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When I was working out at the gym this morning I saw a friend of mine who I hadn't seen in awhile. She mentioned to me that she still has to read my book, and then jokingly added that she was waiting for her free copy. Then she quickly noted that she was only kidding and that she intends to buy a copy. Since I usually have an ample supply of my books and CDs at my house, I decided I would deliver one to her as a gift today.
I inscribed a personal note on the inside cover of the book, and when I was out doing some errands this afternoon I swung by her office to drop off the gift. Though she wasn't in when I stopped by, I was able to leave it with her assistant to deliver.
While I obviously can't always give free books to everyone, I candidly make so little on book royalties that I'm much more interested in people reading, enjoying, and benefiting from my book than I am interested in the money. Hopefully she'll enjoy it as much as everyone else has and, like others, want to get copies for others she thinks could benefit from it as well.
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When I was working out at the gym this morning I saw a friend of mine who I hadn't seen in awhile. She mentioned to me that she still has to read my book, and then jokingly added that she was waiting for her free copy. Then she quickly noted that she was only kidding and that she intends to buy a copy. Since I usually have an ample supply of my books and CDs at my house, I decided I would deliver one to her as a gift today.
I inscribed a personal note on the inside cover of the book, and when I was out doing some errands this afternoon I swung by her office to drop off the gift. Though she wasn't in when I stopped by, I was able to leave it with her assistant to deliver.
While I obviously can't always give free books to everyone, I candidly make so little on book royalties that I'm much more interested in people reading, enjoying, and benefiting from my book than I am interested in the money. Hopefully she'll enjoy it as much as everyone else has and, like others, want to get copies for others she thinks could benefit from it as well.
[comments] => Comment (0)
[avatar] =>
)
Posted by: David Friedman
on Apr 20, 2012
When I was working out at the gym this morning I saw a friend of mine who I hadn't seen in awhile. She mentioned to me that she still has to read my book, and then jokingly added that she was waiting for her free copy. Then she quickly noted that she was only kidding and that she intends to buy a copy. Since I usually have an ample supply of my books and CDs at my house, I decided I would deliver one to her as a gift today.
I inscribed a personal note on the inside cover of the book, and when I was out doing some errands this afternoon I swung by her office to drop off the gift. Though she wasn't in when I stopped by, I was able to leave it with her assistant to deliver.
While I obviously can't always give free books to everyone, I candidly make so little on book royalties that I'm much more interested in people reading, enjoying, and benefiting from my book than I am interested in the money. Hopefully she'll enjoy it as much as everyone else has and, like others, want to get copies for others she thinks could benefit from it as well.
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[title] => Dear Zachary
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“Every end is a new beginning”
-- Proverb
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“Every end is a new beginning”
-- Proverb
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Posted by: Eric Winger
on Apr 19, 2012
Tagged in: Untagged
“Every end is a new beginning”
-- Proverb
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From time to time I've mentioned in my posts the "pay it forward" concept. The idea is quite simple: rather than paying someone "back" for a kindness done to you, you can pay it "forward" to someone else; and if everyone did this, kindness would rapidly spread in a viral fashion. Most of the time, I've simply done my act of kindness and have hoped that the recipient might consider doing something nice for another in return, though I've rarely suggested it explicitly. A few times I've included a note that asked the question, "What can you do today to make someone else's day just a little bit brighter?" That's as close as I've come.
Since this year is about trying different things and seeing what happens, I thought I might try a little experiment to see if I could more overtly suggest paying it forward, without ruining the essence of my act of kindness. I conducted my first such test today. Here's what happened:
On my way home this evening I stopped at a 7-11 store to buy a bottle of Gatorade. After my purchase I was standing in front of the store opening my drink when a woman pulled into the parking lot. By her dress, she looked like she might be a nurse just getting off work. I pulled out one of my Dunkin' Donuts gift cards (there was one right next door) and asked her if she'd like a $5 gift card to Dunkin Donuts. She smiled and looked at me a little quizzically. I told her that my only condition was that she do something nice for someone else today. She answered, "I'll definitely do that. I'm a really nice person" and she gladly took the card.
Obviously I'll never know whether or not she actually carried out her promise, but the fact that I asked and that she said she would certainly have to increase the odds pretty significantly. I'm pleased to see that it was easy to make that stipulation and I didn't feel like it lessened the "purity" of my act of kindness in any way. I think I'll continue to try to add this element to as many of my acts as is reasonably appropriate.
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From time to time I've mentioned in my posts the "pay it forward" concept. The idea is quite simple: rather than paying someone "back" for a kindness done to you, you can pay it "forward" to someone else; and if everyone did this, kindness would rapidly spread in a viral fashion. Most of the time, I've simply done my act of kindness and have hoped that the recipient might consider doing something nice for another in return, though I've rarely suggested it explicitly. A few times I've included a note that asked the question, "What can you do today to make someone else's day just a little bit brighter?" That's as close as I've come.
Since this year is about trying different things and seeing what happens, I thought I might try a little experiment to see if I could more overtly suggest paying it forward, without ruining the essence of my act of kindness. I conducted my first such test today. Here's what happened:
On my way home this evening I stopped at a 7-11 store to buy a bottle of Gatorade. After my purchase I was standing in front of the store opening my drink when a woman pulled into the parking lot. By her dress, she looked like she might be a nurse just getting off work. I pulled out one of my Dunkin' Donuts gift cards (there was one right next door) and asked her if she'd like a $5 gift card to Dunkin Donuts. She smiled and looked at me a little quizzically. I told her that my only condition was that she do something nice for someone else today. She answered, "I'll definitely do that. I'm a really nice person" and she gladly took the card.
Obviously I'll never know whether or not she actually carried out her promise, but the fact that I asked and that she said she would certainly have to increase the odds pretty significantly. I'm pleased to see that it was easy to make that stipulation and I didn't feel like it lessened the "purity" of my act of kindness in any way. I think I'll continue to try to add this element to as many of my acts as is reasonably appropriate.
[comments] => Comment (0)
[avatar] =>
)
Posted by: David Friedman
on Apr 19, 2012
From time to time I've mentioned in my posts the "pay it forward" concept. The idea is quite simple: rather than paying someone "back" for a kindness done to you, you can pay it "forward" to someone else; and if everyone did this, kindness would rapidly spread in a viral fashion. Most of the time, I've simply done my act of kindness and have hoped that the recipient might consider doing something nice for another in return, though I've rarely suggested it explicitly. A few times I've included a note that asked the question, "What can you do today to make someone else's day just a little bit brighter?" That's as close as I've come.
Since this year is about trying different things and seeing what happens, I thought I might try a little experiment to see if I could more overtly suggest paying it forward, without ruining the essence of my act of kindness. I conducted my first such test today. Here's what happened:
On my way home this evening I stopped at a 7-11 store to buy a bottle of Gatorade. After my purchase I was standing in front of the store opening my drink when a woman pulled into the parking lot. By her dress, she looked like she might be a nurse just getting off work. I pulled out one of my Dunkin' Donuts gift cards (there was one right next door) and asked her if she'd like a $5 gift card to Dunkin Donuts. She smiled and looked at me a little quizzically. I told her that my only condition was that she do something nice for someone else today. She answered, "I'll definitely do that. I'm a really nice person" and she gladly took the card.
Obviously I'll never know whether or not she actually carried out her promise, but the fact that I asked and that she said she would certainly have to increase the odds pretty significantly. I'm pleased to see that it was easy to make that stipulation and I didn't feel like it lessened the "purity" of my act of kindness in any way. I think I'll continue to try to add this element to as many of my acts as is reasonably appropriate.
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"All the world's a stage,
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"All the world's a stage,
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His acts being seven ages."
-- William Shakespeare
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Posted by: Eric Winger
on Apr 18, 2012
Tagged in: Untagged
"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages."
-- William Shakespeare
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[title] => Continuing Support for Our Troops
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In a recent interview I did, I was asked to identify which act of kindness has been the most fulfilling so far. This really is a hard question to answer because I've done such a variety of different types of acts for different types of people, each with its own kind of reward. However, if I had to pick only one, I think it might be the "adopted" soldier I have in Afghanistan. I say this for several reasons:
- I know (from what I've been told) that letters and care packages from home mean the world to our troops overseas.
- I get to see/hear/read the impact it has in a firsthand way.
- We've created an ongoing relationship vs. a one-time incident.
Well today was my day to write my regular note to my particular soldier. I write every single week (sometimes e-mail and sometimes snail mail) and I send a care package once/month. Since my last letter was sent through the post office, today I sent an e-mail. It does have the advantage of getting there much faster and often generates a quick response. My soldier is actually about to be going on leave for two weeks next month and he's excited to be back in the States and with his fiancé. While it's never my intention to use this blog to raise money or push for a particular cause, I will occasionally mention a website or an organization that I think readers may want to check out. There are a number of different sites that facilitate the process for writing to our soldiers. The one that I used is called Soldiers' Angels and if you have any interest in this type of thing, I'd encourage you to check it out. I think you'll find it very rewarding, as I have.
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In a recent interview I did, I was asked to identify which act of kindness has been the most fulfilling so far. This really is a hard question to answer because I've done such a variety of different types of acts for different types of people, each with its own kind of reward. However, if I had to pick only one, I think it might be the "adopted" soldier I have in Afghanistan. I say this for several reasons:
- I know (from what I've been told) that letters and care packages from home mean the world to our troops overseas.
- I get to see/hear/read the impact it has in a firsthand way.
- We've created an ongoing relationship vs. a one-time incident.
Well today was my day to write my regular note to my particular soldier. I write every single week (sometimes e-mail and sometimes snail mail) and I send a care package once/month. Since my last letter was sent through the post office, today I sent an e-mail. It does have the advantage of getting there much faster and often generates a quick response. My soldier is actually about to be going on leave for two weeks next month and he's excited to be back in the States and with his fiancé.
While it's never my intention to use this blog to raise money or push for a particular cause, I will occasionally mention a website or an organization that I think readers may want to check out. There are a number of different sites that facilitate the process for writing to our soldiers. The one that I used is called Soldiers' Angels and if you have any interest in this type of thing, I'd encourage you to check it out. I think you'll find it very rewarding, as I have.
[comments] => Comment (0)
[avatar] =>
)
Posted by: David Friedman
on Apr 18, 2012
In a recent interview I did, I was asked to identify which act of kindness has been the most fulfilling so far. This really is a hard question to answer because I've done such a variety of different types of acts for different types of people, each with its own kind of reward. However, if I had to pick only one, I think it might be the "adopted" soldier I have in Afghanistan. I say this for several reasons:
- I know (from what I've been told) that letters and care packages from home mean the world to our troops overseas.
- I get to see/hear/read the impact it has in a firsthand way.
- We've created an ongoing relationship vs. a one-time incident.
Well today was my day to write my regular note to my particular soldier. I write every single week (sometimes e-mail and sometimes snail mail) and I send a care package once/month. Since my last letter was sent through the post office, today I sent an e-mail. It does have the advantage of getting there much faster and often generates a quick response. My soldier is actually about to be going on leave for two weeks next month and he's excited to be back in the States and with his fiancé.
While it's never my intention to use this blog to raise money or push for a particular cause, I will occasionally mention a website or an organization that I think readers may want to check out. There are a number of different sites that facilitate the process for writing to our soldiers. The one that I used is called Soldiers' Angels and if you have any interest in this type of thing, I'd encourage you to check it out. I think you'll find it very rewarding, as I have.
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"The drops of rain make a hole in the stone not by violence but by oft falling."
-- Lucretius
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Posted by: Eric Winger
on Apr 17, 2012
Tagged in: Untagged
"The drops of rain make a hole in the stone not by violence but by oft falling."
-- Lucretius
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Today was one of those days where nothing exceptional happened but I tried to do a variety of small, kind things throughout the day. In some respects, that's really what this project is all about -- cultivating a mindset of kindness so that it permeates everything that I do. In any event, let me share 4 simple things that I did intentionally.
As I got out of my car at Wegmans this morning (I'm really not thereevery day!), I noticed an older woman at her car struggling with some heavier grocery bags and trying to load them into her car. Approaching her cheerfully, I asked if I could offer some help. She accepted and I helped her put the rest of her bags into the car and then returned the cart for her.
This afternoon as I was coming home, I passed a school that must have just completed some type of sporting event or other function. There were lots of cars trying to exit their parking lot. Knowing how hard it can sometimes be to get out of a lot, I purposely stopped and allowed 3 or 4 cars to ease out onto the road.
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On my way home from that meeting, I stopped at the new Frozen Yogurt place on our Main Street to surprise my wife with a cup of her favorite flavor yogurt. Our usual place no longer carriers her flavor, so this was a real treat. (Of course, I got myself some, too. No reason I can't be nice to myself!).
None of the things I did was earth-shattering. But here's the thing I'm really beginning to notice: When I go through my day just trying to spread kindness wherever I am, even in the smallest of ways, the day seems to work that much better and I feel that much happier. I think that by forcing myself to do something kind every day (by virtue of this project), I'm creating a habit, and by creating a habit, I'm changing both how I "show up" in the world, as well as how the world "shows up" for me. Interesting to contemplate. . .
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Today was one of those days where nothing exceptional happened but I tried to do a variety of small, kind things throughout the day. In some respects, that's really what this project is all about -- cultivating a mindset of kindness so that it permeates everything that I do. In any event, let me share 4 simple things that I did intentionally.
As I got out of my car at Wegmans this morning (I'm really not thereevery day!), I noticed an older woman at her car struggling with some heavier grocery bags and trying to load them into her car. Approaching her cheerfully, I asked if I could offer some help. She accepted and I helped her put the rest of her bags into the car and then returned the cart for her.
This afternoon as I was coming home, I passed a school that must have just completed some type of sporting event or other function. There were lots of cars trying to exit their parking lot. Knowing how hard it can sometimes be to get out of a lot, I purposely stopped and allowed 3 or 4 cars to ease out onto the road.
I attended a meeting tonight where I had volunteered to talk about the American Cancer Society's Road to Recovery program. This is the program through which I've driven patients to their doctors' appointments. More drivers are always needed so it's important to let people know the program exists and how they can volunteer to help. I think we may have recruited at least one new person tonight.
On my way home from that meeting, I stopped at the new Frozen Yogurt place on our Main Street to surprise my wife with a cup of her favorite flavor yogurt. Our usual place no longer carriers her flavor, so this was a real treat. (Of course, I got myself some, too. No reason I can't be nice to myself!).
None of the things I did was earth-shattering. But here's the thing I'm really beginning to notice: When I go through my day just trying to spread kindness wherever I am, even in the smallest of ways, the day seems to work that much better and I feel that much happier. I think that by forcing myself to do something kind every day (by virtue of this project), I'm creating a habit, and by creating a habit, I'm changing both how I "show up" in the world, as well as how the world "shows up" for me. Interesting to contemplate. . .
[comments] => Comment (0)
[avatar] =>
)
Posted by: David Friedman
on Apr 17, 2012
Today was one of those days where nothing exceptional happened but I tried to do a variety of small, kind things throughout the day. In some respects, that's really what this project is all about -- cultivating a mindset of kindness so that it permeates everything that I do. In any event, let me share 4 simple things that I did intentionally.
As I got out of my car at Wegmans this morning (I'm really not thereevery day!), I noticed an older woman at her car struggling with some heavier grocery bags and trying to load them into her car. Approaching her cheerfully, I asked if I could offer some help. She accepted and I helped her put the rest of her bags into the car and then returned the cart for her.
This afternoon as I was coming home, I passed a school that must have just completed some type of sporting event or other function. There were lots of cars trying to exit their parking lot. Knowing how hard it can sometimes be to get out of a lot, I purposely stopped and allowed 3 or 4 cars to ease out onto the road.
I attended a meeting tonight where I had volunteered to talk about the American Cancer Society's Road to Recovery program. This is the program through which I've driven patients to their doctors' appointments. More drivers are always needed so it's important to let people know the program exists and how they can volunteer to help. I think we may have recruited at least one new person tonight.
On my way home from that meeting, I stopped at the new Frozen Yogurt place on our Main Street to surprise my wife with a cup of her favorite flavor yogurt. Our usual place no longer carriers her flavor, so this was a real treat. (Of course, I got myself some, too. No reason I can't be nice to myself!).
None of the things I did was earth-shattering. But here's the thing I'm really beginning to notice: When I go through my day just trying to spread kindness wherever I am, even in the smallest of ways, the day seems to work that much better and I feel that much happier. I think that by forcing myself to do something kind every day (by virtue of this project), I'm creating a habit, and by creating a habit, I'm changing both how I "show up" in the world, as well as how the world "shows up" for me. Interesting to contemplate. . .
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"The foundation of every state is the education of its youth."
-- Diogenes Laertius
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"The foundation of every state is the education of its youth."
-- Diogenes Laertius
[comments] => Comment (0)
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)
Posted by: Eric Winger
on Apr 16, 2012
Tagged in: Untagged
"The foundation of every state is the education of its youth."
-- Diogenes Laertius
newlink: /David+Friedman/Array
(
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[title] => Flowers at the Hospital
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One place where I haven't yet been on my kindness journey is to a hospital. That is, until today. By their very nature, hospitals must be filled with lots of people who are hurting and could use cheering up. I figured that flowers from an anonymous stranger might just be the right prescription.
Swinging by Wegmans, as usual, I picked up a colorful bouquet of fresh spring flowers. Don't ask me what kind they were because I honestly don't know! Anyway, I wrote out a note to go with the flowers that said, "An anonymous friend is thinking of you and hoping you're feeling better," and I headed toward our local hospital.
Not being that familiar with hospitals, I wasn't quite sure exactly how I was going to do this. I walked into the main lobby and found a busy reception area. When a woman asked if she could help me, I answered, "yes." Handing her the flowers and note, I explained that I wanted to give them to some patient that she thought could use some cheering up, and that I would leave it to her to determine the best recipient. She said she thought that was "so nice" and turned to show the others at the reception desk. I was gone with little fanfare - in and out in less than 2 minutes.
As with all the anonymous acts, I'll never know who got the flowers or how it impacted them. I hope that my note causes them to wonder which of their friends may have been the anonymous donor and therefore to think kindly about the people who may be in their life.
Another notable thing happened as I was leaving the hospital that's worth mentioning. A woman, who was perhaps a visitor, saw and heard me deliver the flowers. As I walked by her, she half-jokingly asked "where are my flowers?" While I believe this was said mostly in jest, it does reflect an interesting point of view. Her first thought was not about what she could do for others or how she could also deliver flowers for someone. Rather, it was about why she wasn't getting what someone else was. Had I thought of it at the moment, I might have asked her what she could do to make someone else's day. It might have been a fascinating, and possibly impactful, exchange. Unfortunately, it all happened so fast that I didn't think more about it until a few minutes later.
There have been a few instances like that this year where I've been so focused on accomplishing what I set out to do, that I didn't stay present to the situation at hand and as a result, missed out on an opportunity to have a bigger impact. I'll have to work on that.
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One place where I haven't yet been on my kindness journey is to a hospital. That is, until today. By their very nature, hospitals must be filled with lots of people who are hurting and could use cheering up. I figured that flowers from an anonymous stranger might just be the right prescription.
Swinging by Wegmans, as usual, I picked up a colorful bouquet of fresh spring flowers. Don't ask me what kind they were because I honestly don't know! Anyway, I wrote out a note to go with the flowers that said, "An anonymous friend is thinking of you and hoping you're feeling better," and I headed toward our local hospital.
Not being that familiar with hospitals, I wasn't quite sure exactly how I was going to do this. I walked into the main lobby and found a busy reception area. When a woman asked if she could help me, I answered, "yes." Handing her the flowers and note, I explained that I wanted to give them to some patient that she thought could use some cheering up, and that I would leave it to her to determine the best recipient. She said she thought that was "so nice" and turned to show the others at the reception desk. I was gone with little fanfare - in and out in less than 2 minutes.
As with all the anonymous acts, I'll never know who got the flowers or how it impacted them. I hope that my note causes them to wonder which of their friends may have been the anonymous donor and therefore to think kindly about the people who may be in their life.
Another notable thing happened as I was leaving the hospital that's worth mentioning. A woman, who was perhaps a visitor, saw and heard me deliver the flowers. As I walked by her, she half-jokingly asked "where are my flowers?" While I believe this was said mostly in jest, it does reflect an interesting point of view. Her first thought was not about what she could do for others or how she could also deliver flowers for someone. Rather, it was about why she wasn't getting what someone else was. Had I thought of it at the moment, I might have asked her what she could do to make someone else's day. It might have been a fascinating, and possibly impactful, exchange. Unfortunately, it all happened so fast that I didn't think more about it until a few minutes later.
There have been a few instances like that this year where I've been so focused on accomplishing what I set out to do, that I didn't stay present to the situation at hand and as a result, missed out on an opportunity to have a bigger impact. I'll have to work on that.
[comments] => Comment (0)
[avatar] =>
)
Posted by: David Friedman
on Apr 16, 2012
One place where I haven't yet been on my kindness journey is to a hospital. That is, until today. By their very nature, hospitals must be filled with lots of people who are hurting and could use cheering up. I figured that flowers from an anonymous stranger might just be the right prescription.
Swinging by Wegmans, as usual, I picked up a colorful bouquet of fresh spring flowers. Don't ask me what kind they were because I honestly don't know! Anyway, I wrote out a note to go with the flowers that said, "An anonymous friend is thinking of you and hoping you're feeling better," and I headed toward our local hospital.
Not being that familiar with hospitals, I wasn't quite sure exactly how I was going to do this. I walked into the main lobby and found a busy reception area. When a woman asked if she could help me, I answered, "yes." Handing her the flowers and note, I explained that I wanted to give them to some patient that she thought could use some cheering up, and that I would leave it to her to determine the best recipient. She said she thought that was "so nice" and turned to show the others at the reception desk. I was gone with little fanfare - in and out in less than 2 minutes.
As with all the anonymous acts, I'll never know who got the flowers or how it impacted them. I hope that my note causes them to wonder which of their friends may have been the anonymous donor and therefore to think kindly about the people who may be in their life.
Another notable thing happened as I was leaving the hospital that's worth mentioning. A woman, who was perhaps a visitor, saw and heard me deliver the flowers. As I walked by her, she half-jokingly asked "where are my flowers?" While I believe this was said mostly in jest, it does reflect an interesting point of view. Her first thought was not about what she could do for others or how she could also deliver flowers for someone. Rather, it was about why she wasn't getting what someone else was. Had I thought of it at the moment, I might have asked her what she could do to make someone else's day. It might have been a fascinating, and possibly impactful, exchange. Unfortunately, it all happened so fast that I didn't think more about it until a few minutes later.
There have been a few instances like that this year where I've been so focused on accomplishing what I set out to do, that I didn't stay present to the situation at hand and as a result, missed out on an opportunity to have a bigger impact. I'll have to work on that.
newlink: /Eric+Winger/Array
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"After all... tomorrow is another day."
-- Vivian Leigh, Gone With the Wind
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"After all... tomorrow is another day."
-- Vivian Leigh, Gone With the Wind
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Posted by: Eric Winger
on Apr 15, 2012
Tagged in: Untagged
"After all... tomorrow is another day."
-- Vivian Leigh, Gone With the Wind
