Why It Matters: Learn how to change someone’s day for the better and possibly your whole life in the process
Everything changed in a moment. In a simple interaction that passed in a flash. There was magic.
I am recently returned from a world renown fitness conference in the Seattle area.
There were over 200 attendees from all over the world (I even met one who came from Switzerland!) and the speakers were all “top of the food chain” in the fitness world so to speak.
I’m talking years spent developing their expertise and millions of followers on major social media platforms.
For various reasons that I won’t dive into here, I left the three day conference feeling disappointed and discouraged.
When it was over, I couldn’t wait to leave. And I wasted no time.
A few quick goodbyes and I was out of there.
Now one thing you may not know about me is that I spent my twenties backpacking all over the world on a small budget.
I still have that piece of me deep inside and the few times I travel now I still pride myself in being “legit” and showing myself that I “still got it”.
Plus I’m a real cheapskate.
This means that buses, trains, and all things public transport are how I get around. No Uber rides for me.
Back to the story, walking away from the Hyatt in Renton I had about a ten minute walk to the bus stop.
My thoughts were all negative. I was upset that I’d invested so much time, effort, and money into being there while making sacrifices like being away from my family and business to do so.
These type of thoughts were on repeat as I waited at the bus stop that would take me back towards my hotel.
I was discouraged and in a slump.
And then it happened.
The bus pulled up. The doors flung open. And beams of radiant light poured out unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I was seeing spots and had to grasp one of the handles as to not fall over trying to go up the few stairs.
That light was the driver.
She had a smile that was ear to ear, not in a “pasted on” type of way, but in an authentic way that radiated warmth.
It made me feel like she had been excited to see me all day and now the time had finally arrived.
I got my bearings, paid my $3, had a simple, pleasant exchange with her, and then I went to sit down.
She even waited until I sat down before she pulled away. I could see her big smile looking back at me with care in the rearview mirror as I walked back to find my seat.
The bus pulled away and it was like I was being transported to a different world. This was no ordinary bus. It was a magic bus.
Gone were the negative thoughts and discouragement.
They were replaced with gratitude and excitement.
Grateful and excited to be going home. To my home and one of the best places in the world to live, Didsbury, Alberta.
Grateful to soon see my beautiful wife and boys that I had been away from.
Grateful for each of my people at The Armoury and my coach, Joanne, who makes it possible for me to get away every now and then and have a life beyond the business.
After a good ten minutes of nothing but positive, grateful thoughts in my mind it hit me that it all changed in a moment.
It was the moment I was hit with that radiant warmth when stepping on the bus.
It literally resulted in a completed one-eighty of my thoughts. From negative to positive.
All it took was that incredible smile and all the warmth that came with it.
When my stop came I went up to the driver and told her that she’s the friendliest, nicest bus driver I’ve ever met in my life (and I’ve been on a lot of buses!) and asked if I could get a picture with her. I should have gotten her name too, but I never did.
As I starting walking she drove by where we waved at each other and I got one last look at that game changing smile before the bus faded off into the Seattle streetlights.
I later thought it was funny that I went to a fitness conference, surrounded by fitness professionals and world renown influencers…and it’s the bus driver who made the biggest impact on me.
She was one of the highlights of my trip.
I won’t forget her.
It had me thinking of three main points that I wanted to share with anyone who has read this far:
1) Lessons are everywhere.
If we’re looking for them that is.
If we’re willing to retire our quick judgments based on the external (how many followers, profession, car they drive, etc.) and focus more on the internal (character, how they make me feel) the most unlikely people/experiences can teach us the most incredible things.
2) We choose how we show up in life. It’s one of the most powerful choices we could ever make.
I rode those Seattle buses all over for nearly a week and, while I’m not saying the other drivers were bad people, they were mostly uninspired and just taking people from A to B. They were doing their job. Nothing more, nothing less.
This woman did far more than just take me from A to B. She lifted me. She took me to a whole new dimension of thought. And it didn’t take much in the form of effort on her part. It took a choice.
A choice not to conform (I mean, bus drivers are supposed to be miserable right? It’s not exactly what most kids want to be when they grow up).
A choice to show up and be exactly who she wanted to be in the world.
A choice to not be defined by the external (being a bus driver) but by the internal (my character and value as to who I am, what I stand for, and how I’m going to live).
It reminds me of the message contained in the incredible book “Unreasonable Hospitality” by Will Guidara (highly recommend and will attach link to the bottom of this email).
To quote he says, “I believe that whatever you do for a living, you can choose to be in the hospitality business…we have an opportunity – a responsibility – to make magic in a world that desperately needs more of it.”
That magic is created by people choosing to give and serve in a way that is beyond what is expected of them. A bus driver is expected to drive and get you A to B. For most drivers A to B is the end goal. For this driver it was just the beginning. I’d been on a lot of buses that week. But only one was magic. Only one transported me to a different world. And it had nothing to do with the bus. It was the driver doing her job in such a way, giving so much more than one would expect that it could be called unreasonable. It defied logic.
3) I want to lift people too. Choosing to be a “lifter” is one of the most powerful choices we could ever make.
Author John Maxwell calls it “The Elevator Principle” and says to think of it like we all own and operate our own personal elevator business.
In every interaction we have each day people are getting on our elevator.
Where are we taking them?
There’s no staying on the same floor. We’re either taking people up or taking people down.
I stepped on that bus and I was lifted by that driver.
In a matter of seconds she took me up to a higher floor than the one I was on and, in a way, I’m still on that higher floor just by reflecting on the experience.
We don’t even know each other’s names and will probably never cross paths again.
Yet, she lifted me.
I want to be that person for others.
For my family, for the members of The Armoury, and yes, for complete strangers too.
That’s how I want to show up in the world.
How will you show up?
My advice:
Aim For Unreasonable.
Matt
