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ABOUT A DECADE AGO, when I was in college, I lived in an off-campus apartment complex. The complex had an on-site property manager named Joni. She got to live in one of the apartments in exchange for managing leases. Joni was in her 60s and didn’t have any close family, so she was always eager to talk to whoever stopped by her apartment “office.”
Many of my fellow residents tried to minimize their interactions with Joni, since she could talk your ear off. But I sensed that Joni was just lonely, so I made a point to spend five minutes talking with her whenever our paths crossed. A few months later, I started receiving $100 referral bonus checks from the property management company. It turns out that Joni had begun putting my name down as the person referring a new tenant whenever someone signed a lease.
That brings me to a second, similar story. A few years ago, a friend and I had just purchased a rundown house. We had aspirations to turn it into a rental property. To call the condition of the house unlivable would be an understatement, and we knew we had a ton of work ahead of us. Since my friend and I both had fulltime jobs, this meant working on the house at nights and on weekends.
One day, when my friend was at the house, a neighbor came by, wanting to chat. We still had plenty of work left to do, so my friend could easily have brushed off the neighbor. Still, my friend took the time to talk for a few minutes. The neighbor mentioned that she was looking to sell her dad’s house, and asked whether we might be interested. We definitely were, and a few months later we reached a deal.
Whether it was the house purchase or the referral fees, neither favorable outcome would have happened if my friend and I hadn’t taken the time to slow down and get to know another person. In today’s fast-paced and increasingly virtual world, stopping to take an interest in others is a simple kindness that’s too often overlooked.
Money, of course, shouldn’t be our motivation when showing kindness to others and, in any case, it’s rare we’ll earn a financial return. But we’ll still get to experience the joy that being kind to another person can bring—and that’s priceless.
Austin!
Man I love this post, because it’s a secret to having a happy life that isn’t shared enough.
We reap what we sow, so plant kindness!
Challenge:
When out walking and meeting another pedestrian, say “Hello! Nice day isn’t it?” No matter what kind of weather.
They’ll either agree, or know you are joking and either way, will make that next step a little lighter. 😉
Lovely content and beautifully written. Thank you so much for sharing this simple but powerful insight.
We all can choose kindness, each and every day. Thank you for sharing your story.
Thanks for a good, and timely, reminder.
We had an Easter egg hunt in our neighborhood yesterday. Probably 30 kids came out. One of the kid’s mother, new to the neighborhood, posted on our neighborhood Facebook group how her autistic daughter had tried to talk to a few other kids and was basically ignored or shunned, probably for being ” different “. I was too busy with my 20 month old grandson to notice much else going on, but I was heartbroken to read this. It brought back memories of our oldest son’s struggles with Tourettes when he was in grade school. It’s never too early to teach our kids and grandkids kindness and empathy. This was a reminder to look for opportunities to do so.
I have a 7 year old granddaughter who has Down Syndrome. She is very small for her age, has difficulty with speech, doesn’t have a “church” voice and as we say, she’s a runner – any kind of danger, she will run right to it. Campfires, stoves, the ocean, pools and into the street….Most kids want to know “what’s wrong with her”? At her age, I’m not sure she’s ignored or shunned, but the kids are a little wary because she is different and sometimes a little unpredictable. We just hope the kids and parents can accept and get to know those who are a little different. I don’t know why she chose us to be her family, but I couldn’t imagine life without her.
So true. I have a similar story to share. Many years ago my oldest son told me a story of his arriving the first day of a college class and noticing a severely disabled student sitting alone in a wheelchair up near the front of the class. He decided that kid probably could use some kindness, so he went ahead and sat up there next to the kid and struck up a conversation just to be nice. He said the kid was a good kid and they had a pleasant semester together in the class. Unexpectedly, the kid was so disabled he had a professional note taker. Unasked, the kid started showing up with a copy of the previous class notes just to share with my son. I think most people will try to repay kindness with kindness. It’s just human nature.
You can be proud of you son.
Thank you. Yes, he’s a good soul.
Austin, nice article. Kindness has its own rewards, but it also increases our luck surface area (https://humbledollar.com/2021/10/make-your-own-luck/).
It doesn’t cost anything to be nice. It pays.
Austin, thank you for reminding us to slow down and be nice.