, and is now widowed - at a relatively young age. I also found out her grandmother used to make "chocolat pastries" (pronounce this shoc-o-lot as she does and it sounds oh, so elegant!) that required hours of preparation but were to die for. The following week, I stopped at Panera and picked up a chocolate pastry (just plain chocolate, not all that elegant, but tasty) and when she came in, I gave it to her. You would have thought I had given her the moon. She ran over to me and gave me a big hug. It was the best $2.00 I've spent in a long time!

So what else can you give? I can't go around handing out $2.00 pastries on a regular basis, but I can often give some of my time. I can give the gift of listening - really listening - to someone. I can give the valuable gift of withholding the negative comment that is on the tip of my tongue (a gift that is sometimes very hard to control!). I can give the gift of understanding... empathy... advice (only if you know it's welcome!), a sincere smile or something that will help them find their own smile that may be in hiding.

What "gifts" are you going to give this year? I'd love to hear from you! And that would be a gift to me :-)

Blessings,
Linda
www.LindasWorkshops.com
Linda@LindasWorkshops.com