As Thanksgiving approached this year, I wondered how it would be without the extended family. Just me, the kids, my ex-husband, and my daughter’s boyfriend, that we aren’t yet allowed to call him a boyfriend. : ) We grow accustomed to our traditions and tend to think that’s how it’s supposed to be.
Instead, I spent nearly two whole days “with” my kids. We shut the bar down on Wednesday night. I love watching my people with their people. We came home and ushered in the morning with a dance party until 4 am. We laughed and told stories, and I was immensely grateful to spend time observing and being with these humans we raised. These are people people.
We cooked and made last-minute trips to the grocery store. We laughed and played music as we stood around a countertop full of cheese, smiling and happy. People people are okay with food that isn’t perfect and dishes that don’t match.
People people are the ones that are keenly aware of their presence and their impact on others. They’re fiercely loyal to their friends and family. They ‘feel’ humanity going on around them.
As I sit here reflecting on the holiday this morning, I’m content, happy, and even proud. We set out to raise good humans, and it’s working. I never cared much about grades or achievements as a parent. I care about their heart and soul, not their GPA or career.
And this morning, they will rise to serve you on this Black Friday retail extravaganza. My son woke up early to go in before his shift smiling and happy. He loves Christmas. He loves helping people choose the perfect guitar for their loved ones at Guitar Center. He’s a top salesperson because he loves people and guitars; therefore, he is rewarded financially for bringing those two things together. You won’t care that he struggled terribly through school, especially in math. Funny how he can tell you precisely the percentage of commission he’s earning each day and knows the store sales trends.
My daughter will serve you at Englin’s Shoe Store in the Castleton Mall. She’ll work quickly to find you the proper size because she knows the more people she serves, the more money she makes, and you get to move along to finish your day. She will smile and help you choose the perfect gifts for your kids and grandkids.
You will likely smile back and tell whoever you’re shopping with, ‘she was nice.’ You will be accurate. You won’t care that college wasn’t a good fit for her. You won’t care if she excelled in high school sports; you will care about how she made you feel at that moment.
My kids work on commission; they do very well because they are people people. They didn’t hurry up and learn to be good humans to make great money. They are financially rewarded for knowing their products but primarily for showing up with their hearts and souls as good humans.
As you go about your shopping this holiday, think about the sons and daughters that are serving you and the power commerce has on our hearts. If we can learn to lead, educate and parent with the hearts and souls first, there will be a beautiful business benefit I call the Age of Humanity. Commerce can be the place we serve with those hearts and souls and bring home a nice paycheck too.
Leave a Reply