I Turned 20 Cents Into $20

I turned 20 cents into $20 the other day.

That's a 9,900% return on my investment.

But this really isn't a story about money.

It's actually about something I've been thinking about a lot lately. Just being aware of the people around you. Paying attention. And when you have an opportunity to make somebody's day a little easier, doing it.

Here's what happened.

I was at a fair doing giant bubbles with Mik's Mega Bubbles when a family came over. Mom, dad, and two kids.

The kids started playing with the bubbles and they loved it.

They kept coming back in and out of the bubble area, and I could tell the parents were a little stressed.

I see this fairly often doing what I do.

Some kids need a little more time. Some need a little more space. Some don't necessarily interact with the bubbles—or with me—the same way other kids do.

And that's fine.

My instinct when I see a parent getting stressed is usually just to try to make it easier for them.

Your kids are good.

They can play.

Nobody is bothering me.

You don't have to rush them.

Just let them have fun.

And that's basically what happened with this family.

After a while, they were ready to move on and get some food.

But as they were leaving, the little boy stopped at my table.

I sell a few different things at my setup, and he saw one of these little fidget soccer balls.

He wanted it.

Dad was trying to get everybody moving along, and I could see that stress starting again.

And without really thinking much about it, I said something like,

"He can have one. It's on me."

The ball cost me about 20 cents.

That's it.

Twenty cents.

The kid was elated.

And what really stuck with me was watching his dad.

You could almost see some of the stress leave him.

Problem solved.

His kid was happy. They could move on. Everybody was good.

I didn't really think anything else about it.

But then the father walked around my tent, came back over to me and pulled out a $20 bill.

He handed it to me.

And he said,

"Thank you so much for making it so easy for us. My kids loved the bubbles. Thank you."

And that hit me.

Because I had just turned a 20-cent fidget ball into $20.

A 9,900% return.

But here's the thing.

I didn't give that kid the ball to get $20.

I didn't know his father was going to give me anything.

I wasn't trying to make a sale.

I wasn't thinking about some business strategy.

I just saw a situation where, for 20 cents, I could make things a little easier for another human being.

So I did.

And maybe that's the part of this that I've been thinking about the most.

We all have opportunities like this.

Probably every day.

And most of them don't cost anything.

You notice somebody is struggling.

You give somebody a little more patience.

You make somebody feel comfortable instead of embarrassed.

You don't make a parent feel like they have to apologize for their kid.

You give somebody the benefit of the doubt.

You just make something a little easier for another person.

And you're not doing it because you're expecting something back.

That's the whole point.

So yeah, technically I turned 20 cents into $20.

But I don't think the lesson is that kindness gives you a 9,900% return.

Actually, I think it's almost the opposite.

Real kindness doesn't expect a return at all.

You just have to be paying enough attention to notice when somebody could use some.

And then do something about it.

That's it.

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