If you are reading this, you are in an amazing company of people. Seriously. I hope that you get value out of these weekly messages from me, but there is so much inspiration to be found within this merry band of Adultitis Fighters! Of course we highlight some of them with our Adultitis Fighter of the Month award, but that’s just scratching the surface.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about purple goats. Maybe you had to be there, but you can read that post here. The idea was about how we can make a big difference in our families and workplaces by making a conscious decision to stand out. I challenged everyone to be a little more “purple,” and share the results. Here are some of my favorite examples:
Melissa Webster has only been working for her company for a few months, but in her role of sending internal communications, she is already gaining a reputation for having emails worth reading for their light-hearted entertainment value alone. She gives out virtual high fives, apology poems for those who have struggled with technology, and created a Ghostbuster’s theme parody for the sales team (I ain’t afraid of no growth!”).
Kim Stanfill-McMillan owns Fired Up Pottery in Madison. When people take a pottery lesson, one piece is included, so if you make more than one, you choose the best one and keep that. However, if you want more than one, the largest one is included with the class and they charge for the smaller one. Subtle, unusual, and something purple that’s certainly appreciated by the customers.
Julee Denney works in a medical office in Idaho that incorporates a “War on Adultitis.” (Her words.) At the beginning of the week, she sends out my weekly post to the staff. Once a month, they pick a national holiday, such as “National Chocolate Cupcake Day.” The day before, she sends out an email about the holiday and then the day of, they send out trivia questions to the staff. The first one to answer correctly gets to pick from the prize basket. Meanwhile, every patient that walks in the door gets a mini chocolate cupcake! In the past they received fortune cookies, creamsicles, and ice cream. Julee reports that not only are they surprised when they come in and given cupcakes, but it makes them feel like they are part of the family instead of a number.
Every day I hear from ordinary people doing extraordinary things to kick Adultitis in the shins. Most of the ideas I hear about don’t require a ton of money, just a few dollops of creativity. It’s about taking your gifts and thoughtfulness and sharing them with others to bring a little joy and happiness to the world.
How can you share your unique brand of awesome this week?