30 Days to New Years - - Manifest Moments, Issue 26

Christine Harvey is the Author of 6 Business and Leadership Books published in 25 languages by 48 publishers worldwide, including international best seller ‘In Pursuit of Profit.’

Hi All,

There are many morals to the story you’ll read below, and one is the feeling of gratitude and satisfaction we get from helping another person in need. However, another is about life – how fragile and short our time is here on earth, even if it is a full lifetime.

Today marks exactly one month before new year’s day, when many people make New Year’s resolutions. I’d like you each to think about yourself over the next month, and ask yourself what you really want for your life. Not materialistically, not the weight loss or the new career, but what do you want for yourself as a human being?

What legacy do you want to leave? How do you want your friends and family and strangers to remember you? What lessons have you learned in life that you could pass on to others? Is there a book you always wanted to write? Is there a skill you always wanted to learn? Is there a joy if life you have been passing by and not sharing with others? Who are those people you want to build or amend relationships with?

Here’s the story. See the 3 MINUTE ACTION TIP at the end...

(Beginning of the Story)
WHY ARE WE HERE, Author Unknown  

“When I drove up in my taxi cab at 2:30 a.m. , the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.

Under these circumstances, many taxi drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, and then drive away. But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself..

So I walked to the door and knocked. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated'.

'Oh, you're such a good boy', she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?' 'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly.

'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice'.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. 'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing. As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now.'

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' she asked, reaching into her purse. 'Nothing,' I said. 'You have to make a living,' she answered. 'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. 'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.'

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut.. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?  What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away? On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life. We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one. PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID, ~BUT~THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.” (End of story)

3 MINUTE ACTION TIP: Take a few minutes each day between now and New Years to think about your life. What legacy do you want to leave? How do you want your friends and family and strangers to remember you? What plans can you start putting into place now to make that happen?
Much love,
Christine

About the Author: Christine Harvey is the author of six international marketing and leadership books now published in 25 languages by 48 publishers, including ‘In Pursuit of Profit.’ She was the first woman and first American elected to Chair a London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and a business start-up initiative launched by Prince Charles. She served as Director on the International Board of Zonta, with 36,000 members in 62 countries, as well as two venture capitol boards – one in the UK and one in the US. She’s been honored to address two Parliaments of the world on the ‘Privatization of Industry,’ and ‘Policy for the Growth of Private Industry.’ She has been interviewed by the media in dozens of countries. Her company trains people in sales, motivation, management and presentations with persuasion - in America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Contact ChristineHarvey@WomenForWealth.com with any questions you might have or ways we can serve you. And to sign up for the weekly ‘Manifest Moments’© and ‘Profit Pointers’© curriculum, go to WomenforWealth.com