Details Matter

The other day, I was talking on the phone in my office.  I looked outside my window and saw a young man pick up a piece of paper and throw it in the trashcan.  Immediately, I told the person on the phone, "You gotta hold on!”  I ran out of the door because I wanted to thank that young man.  When I finally caught up with him, I said, "Listen, you are amazing.  You're extraordinary.  I just watched you from my office pick up a piece of trash that you did not throw on the ground, and you put it in the garbage can.  Young man, you have a bright future.”

Do you know why I told him that?  Because for me that piece of paper represents what I tell everyone, including the captains of industry I talk to nationwide.  Big things consist of many little things, and you have to achieve the little things first.  When you do that, you propel yourself from mediocrity to excellence.  You can make an impact with one degree — one degree!

Let me explain…. I boil water every morning to drink my French press coffee.  I do that when I start my day at six o'clock in the morning, with reading, reflection, prayer.  Water boils at 211 degrees, but it turns into steam at 212 degrees.  Just one degree difference.  It's that difference of one degree that matters.  With boiled water, you can make a good cup of French press coffee, but with steam my friend, with steam you can run a locomotive.

Imagine that.  That extra one degree seems like such a small thing, but it can produce enormous benefits.  Booker T. Washington once said…

Success in life is founded upon attention to the small things rather than to the large things; to the everyday things nearest to us rather than to the things that are remote and uncommon.

So what small thing will you do today to produce that extra one degree?  Say good morning to a stranger or a sister colleague at work?  Reach out to a family member you haven't talked to in a while?  Think about the benefits of all that, like boiled water that turns into steam.  What you and I can do can have a big impact on how people see us and how we see the world.  That young man picking up that piece of paper, piece of garbage that was not his, and putting in the garbage spoke bundles about him, about his character, his focus, his commitment, his can-do attitude.

What little things do you and I do every day that speak to those elements in our life?  Have a great week.