Do You Have Any Idea How Powerful a Smile Can Be?

I'll spare  you any fluff and get right to it!  Imagine me grinning ear-to-ear while you're reading this.

My coworker Mark was born with a smile on his face.  He wrote this article for the Argus Leader Business Journal and by his permission he's agreed to let me share it with you.

I sat and poked at my cellphone while waiting to see a doctor. I'd injured my shoulder, and I was feeling miserable. I noticed the lady sitting in the chair next to me. She was looking at me and smiling. I gave her a polite smile back and continued diddling with my phone. When I peeked again she was still looking at me and smiling. She was small and frail, and maybe 80 years old. She wore big pink glasses, a pink scarf, a shirt with pink lettering on it, and shiny pink lipstick framed her smile.

"Got someone, or got something?" she asked me.

My confused look told her that I didn't understand her question.

She leaned in, smiled, and touched my arm gently. "Why you're here! Either you're here for someone you know who's got something that needs fixing or because it's you who needs fixing!"

"Oh", I said. "It's me. I hurt my shoulder." I rubbed my shoulder, looked at her and asked, "How about you?"

She laughed and said, "When you get to be my age, there's always something that needs fixing!"

We chatted for a few more minutes. She shocked me when she confessed that her favorite TV show was "The Bachelor." She giggled and said she wasn't proud of that.

A nurse came in holding a clipboard and called out her name. The little pink lady pushed up out of the chair, her body shaking with the effort. Then, she slowly turned and smiled at me and said: "You take care now. I hope your shoulder feels better real soon."

"I hope you feel better, too," I replied. "And thank you for your smile."

"Oh, well," she chuckled, "I certainly don't have much, but at least I've got that." She smiled at me one more time and then slowly shuffled off with the nurse.

I find myself thinking of the little pink lady from time to time. What lingers with me the most is even though she didn't know me and I'm sure her body was hurting, she smiled at me. Her smile lit up my day. Sure, it's a little thing, a smile, but it's a little thing that can feel like a big thing to someone who needs a smile at that moment.

In our busy, self-concerned lives, I think we sometimes forget to smile at the people we meet. I know I do. But smiling is our superpower, and we're wasting it if we neglect to let people see our smile! Plus we miss out on the many rewards that will come to us in business simply by flashing a good old-fashioned smile.

Smile!

Smile at your boss, smile at your co-workers, your customers, your family, friends, the person who hands you your coffee in the morning, the guy who picks up your garbage, everyone!

Remember the little pink lady, and the superpower that each one of us has!

Mark Tollefson works with Results Radio Group and is principal of Mark Ideas LLC