Who do you feel grateful to? It could be an act of kindness, it could be someone who saw a quality in you and went out of his/her way to mentor you or someone who stopped and rendered aid when you were stranded after an accident or vehicle brake-down.
I was in a hurry and left my Kiwanis meeting in Sherman Oaks and didn’t stop to fill my gas tank on returning to Beverly Hills. I was already half way up the hill on Coldwater Canyon Blvd. when I realized that I forgot to refuel, but I was in a hurry! I was driving on Sunset Blvd. when I realized that the closest gas station was on Sepulveda Blvd. I ran out of gas on Sunset near the UCLA Campus.
The car came to a full stop near a curve in the road, there were no shoulders on this segment of Sunset Blvd., so I was blocking one lane of traffic. This was before cell-phones so I decided to knock on the nearest door and ask to use their phone to call the Automobile Club.
I climbed up the many steps to the front door and rang the doorbell. A middle-aged woman answered the door keeping the safety chain attached so we spoke with each other through a 4 inch opening.
Me: “Hello mam, I ran out of gas (pointing to my car) may I please use your phone to call the auto-club?”
I was wearing a coat and tie but I sensed that the woman at the door didn’t trust me.
The woman: “Give me your auto-club card and I will make the call for you.”
Me: “O.K., here is my card- thanks for your help.”
The woman: “Tell me again, what your problem is?”
Me: “I ran out of gas.”
The woman: “You ran out of gas?!” At this point the front door is opened wide!
The woman: “Please follow me to the garage, I will drive you to a gas station!”
My mouth must have been wide open with surprise at this point because of the complete shift in her apparent attitude! So I followed her through her home where she introduced me to her lovely teen-aged daughter as “this nice young-man” that she is helping.
We made small talk in her Mercedes as we drove to obtain a can to fill with gas. Still amazed from her shift from not letting me inside to call the auto-club to volunteering to drive me to obtain fuel. The remainder of my day went well but I just kept thinking about the kindness that was given to me.
I looked up her name and went to a florist and sent her a thank-you card with a bouquet of flowers. The next day she telephoned me at my office thanking me for the gift. She must have spoken for ten minutes thanking me for my courtesy telling me several times that my mother must be very proud of me- that her husband is a doctor and that they have lived in that home for thirty years. They have helped people injured in traffic accidents, her husband being a doctor had rendered aid that I was the first person to ever send a note of thanks!
Have a very happy holiday season.
Action steps:
- Create a Vision for yourself.
- Write a plan of action, prioritize.
- Live the plan as if you have become your vision.
- Find mentors
- Do it now!
“Motion creates the self.” –Nathaniel Branden
So get moving!
I am available for personal consultations, for an appointment you can reach me at: 520.977.0141
See you on Success Road!
Zak Klemmer
What a great story Zak! The kindness of strangers just amazes me sometimes. My car battery died last summer during a rain storm. A man helped me get it started and where I was in a parking lot the man waited in his car to make sure that the car would stay running before he left. I wish I had gotten his name.
Nice story. I especially like the part about you sending a note with flowers. So few would even think to do that (it’s something I’d think to do as well) so kudos to you for that.