Yesterday I was helping my son Kayden write a birthday card for his friend Riley, a girl he's been friend's with since elementary school.
Kayden had gotten her a small gift and wanted to sent a note along with it.
As I was reviewing the words he'd written, I ventured 1 small suggestion.
Per Dale Carnegie's direction in How to Win Friends and Influence People, I suggested that he give Riley an honest and sincere compliment.
Kayden expressed some concern that if any of his friends found the card, they might make fun of him.
We had a great conversation about how important it is to strive to do the right thing – regardless of what anyone else thinks about it.
I told him that the vast majority of us are walking around wondering whether or not we're…
- Good enough
- Smart enough
- Pretty (or handsome) enough
- Funny enough
- Friendly enough
- Talented enough
- on and on ad infinitum…
"So when you take the time to tell someone something that's nice about them, it's like you're reaching over and grabbing a secret knob that's connected to who they are deep down inside,
…cranking it up and brightening the light of their soul."
And that's always worth doing no matter what anyone else thinks about it.
Kayden agreed and wrote down…
"Riley, you're a great friend and I'm so grateful for our friendship."
Turns out this personal development stuff is great for kids too.
Here's to lighting someone up today. 😉
