"Sometimes
the briefest moments
capture us, force us
to take them in,
and demand
that we live
the rest of our lives
in reference to them."
Lucy Grealy

It's Sunday night,
I'm getting ready for a tornado
of a week ahead.

But even as I get ready for it,
the highs and lows
know their place.

Whatever happens,
I have a focus
prepared for it.

Nothing so good
I forget what's important to me.
Nothing so bad
I forget what's important to me.

Years ago,
I worked on a suicide hotline.
The training was intense.
They had these big binders
with phone logs.

Each page, a life in peril.

No caller id back then.
The person taking the call would
write identifying traits about the person.

If “Allison the teacher" called back,
you would have read the recent logs
and know if things were better or worse.

The phone would ring
and the minute you picked it up
you had to be ready
to get that person
to the right help
as fast as humanly possible.

Someone would be talking about
taking their own life.
Some would be frantic and upset.

Others would talk about it
very matter of factly.
Like they were going
shopping for groceries.

In the beginning,
the calls were overwhelming.
My heart would be pounding
through my chest.

The people who trained me
wanted a certain approach.
They wanted me to say:
"Allison, it sounds like
you're very upset, is that right?"

To me, the people calling
were isolated and alone.
They needed someone
to talk to them like a human being.

I wasn't going to ignore
everything I was taught.

But if I'm going to be responsible
for helping someone,
I have a say in it too.

I would be on the phone
talking to someone about
all the areas of their life.
Trying to get a whole picture.
Trying to get THEM
to see the whole picture.

They were hyper focused
on one horrible moment.
And that moment
was burning down their lives.

I've got the phone in my hand,
and calmly talking
to this person like a friend.

And the directors
of the suicide hotline
are losing their minds.

They start frantically
writing on the chalkboard
in the room.

Robert -say this___________.
Nope.

Then they try
mouthing instructions to me
like some drunken mime.

I have absolutely
no idea what they're saying.

If they had a brain in their head,
they wouldn't try
to make me sound distracted
to the person I'm trying to help.

The next day
that person called back.
They chose to stay alive
one more day.

And they asked for me.

The director took the call
and just about begged the person
to talk to her instead.

Nope. Put Robert on the phone.
I filled a lot of their binders.

My time there shook me to the core.

"Too often
we become so consumed
with how we spend our days
that we lose track of how
we are spending our lives."
Sally Warner

In business,
there is a business owner
and the people the owner
does business with.

Most are distracted
even when they pay attention.

They all have parents
and family or had them.
There is something at home
weighing heavily on their mind.
Good or bad.

There is something
they may be looking forward to.

There are wounds
they've carried their whole lives.
No? You know someone
without wounds?

Sure you do.

Some carry wounds
so horrific
you'd choke with tears
if you knew them.

And come Monday morning,
they're going to put on the mask.
And act like everything is great.
Some won't be acting - it really is great.

But some of them will be lying.

You might be talking to someone
whose life is quietly
being destroyed as you speak.
He or she may be so good at hiding
you'll never know.

Think back to difficult times in your life.
Did you tell everyone about it?
Or did you keep
some of your pain to yourself?

But....
There might have been some people
who were really good to you.

It could be as small as
the barista at your Starbucks
being really nice to you
when you were visiting
someone in the hospital.

So distracted,
you could have given
a hundred dollar bill
for a cup of coffee and not noticed
if you got a five dollar bill
back for your change.

“No act of kindness,
no matter how small,
is ever wasted.”
Aesop

A kind tone of voice
with a business partner?
Being patient with someone
in customer service?

That really makes a difference?
More than you will ever imagine.

"Learn to help people
with more than just their jobs:
help them with their lives. "
Jim Rohn

To me, business
is just a grown up word
for people helping each other.

Not everyone thinks that.
Some people just try
to make it all about money.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

“All my possessions
for one moment of time.”
Queen Elizabeth the First's last words

Life is fleeting.
One day all that's left of you and I
will be some faded pictures in a box.

And maybe some emails we sent
with links to cat videos
we thought were funny.
Good job.
You didn't think about that, did you? :)

If we're lucky, that won't be all.
We'll have truly touched
some lives as well.

When you talk to people this week,
Listen closely. Look in their eyes.
Make them feel heard.

This is just a rumor,
but it might even help
close a sale.

Maybe even change a life.

More to come,
Robert Gibson
www.RobertMarketingHelp.com