The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary
Vince Lombardi

InspirEmail

InspirEmail No 178 - March 29, 2010
'Inspirational messages to refresh the spirit and boost the emotional bank account'

The Secret of Happiness

The old man shuffled slowly into the restaurant. With head tilted and shoulders bent forward, he leaned on his trusty cane with each unhurried step.

His tattered cloth jacket, patched trousers, worn out shoes, and warm personality made him stand out from the usual Saturday morning breakfast crowd. Unforgettable were his pale blue eyes that sparkled like diamonds, large rosy cheeks, and thin lips held in a tight, steady smile.

He stopped, turned with his whole body, and winked at a little girl seated by the door. She flashed a big grin right back at him. A young waitress named Mary watched him shuffle toward a table by the window.

Mary ran over to him, and said, 'Here, Sir . . . let me give you a hand with that chair.'

Without saying a word, he smiled and nodded a thank you. She pulled the chair away from the table. Steadying him with one arm, she helped him move in front of the chair, and get comfortably seated. Then she scooted the table up close to him, and leaned his cane against the table where he could reach it.

In a soft, clear voice he said, 'Thank you, Miss . . . and bless you for your kind gestures.'

'You're welcome, Sir.' She replied.

'And my name is Mary. I'll be back in a moment and if you need anything at all in the mean time, just wave at me!'

After he had finished a hearty meal of pancakes, bacon and hot lemon tea, Mary brought him the change from his bill. He left it lay on the table. She helped him up from his chair and out from behind the table. She handed him his cane and walked with him to the front door.

Holding the door open for him, she said, 'Come back and see us, Sir!'

He turned with his whole body, winked and smiled, then nodded a thank you. 'You are very kind.' he said softly.

When Mary went to clean his table, she almost fainted. Under his plate she found a business card and a note scribbled on a napkin. Under the napkin was a one hundred dollar bill.

The note on the napkin read . . .

'Dear Mary, I respect you very much and I can see you respect yourself too. It shows by the way you treat others. You have found the secret of happiness. Your kind gestures will shine through to all those who meet you.'

The man she had waited on was the owner of the restaurant where she worked. This was the first time that she or any of his employees had ever seen him in person.

Written by Steve Brunkhorst

Steve Brunkhorst is a professional life strategies coach, an inspirational author and the editor of Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration. For Steve's contact details please visit . . . Positive Inspirational Links >>>

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The habits of achieving happiness and success

I trust you enjoyed the story about The Secret of Happiness - there is another wonderful story which talks about happiness in business from a number of different perspectives and links it to how we achieve success. I encourage you to read the story in full - at the very least, scroll down and read the section highlighted in yellow, about half way through the story . . . The habits of achieving happiness and success >>>

InspirEmail

The Secret of Happiness

April Featured Inspiration

I Just Get Started

The habits of achieving happiness and success

- Inspirational Quote -

When we do more than we are paid to do, eventually we will be paid more for what we do Zig Ziglar

When we do more than we are paid to do, eventually we will be paid more for what we do
Zig Ziglar