What the HELL are you so happy about?

Me: Everything! Life, oxygen, kids, grandkids… literally everything.
Len: Everything; Are you happy about war?

Me: Of course not, but the things that I can control and the things that I have to be happy about most definitely outweigh those that I can't.
Len: But you have bills, a daughter that's living with an idiot, a grandfather that is about to die and other problems?

Me: Yes, but I'm going to have those either way.
Len: I gotcha, I gotcha.

Len (not his real name) works for me. He's a great guy and has an uncanny nack for finding the worst in everything.

After an almost 6 year drought in East Tennessee and a very, very hot summer, it began to rain. I was at the warehouse checking on a guy I'd hired to pack up and ship our accessories.

Len walks over to the bay doors and says, “Would you look at that! It's raining! God forbid it drizzle for several days, but no, it's gotta piss pour all at once – my driveway is going to be a mess.” 

“Yup, we needed the rain, but not like this.” – He follows up.

Me: Well I'd call the damn weather channel and complain. Tell them you didn't order this shit.

Recently on the radio show (Hot Dog Vendor Radio) Cory Lawrence of O'Doggy's shared with us his “pay it forward” gift certificate concept. It's been a huge success so far.

It's an idea that you may want to implement in your business, but that's not my point.

My point is that you can pay it forward in other ways. You can control it and it doesn't cost a single cent.

Smiles. 

Oh you laugh. You think I've lost my mind? Have you ever been mad, upset or just in a pissy mood and looked in the mirror?

Next time you find yourself in a bad mood, try walking up to a mirror and smiling. Holy crap. It's impossible to maintain a pissed off state while smiling. And smiling is contagious.

Smiling is a way of paying it forward that has enormous affects on others.

Have you ever been around someone that makes you feel awesome? They just make you feel fantastic. My wife's ex-step dad is that person for me. Anytime I have the pleasure of being around him, I feel better – immediately.

He has a kind warm smile that radiates feelly goodness. He doesn't have to say a word, just the way he smiles as he listens intently is contagious and brightens a room.

How does this help you? No, I'm not departing some sort of woo woo spiritual science about the universe. I'm talking about how your smile can make a huge difference on whether or not that customer that just left – comes back.

How you make your customers feel plays heavily in your continued success. Smiling is easy, it's priceless but costs you nothing, it's contagious and it WORKS. People love to feel good and short of a massage with a happy ending – a smile and friendly face can go a loooooooong ways.

Your there anyway, you are going to see customers today. In your face you hold the key to whether or not they leave feeling better than when they arrived.

Don't let all that power go to your head. It's psychology 101 type stuff.

Make More!

I love to watch a waitress or waiter who has figured out this power. They may have just found out that their dog has been sleeping with the neighbors cat or that Lil Billy got in a fight at school – but they maintain the smile, clearly having control over their own emotions and know that while they are serving others, they will continue to be kind and smile.

The rest of this week, I ask that you smile, that you go out of your way to be kind to every person you meet while out slinging, to ignore the mess you made when the bag melted to your cart or the fact that you may run out of buns before days end or that your significant other was an ass this morning before you left the house, or – or – or. Just smile.

I guarantee your tip jar will see more action and you will feel better all day. You will leave a mark on each person you interact with and they will leave feeling better than when arrived.

Go forth and smile. Make everyone you meet feel better and use your new found power for good.