Herman: John L. Herman Jr., Author

Free Stuff can "Set You Free"...

For about forty years Americans lived a lifestyle that was based on the fact that when you felt bad you went shopping. Go spend some money on yourself and you would make yourself “feel” better.

Of course the problem with that lifestyle is that as life became more stressful you had to spend a lot more money to feel better. But your wages didn’t go up as fast as you started feeling worse. Stop, Look and Listen. That was the phrase used to teach kids how to cross the street. I think we should update the phrase for how to find “Free” ways to make yourself feel better.

Last night my wife and I finalized our plans to travel to Los Angeles the day after Christmas to visit our son and his family. The tickets are not free, but that isn’t the point of this story, we were going to visit them anyway. It was 18 degrees here in Baltimore yesterday and knowing there will days in the sun just down the road is already making me jump for joy. OK, let’s get to the point.

Maggie, my wife, has been restless for months as her antiques and gift store seems more like a museum where people come and just look at stuff, not a place where people buy things. I guess those “lookers” have found a way to “feel” better just being around the things they used to come in and buy! Now, Maggie loves her store and her visitors who used to be called customers, but she doesn’t feel good not ringing the register as much. She needs a shot of something to make herself feel good. Maggie misses the smiles on the faces of people who used to enjoy finding a treasure at her shop.

How could she get that feeling of joy knowing she put smiles on peoples’ faces? She has come up with a winner. Two days after we arrive in Los Angeles she will show up at the Rose Bowl Parking Lot to begin several days of volunteer work on a Rose Bowl Float! Every year she loves watching the parade to see the miracles of flowers becoming unbelievable structures rolling down the street for parade watchers everywhere. Think of the smiles this puts on faces of people all over the world watching this event. Maggie will be responsible for some of those smiles this year.

80,000 volunteers give up days of their lives to put together those beautiful wonders we all enjoy. Just doing the research to become a volunteer has brought excitement to our home. Learning how the floats are constructed, how they transport the flowers from cold storage to their final destination, and even how the massive numbers of people simply move around, park their cars, and feed themselves is fascinating stuff. Maggie has poured over the comments prior volunteers have posted so she can anticipate what lies ahead. Her “merchant” side is very cranked up, she found out not enough coffee vendors are on the streets and she goes to bed dreaming of having a monopoly coffee cart rolling down the street with an endless air pot of Java to satisfy everyone. Just kidding…that part is just her dream.

Maggie has found something to do that will cost her a few days of her life, absolutely no cash out of her pocket, and will fill her soul with a joy and a memory she can recall whenever she wants to smile later in life.

There are a million places you can volunteer your time. There really are a countless number of things you can do that are FREE but will return you a priceless return. I hope this story about Maggie inspires you as much as she inspires me.

• Posted: 8 December 2008
• Comments: 1
• Category: Business success

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