This is STILL How You Win Friends!
I had been out of town and was catching up on the happenings at home when Billy told me the news:
"David left Starbucks." He said "WHAT? OUR David? The guy who smiles all of the time?" I was stunned. "Are you sure?""Yes. He wrote everyone a note. Look for it tomorrow."
I was unreasonably bummed. I LOVED seeing David a few mornings every week. Even at 6:50 a.m. he was full of energy and oozed positivity.
Do you ever bond with the "familiar strangers" in your world?
Do you have a laugh with the person who takes in your dry cleaning? Perhaps at a local clothing shop you have a favorite salesperson who knows exactly what fits you well. Maybe you have a regular conversation with the Bus Driver who brightens up your morning.
What is it that makes that person special?
In his classic book, How to Win Friends And Influence People, Dale Carnegie gave timeless advice on making connections with others. Among the many fantastic thoughts, he offered this one:
"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”
What made David a great guy to be around was the fact that he wasn't just interesting, he was interested.
He was the kind of person who remembered where I went to college (UCLA) AND business school (USC) and that I always cheered for the Bruins and never the Trojans. He remembered the names of our kids and their grades and would tell me how far ahead of me Billy was on Sunday mornings. He did more than memorize drinks, he did extra in everything
I looked for David's note during my next visit and, sure enough, he went overboard on that too. Who writes notes like this??? So great! I've posted it below.
You could write a book about everything David did (and presumably is still doing) right.
Guys like David inspire me to be interested, to look for good, and to pay attention to everyone who crosses my path.
If that's all I do this week today, it's going to be a great day!