A lesson I never forgot…

Posted on September 17, 2008 
Filed Under Inspirational Stories

During my junior year of business school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one:

“What is the first name of the woman who cleans the business school?”

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. Absolutely, said the professor. “In your careers you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello”. I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

So to this day I always take the opportunity to greet and try to meet EVERYONE I come in contact with. Not just people that can “do something for me.” It truly is a tragedy to go through life with that attitude. Unfortunately, so many people do.

On my soapbox now, it drives me insane when people ignore or avoid eye contact with the people around them. Living in the NY Metro Area we get a lot of that.

What does it mean? Great question… I’ll have to ask Dr. Phil.

What I do know is that it feel good when I give people a warm smile and will continue to do…

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