This past Sunday morning I was in a drive-thru lane at a local Mexican restaurant picking myself up a breakfast burrito. When I pulled forward to the window and began to hand my credit card to the cashier she waved off my outstretched hand and gave me a bag with my ham, egg and cheese burrito. She said; “The person in front of you paid for your order.” With a stunned look on my face, I said; “Really?” She then smiled and said, “Yep, have a nice day!” I looked ahead to see if I could still see the silver Rav-4 that was in front of me, hoping to say ‘thank you’ or give a courtesy wave, but the car was already gone. I then quickly looked behind me to see if I could pay the favor forward but alas, there were no cars in my review mirror.

Although I’ve never been on the receiving end of the gesture, I’ve heard of the drive-thru stories before, where the car in front pays for the order of the one behind and then the next car follows suit creating a chain of paying it forward. I always enjoyed the Liberty Mutual television commercials that depicted people witnessing an act of kindness to a stranger that then inspired them to help someone else. And I was inspired in 2000 by a movie about this concept starring Kevin Spacey and Haley Joel Osment called Pay It Forward.

I’ve long been a proponent of recognition - especially in the workplace. It fuels our self-esteem, confirms we are on the right path, and overall makes us feel good. I think deep down most of us want to be acknowledged for the positive things we do in this world and appreciated for our efforts. As managers and leaders, it’s a critical piece to building great organizations. People don’t stay long at places where they don’t feel valued and appreciated. One of our core convictions at mibe is: “Value people for more than the job they do.” And that is largely centered around understanding who people are and making sure they feel good about the work they do. While I still believe in the importance of recognition, next level leadership and character building requires that we shed some of our own need for this and aspire to do things because it makes us feel good, not for the approval of others. To do things from love, not for love.

How genuine and authentic it is to do something with no expectation of anything in return, not even a ‘thank you’. It’s so rare, that it inspires others to do the same, creating a ripple affect that spreads joy and positivity in the world. I was actually glad there wasn’t a car behind me this past weekend. It would have been easy to pay it forward immediately and go on with my day. Instead, I spent time thinking about what had happened and pondered what I could do for someone else that might be even more impactful and that no one would know about but me and the recipient.

So here’s to doing something for someone else out of the purity and kindness in your heart. What if we all tried to do this more often? Once a day, once a week, once a month? Or at the very least, what kind of ripple affect can you start by just going out and doing something today?

HEART LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP

August 15th-17th, 2022

Back again by popular demand, we are creating one last opportunity in 2022 for those who missed this unforgettable
3-day experience to find community, strength,
and Heart Leadership skills!