Leadership Thought: Don't Ever Get Tired of Doing Little Things for Others.

Dear Friends,

One of my habits it to listen to Minute with Maxwell, a short daily podcast in which John Maxwell shares some specific leadership principle that always helps me start my day.  On one of those recent Minute with Maxwell’s messages, John shares the following story.

A woman had come back from the funeral of a family member who had passed away from cancer. The passing of her friend had encouraged her to have her own physical checkup when she arrived home, and to her shock and surprise she learned that she also had cancer. In her follow up appointment, the doctor informed her that she had a very aggressive form of cancer, and that she only had three months to live.

While still reeling from her diagnosis, she was in an airport when she saw a book which caught her attention, and for some reason she felt she needed to read it. She asked the store manager how much the book was, and the manager told her it was $ 20, but in learning she only had five dollars, and sensing her strong desire to read the book, he told her, “You give me five dollars and you can have the book.”

Little did he know this little gift would spark the beginning of a significant change in her life. The book, The Winning Attitude helped encourage her to change her attitude as she battled her cancer, and the changes in her attitude not only prolonged her life but ultimately saved her life and today she is cancer free.

The moral of the story is not, as John humorously pointed out, “if you buy and read my book you can overcome cancer. No, the point he was making was here was a young lady who had a bookstore manager unknowingly helping her change her attitude which played a significant role in her overcoming her cancer.

John Maxwell was making the point that we all have people in our lives, like this guy in the bookstore, who have provided some resource that has helped us along our way. Maybe it was a book, or an invite to a conference, (that’s how I came to know Christ) or a friend who loved you and was there for you when you needed someone to listen to your pain. 

If you know of just such a special person, why don't you take a moment today to say thanks and express your gratitude for the difference they have made in your life.

I suspect I was led to share this story because just this past Monday I received an incredibly encouraging e-mail from a friend who acknowledged that something I had shared in a Leadership Thought had helped her in witnessing to her sister-in-law.

Don't ever get tired of doing little things for others. For sometimes, those little things occupy the biggest part of their heart." (Source unknown)

Yours in Faith and friendship,

Tom