Do Good, Get Good

You know that saying, “Karma is a bitch”? (Sorry for the bad language.) Well it’s probably true, but not always a bad thing.  Let me give you an example.

When I was a teenager, I remember going to the bank with my Dad. He was cashing a check and I was just tagging along. As we drove away, my Dad said he didn’t think the cashier gave us the right amount of money and asked me to count it. I did and he was right, there was way too much money. He immediately turned the car around, drove back, and returned the money, explaining to me that not only is it wrong to keep the money, it might also get the cashier in trouble. Just one of his many life lessons that has stuck me, especially since the very next day my Dad was given a large pay raise at his job.

Fast forward to current times and last week I had a chance to put that lesson to the test myself.  At my pole inspection company we use a ton of rust inhibitor spray, but all year long it has been harder and harder to find. After waiting weeks, I got a call from McFadden Dale Hardware that my order for 24 cans had finally come in. I drove to Santa Ana, went into the store and some guy named Anthony waited on me at the will call counter. He had trouble finding my order, but finally came up with 20 cans. He wrote up my order, I paid for it, and left the store. But when I got in my truck, I noticed he only charged me for 14 cans. The stuff is expensive, and I didn’t want the guy to get in trouble, so I returned to the store and told him he didn’t charge me enough.

Anthony became really flustered and checked the bill over and over again trying to figure out his mistake. Eventually he looked at me sheepishly and said, “Thanks for coming back, I really screwed this up”. I paid the balance and then asked Anthony to please order me 24 more cans. He said it would take a long time to get them. I nodded, “I know”, and left.

Thirty minutes later, I get an unknown caller on my cell phone. It’s Anthony, and he says, “I got you 24 more cans of rust inhibitor in will call right now. Come get them.” When I asked him how on earth he got them so fast, he simply said, “Don’t ask, just come get them.”

Karma – noun – Definition (In Buddhism) the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.

My definition of Karma –  Do Good, Get Good!

Treat people as you would like to be treated. Karma’s only a [b!#@%] if you are.

~ Anonymous

In Front of Others

The pole inspection work I do can be really hard and physically demanding and sometimes I wonder why I do it. But I have to say that overall I really enjoy it because the work is both challenging and satisfying, and the results are important in terms of providing safety and reducing property damage.

My latest project involves checking the light poles at several local High Schools, including the Football Field, Tennis Courts, Parking Lots, and Pool Areas. Schools are especially critical areas because the last thing I want is for a light pole to fall on a child. But the work can be draining and after 5 hours in the hot sun on Saturday, kneeling over and over again on blazing hot concrete, I was ready to go home.

Fortunately, I had one of my sons helping me because we had 90 light poles to check in one day. By the time we got to the last two poles in the pool area, we were both pretty tired. It’s always the last pole that’s the worst (Murphy’s Law), so of course it was a total struggle to remove the pole base cover. It took us 20 minutes, but when we finally did remove the cover, we discovered the anchor bolts that support the pole were completely corroded and disintegrating. It was an obvious safety hazard, hidden by the base cover, and at 30’ high and 800 pounds, that pole could do some very serious damage. Not to mention the pool area was filled with young kids swimming and playing in the pool.

I was still bent over working on that last pole when I heard a woman’s voice. I looked up and saw her standing nearby with her little boy. She said, “Thank you for working so hard to keep our school nice!” She probably thought I was a maintenance person sweeping up dirt (instead of a certified ultrasonic metals inspector checking for safety hazards). But I don’t think it matters what I was doing. She simply wanted to make sure I knew my efforts were appreciated. A kindness that caught me by surprise!

Her simple act of kindness and thoughtfulness had a positive effect on me… it brightened my day and made the hard work I was doing that much more meaningful. But I think there’s another important benefit to her simple act of kindness. I bet when that little boy grows up he remembers how thoughtful his Mom was to others, he will someday… copy her example. It’s not just what you say and do, it’s what you say and do in front of others!

Kindness is just love with its work boots on.

~ Karen McCullah

Hang Ups

I learned early on in life that communication is super important. How? By making the mistake of not communicating properly and then suffering the consequences caused by it. Like when I told my Dad I was just going to borrow the car to go get gas, when I should have communicated that I was going to pick up four of my friends, get gas, and then go for a joy ride. I admit, proper communication isn’t always easy, and neither is being honest when you’re young.

I am a lot older now and I have learned something. Being able to clearly communicate your thoughts and ideas in a concise manner will help tremendously in so many different areas of life. Whether you’re trying to deliver an important suggestion to your overly stubborn boss, or trying to explain your feelings of love to your wife, good communication is the single most important factor that will help you succeed.  But the problem is that I am often so intent on getting out the thoughts in my head that I don’t truly listen to the thoughts and words of the other person. That’s a mistake because communication has to be a two-way street.

I’ll give you an example. I was talking with a customer at a job site recently, and he was trying to tell me how he wanted me to do the pole inspection project at his site. But instead of listening and considering his ideas, I immediately went to that place in my head where “I know better” and started telling him what I thought should be done before he even finished speaking. That is the essence of poor communication and it’s also inconsiderate on my part.

Shortly after that happened, I left the job site and headed home in my truck. I often listen to talk radio and/or radio sports programs where people call in and ask questions. I heard one caller ask a really difficult question and then he said, “I’ll hang up now and listen to the answer.”

And that got me thinking… From now on, instead of getting so “hung up” on expressing my own thoughts, ideas, and feelings, I am going to try to simply … hang up and listen!

Communication works for those who work at it.

~ John Powell