Over the years, whenever I went out to eat with friends, they always wondered how I managed to get more breadsticks, bigger salads, and larger portions of dessert than everyone else at the table. Honestly, I hadn't thought about it much, but it seemed to be true! So I began to look for the "why". The only difference I noticed was a three-word sentence I used a lot, that they didn't.
Today's yard work took me to Home Depot where I purchased 20 bags of mulch. When I pulled my truck around to get the mulch I was met by a 6'3" guy with no neck and arms that looked like the legs of a Brahma Bull. He was sweating and did not look like he was happy to be there. He said, in an aggravated tone, "Where's your receipt?" We chatted a little bit while he loaded 15 bags of mulch in the time it took me to load 5. As I was getting in my truck I turned, looked him in the eye, with a smile on my face, and said,. "'I appreciate you', This is hard work and I am thankful for you being here. " As I started my truck he said, with a smile on his face, "Hey, I have 6 bags of mulch with small holes in them and my boss told me to get rid of them. You can have them if you want and I will even load them for you."
We all like to think we are appreciated. The sad thing is in our mindset culture of entitlement it's seldom expressed. These three simple words can make someone else's day go so much better. Why not use them? When you do I think you will find that your day will also go better. And who knows, you just come home with a bunch of extra breadsticks.
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