Spring

A blind man sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet and a sign that read: “I am blind, please help”.

A passerby stopped to observe. He dropped a few coins in the hat, and without asking for permission took the sign, turned it around, and wrote another announcement. He placed the sign by his feet and left.

That afternoon that passerby returned by the same road where the blind man sat and noticed that his hat was now full of bills and coins. He stopped for a quick chat. The blind man recognized his voice and asked what he wrote on the sign that made such a big impact on his day.

The passerby responded: “Nothing that was not true, I just rewrote your sign differently. It now says: “TODAY IS SPRING AND I CANNOT SEE IT”.

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I read this story many years ago and learned from it. Here are some of the things that stayed with me since then:   

• Always carry a pen or a marker with a notepad. You never know when creativity hits or ideas flood into your brain.  
• Be ready to offer your brilliant ideas for free. The more you do, the more ideas will come your way. You will always outrun others by sharing more ideas.
• Any person can offer creative solutions to challenges they are not experts in. They also don’t need any degrees or skills to share brilliant ideas, only some confidence in trying new things and seeing how they go.  
• Change your strategy when something does not go your way and see if it offers a better perspective.
• Put your heart, mind, intellect and soul even to your smallest acts.
• Sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness later than to ask for permission prior.

Is there anything else you got that I missed?