Need a little inspiration?
Well, I sure have some for you in today’s lesson… it’s actually very powerful.
Hey Moguls, Steve Cook here with an interesting and thought-provoking story…
A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her high school seniors by telling them the difference each of them had made. She called each student to the front of the class one at a time. First, she told each of them how they had made a difference to her and the class.
Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with the gold letters “Who I Am Makes a Difference.”
Afterward, the teacher decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a community. So she gave each student 3 more blue ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honored whom and report to the class in about a week.
A powerful message
One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby company and honored him for helping with the student’s career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt.
Then he gave the executive 2 extra ribbons and said:
“We’re doing a class project on recognition and we’d like for you to go
out and find someone to honor and give that person a blue ribbon.”
Later that day, the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had a reputation of being kind of a grouchy guy. He told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius.
The boss seemed very surprised.
The junior executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and give him permission to pin it on his suit. His boss replied, “Well, sure.” So the junior executive took one of the blue ribbons and placed it on his boss’ jacket, above his heart.
And then he asked while offering the last ribbon:
“Would you take the extra ribbon and pass it on by honoring somebody else?
The teenager who gave me these is doing a school project and we want
to keep this ribbon ceremony going and see how it affects people.”
That night, the boss came home and sat down with his 14-year-old son. He told him:
“The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office and one of my employees came in and told me he admired me. He gave me a blue ribbon for being a ‘creative genius.’ Imagine that! He thinks I’m a creative genius!
Then he put a blue ribbon on me that says ‘Who I Am Makes a Difference.’
He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find someone else to honor…
As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about who I would honor with this ribbon and I thought of you. I want to honor you. My days are hectic and
when I come home, I don’t pay a lot of attention to you…
Sometimes I yell at you for not getting good enough grades or your messy bedroom.
Somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and just let you know that you
do make a difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important
person in my life. You’re a great kid. And I love you.”
The boy started to sob, his whole body shaking. He looked up at his father and said through his tears:
“Dad, earlier tonight I wrote a letter to you and Mom asking for your forgiveness.
And explaining why I took my life. I was going to do it tonight after you were
asleep. I honestly just did not think you cared at all. The letter is upstairs.”
Stunned, his father walked upstairs and found a heartfelt letter full of anguish. In that moment, he was a changed man.
At work, the boss was no longer a grouch, telling everyone in his life how much they made a difference.
The junior executive helped many other people with career planning – one of whom was his boss’ son – and never forgot to let them know that they made a difference in his life.
To those reading this, know that you make a difference. We wanted to take this opportunity to tell you that. And we encourage you to tell that to the people in your life.
Share with us
Do you have a powerful story? Inspire us below.
Don’t get so bogged down in the day-to-day tasks of your business that you forget to communicate with people around you.
Tell someone, every day, how important they are to you.
Make a difference in someone’s life by acknowledging them – sometimes an ‘atta boy/girl’ can have a huge impact.
Steve Cook
was a nationally recognized real estate investing educator, author and real estate investor, prior to teaching Lifeonaire life coaching system. Today he is regarded as "The Coaches' Coach." Many of the people who have been coached by Steve have become coaches themselves, eager to share what they have learned with others.