About one month ago I knew very little about the sport of breakdancing.
Now it’s a major household topic.
What changed?
Last month, my sons watched Canadian breakdancer, Phil Wizard, win Olympic gold in Paris.
Right from that day they started breaking out their own dance moves and “gettin’ jiggy wit it” so to speak on a regular basis.
After a few weeks of watching YouTube videos of Phil and trying to copy the moves, my oldest son asked me if I thought it would ever be possible to meet Phil in person.
I didn’t want to get the hopes sky high or make any promises but my response was along the lines of, “If you really want to, I’m sure you will.”
Imagine my surprise when a few weeks later I randomly discovered that Phil was going to be a guest performer at Spruce Meadows “Masters” event in south Calgary.
I had no choice, it simply had to be done.
I arranged to take my boys out of school that day and didn’t even tell them where we were going, just that they could trust me, they were going to like it.
When we got there and they saw it was just some horses jumping over bars, they were a little confused. So was I. None of us know anything about horses.
Still we watched them, went on pony rides, pet these unique Scottish cows in the petting zoo, and played some fun games.
Still I could tell they were confused what we were doing there.
Until I went to make sure we were at what I thought was the right location for Phil’s performance with plenty of time so were weren’t rushing.
It was here things got real interesting.
I saw a guy nearby with a lanyard around his neck with a name tag hanging from it. I went up to him to confirm that this was indeed the spot that Phil Wizard would be performing at in a little over a half hour.
He confirmed it was. We ended up having a short friendly chat, shared some laughs, and then, seeing the boys all excited (now aware they were gonna see THE Phil Wizard), he looked at his watch and hatched an idea.
He asked the boys if they’d like a special cookie.
Of course they said yes.
“Come with me” he says.
He ended up taking us through security into the VIP area and showing us the special cookies…right in Phil Wizard’s VIP box!
My boys nearly lost their minds right there and forgot all thoughts about cookies (temporarily) as Phil came towards them, shook their hands, and asked their names.
He let the boys hold his gold medal and I got to converse with him before taking some pictures together.
Not wanting to overstay, we thanked him and said we’d see him over where he was performing shortly.
My boys were already psyched out of their minds and barely able to put coherent sentences together and he had yet to perform! You can watch a short reel on the experience on my Instagram profile here: https://www.instagram.com/p/C_iwvPIvFSI/
This happened a week ago and the boys still talk about it every day. They can’t believe they actually got to meet him.
But why this lengthy story, why does it matter?
Because a lesson came to me of course! 🙂
It’s that this unique experience most likely wouldn’t have happened without one magic ingredient.
That ingredient is:
Being friendly.
Yes, it’s really that simple.
If I came over to the guy (who’s name I found out to be Steve) to ask about Phil’s performance and whether I had the right location and was like,
“Hey! You! You work here right?? Is this where Phil is at or what? When’s he gonna be here man? I don’t have all day!”
Do you think he would have been inclined to take the boys for that special cookie?
I think not.
Be friendly.
Smile.
Learn how to properly shake hands (it’s mind blowing to me how many grown adults still don’t know how to do this and give a limp, weak handshake).
Ask questions about the other person and actually listen to the response.
Leave people better than you found them (ie. because they had contact with you they feel better, not worse, you improved their mood and day).
I was friendly to Steve, who could have been a janitor there for all I knew, but he ended up being the event coordinator for Phil Wizard himself. He in turn gave me back that friendliness and gave my boys an experience they will most likely always cherish and never forget. I was friendly when we met Phil and he was friendly back, making my boys feel super special.
You don’t have to be a wizard, being friendly is where the magic is…and it’s available to us all.
Make Magic,
Matt
