Making Someone’s Day
Last week my family celebrated an epic day: 11.11.11 was my son’s birthday…his ELEVENTH birthday! On the day of his birth, we discovered this would be the case because the doctor told us we had a big birthday approaching in 11 short years. At the time it seemed like forever away. Do I sound like an old guy when I ask “just where did the time go?”
As part of the event, we had a private tour of Disney Studios, a shopping spree at the Disney Store, and a personal visit with Swampy Marsh at the studio where he and his friends create Phineas and Ferb (My son’s favorite show). You see, my kid wants to be an animator, a story writer, and a director when he grows up, and we think he may have the talent to get there (said, of course, in my best “proud parent” voice). His mom and I aren’t really artistic, and we don’t know many artists, so exposing him to this kind of opportunity isn’t something we can just pull off.
But there were a whole bunch of people who bent over backwards to make his day. From the really cool little gifts like one of Caleb’s drawings of Flynn Rider (the movie Tangled) being signed by Zachary Levi (the voice of Flynn) to the big moments like an hour and a half drawing lesson with Swampy, there were over a dozen people who had to sacrifice to make the day of an 11 year old kid…and most of those people didn’t even know him.
Far from being put out by the effort, I noticed that most of these folks were having a lot of fun. It brought them joy to help create a really special day for a family. They knew that this kid would remember that day for the rest of his life.
Sometimes making someone else’s day is what makes your day.
Next time you are having a bad day, or week, or month, take a few minutes or a couple of hours from your schedule and find someone you don’t know well and bend over backwards to make their day. Do something to make it epic! Shock them with your generosity of time, or money, or effort. I almost guarantee it will radically impact your attitude.
Oh yeah. One more person got in on the act. My son’s biggest hero is John Lasseter, the genius behind Pixar; this was the company who brought us Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., Up, and all those other great films. And after Pixar was purchased by Disney, he became the Chief Creative Officer over all of Disney Animation Studios. My friend and relative who plays a big part in The Disney Store set up our studio tour. He also got to meet with Lasseter about a product, and when they met he asked for a big favor; his cousin’s kid was turning 11 on 11.11.11, could they do a picture? John Lasseter not only gave us a picture, but also passed on some great advice for an aspiring animator. Epic.
One more thought: Sometimes one of the coolest things you can do is go to bat for another person, or ask a favor that won’t benefit you, but will thrill someone else. Do good to others, even when (especially when) they can’t return the favor, and you will have great reward!
