FRED Friday…Meet “V”, the Day Changer
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| Meet "V", the Day Changer |
Earlier this week, bright and early Tuesday morning, I was walking to my office…feeling a bit tired, frustrated with a few things, and really quite anxious about several items on my To Do list. I’ll admit…I was kind of dragging.
My colleague, Tom, and I were walking together through the backstage area where our banquet set-up team preps, stages, and organizes coffee breaks, roll-in lunches, etc for our meetings clients and Guests.
We were both nervous about rolling out a new initiative on the casino floor this week…we wanted everything to go well for our team, our executives, and especially our Guests. We tend to put a good deal of pressure on ourselves…
At that moment, we happened upon “V”, the Day Changer…
“V” was backstage preparing for what appeared to be a fairly significant banquet function. I always see him doing his thing…backstage…on-stage…leading his teammates…and always working with a smile. Tom and I walked by “V”, and I gave him a quick nod and a, “Morning ‘V’…how are you, sir?”
“V” didn’t skip a beat, never looked up as he went about his work, and he replied, “…Life is beautiful…”
That three-word phrase stopped me in my tracks - Life is beautiful. It was a Day Changer.
There I was feeling frustrated, wasting time and energy dwelling on things over which I had absolutely no control, and it undoubtedly showed. I’m sure my anxiety and frustration would have continued to rub off on everyone in my path that day...but thanks to my friend, “V”, I quickly changed my tune.
In that moment, I remembered that one year ago I was staring unemployment dead in the eye. I was sending hundreds of emails, applying for hundreds of jobs all over these United States, and getting nowhere…fast. I would sit and think; dream, and wonder where I would end up or if I would ever find another job. I didn’t have a clue what life had in store for me next…suffice it to say that God is good; because one year later here I am, blessed with a job again, and at least for the moment life is beautiful.
“V” reminded me this week that life is beautiful; if we choose for it to be. We all have a choice. We can either focus on the negatives, dwelling on things we can’t control…OR we can look for the positives, the good stuff and PMA the days – Positive Mental Attitude.
I would have continued through this past week with a negative outlook, which is how I started out. However, my interaction with “V” on Tuesday was a Day Changer. It changed my whole attitude toward my job, my meetings, my relationships at work, and my phone conversations with my family back home, and it certainly changed my mental approach to life. “V” reminded me that life absolutely is beautiful, and sometimes the only thing preventing us from realizing its very beauty is our own attitude.
After my day changing interaction with "V" I changed my approach and outlook on everything. Since that nice OneMoreStep moment I’ve smiled more often. I’ve given out more hugs, hi-5’s, & handshakes. I’ve had more fun. I’ve laughed more, and I’d be willing to bet that I’ve made other people do the same.
Mark Sanborn says in The Fred Factor:
“…I believe that you change the world every day, whether you intend to or not. Often it only takes a small act to make a big difference…
You also change the world of a coworker, a customer, a vendor, or a cafeteria worker with your smile or frown...
But who’s to say that these little changes don’t have accumulative, profound effect in the lives of others and, ultimately in your own life?”
The OneMoreStep thought I’m trying to highlight on this FredFriday is that we can all be Day Changers. We should ask ourselves: “Do people feel better or worse after they have an interaction with us?” “Are others inspired by our words and actions, or do we bring them down?”
Having a Positive Mental Attitude - a Life is Beautiful attitude like “V” can certainly be a Day Changer…it certainly saved me this week.
Thanks “V - Man”…keep being you my friend. It moves people…it moves me. I can't wait to be a Day Changer like you today.
Have a great day.
Taylor
What is FRED Friday?
In my favorite book, The Fred Factor, Mark Sanborn tells an inspiring story of how a man named Fred goes OneMoreStep after OneMoreStep in his role as a Postman for the United States Postal Service. I love this book. Since my mom sent it to me in 2004, I've purchased the book for friends, coworkers, and girlfriends...I've even purchased and hand delivered copies of the book to several executives at both Wynn Las Vegas and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Fred Friday is a series in which the OneMoreStepRevolution blog will showcase a real life "Fred" on select Fridays. Reading The Fred Factor definitely leaves us with a desire to to be more Fred-like ourselves, but I also love looking for Freds. Freds are everywhere. I love it when I experience a real life Fred. I'm inspired just as I am every time I re-read the book. I thought it would be fun to spread the magic of Fred to our OneMoreStepRevolution community.
Related Post...meet more FREDs...
V! Every day's a holiday and every meal's a banquet!
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