Just Ask

I reread one of my favorite books, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, last week and it has so many good points about life and how to live fully. One piece of advice that Pausch gives in the book is that it never hurts to ask. He explains that asking questions is the only way to understand things fully; you will never know an answer if you don't ask.

I never thought too much about this piece of advice, instead focusing in on his ideas on how to overcome life's obstacles and channel your inner kid. However, going through the drive-thru at McDonald's yesterday, it hit me how important this piece of advice is and how much I actually do it. I was just getting a Diet Coke, which I've done many times before since McDonald's has the $1 any size drink special. I spoke into the speaker, was told to drive around to the first window, and saw $1.89 as my final bill. I had already pulled $1.07 (darn tax) out of my wallet, expecting that to be my total. I pulled around to the first window and when the clerk asked me for $1.89, I decided to ask, "Is the $1 drink deal no longer going on?" She kind of looked at me for a minute--I could see her brain processing my question--then she turned to the register and said that she would fix my total. I was confused, "Wait,  the $1 drink special isn't over?" She said, "No, we just got a new computer system; so, when I type in a large drink it doesn't come up as $1. We still have the signs up though, so we honor it." (aka, if you wouldn't have asked, I would have just charged you more).

I know that it's only like $0.75, which is so minuscule in the scheme of things, but money is money (this is the college kid in me speaking). I could have just gone in my wallet and gotten another dollar and paid $1.89, but just by asking about the drink deal, I got the price reduced. No one likes to hear "No." I think that our society has forgotten this word all together in many situations. I want to relearn the word though. After all, what's the worst that can happen? You ask a question and someone says "no?" You still breathing? Yes? So, what's the harm in asking...? My question exactly!

Something As Simple As An Email

It's no secret that my high school assistant principal, Richie, has had a tremendous influence on my life. He has motivated me to do so much and pushed me to be better. He's inspired me and helped me. I am forever grateful. I don't keep up with him as much as I'd like to; a few emails each year and an occasional visit are our only connection now that I'm three years out of high school. Yet, he is still one of my biggest role models on how to be an effective leader.
Last week though, I reached out to him. I am taking a leadership class this semester and we had to write about a person who we admire as a leader and three traits that make them a good leader. It should be obvious that I wrote about Richie and I decided to email him with my answers and just thank him for all of the time that he spent helping me over the years and how much I still look to him as a mentor. He emailed me back and thanked me profusely for the accolades. We emailed once or twice more and that was it. Tonight however, as I waited in the checkout line at the store (I was quite annoyed that it was taking so long), I heard my phone beep. I pulled it out and saw an email from Richie that read:

I had one of those days today...... I went back to your e-mail and am re-energized. Thanks Megan! You are an incredible young lady.

One thing you should know about Richie is that he's never been good about emailing back promptly. So, seeing an email from him left me stunned in the check-out line. More than that though, I feel that I was able to finally give something back to him. He gave so much of his time and effort to help me in my endeavors in high school and, while I thanked him many times, I never felt like it was enough. Then, this email came. Something so small as an email that I sent to him was able to make his day better and give him energy to keep going tomorrow. It seems so small, yet it means so much.

My goal everyday is to make someone's day brighter. Whether it's a smile to a frowning stranger or a cheerful "How are you doin' today?" to a clerk at the store, I want to make other people smile; I want to make someone else's day. It's my daily goal. I live for people. They energize me without even knowing it and I want to give back to them. This email from my mentor was the ultimate accomplishment for me. It's a reminder that the little things in life (like sending a silly email with 3 simple traits on it) can have the biggest impacts in our lives.