The Currency of Caring

So, why did I stick a post about caring into the middle of a series on time? (See the previous post – Real Celebrity.) Because time is the currency of caring.

Small bits of time, scattered throughout your day – the phone call, a note, a hug, a shared joke. Don't they make you feel connected and cared about when someone offers this to you?

None of us wants to feel invisible or disposable. Taking just a moment to acknowledge the person across from you tells them they are seen and appreciated. That's a real gift in my book. 

And those bigger blocks of time could look like a bedtime story without hurry, lingering over a cup of tea with your partner or an impromptu BBQ in the backyard with friends. These are precious gifts. 

Think about the delicious moments that stand out in your own mind. I remember my dad flying kites with me in the backyard and helping me catch fireflies. Yes, I appreciate the food he put on our table and the home he paid for but it was the time he spent with me that was priceless.

During this economic slowdown isn't it nice to know that something has retained its true value?

 

Accept Your Gifts

As I was eating my Cheerios one morning and glancing through the small town paper we get twice a week, I spotted a picture of Juan Hermasillo opening a new pizza shop. 

Who is Juan?  Why, he's the World Champion Acrobatic Pizza Spinner!  You can catch him on YouTube.

The fact that there are actually pizza spinning competitions, complete with world class levels was a revelation to me. And here was Juan demonstrating his prowess to open the new shop and, incidentally, raise money for a local charity.

That got me thinking. Juan has a sponsor, which means he performs his feats of pizza daring for some kind of remuneration. He has built a reputation and career out of something most of us would overlook.

Now, I can't picture him as a small child telling the adults he wanted to spin pizza when he grew up. But somewhere along the way he realized he had talent. And I'm also sure there were naysayers.

"Juan, don't do this. You can't make a living at it. Pizza spinning? A hobby, maybe but in the meantime, get a real job."

And Juan probably struggled with his own gremlins, wondering if they were right but he didn't let any of this stop him because he is now the World Champion.

Which tells me that Juan believed in his gift and accepted this talent as uniquely his own. He looked at what he held in his hand (literally) and believed in himself. He practiced and competed and practiced some more. (I wonder how much pizza dough sits in the landfill of his hometown?)

He found opportunity or created it for himself. He never stopped until he was World Champion and had a sponsor.

There really is a lesson there for you and I as small business owners. We may think all we possess is plain old pizza dough, something that anyone can have. But when you bring your own unique spin (sorry) to what life gives you, when you accept the gift of your talent then you create success for yourself.

Ask yourself, what is one thing I do that amazes other people?

It may be hard for you to see since it comes so easy for you so don't be afraid to ask. Take a small poll of your family, friends and fellow workers. Don't overlook the smallest thing. Don't pooh-pooh anything as insignificant.

I once heard a woman tell her story about being a young wife who made great chocolate chip cookies. The world now knows her as Debby Fields of Mrs. Field's Cookies fame.

See the possibility in your unique talent. Once you start looking at what you hold in your own hands, who knows where it will lead or what it might develop into.

Just ask Juan.