My youngest daughter is in first grade. Throughout kindergarten and until last week, she had the best school bus driver. Last Friday was his last day driving our route. I found out the night before and I cried.
I feel foolish admitting that. What grown woman cries when her kid’s school bus driver moves on to a different route? Clearly, I do. But why did I cry? Rationally, it makes no sense.
The trite answer is that Mr. Jim is kind and kindness matters. But it’s more than that. I study and coach people’s impact on others for a living so my emotional reaction made me curious. Plus, I’ve known countless kind people who have moved on to different things and I didn’t cry about it.
There seems to be a select few people who have a unique and special impact. They touch the heart – usually in simple and unsuspecting ways. You know the people I’m talking about… the boss, colleague, friend, family member, neighbor. It can be hard to articulate what makes them special; it’s easier to talk about what they do.
Here’s a flavor of what Mr. Jim does:
The really cool thing I’ve learned from people like Mr. Jim is that whatever makes them special is shared wholeheartedly, and anyone can have a big, generous and positive impact.
This past week, I’ve wondered what makes Mr. Jim so special because it’s not just in the literal things he does. I’ve wondered how he approaches life and why he does what he does. Here’s what I guess he’d say:
These are the real reasons why Mr. Jim is special and why I cried when I found out he was moving on. People like Mr. Jim are the ones we love to have in our lives. They remind us that it’s easy to be kind and have fun, and they show us that a lot of little things, done consistently, make a big difference.
Published in ThriveGlobal, 2018.
Join the hundreds of leaders who follow me and get your FREE Leader's Guide to Grow that will help you become the leader you want to be.