“It’s a Wonderful Business Life”

A man stands near a burned out truck as Veterans and activists march to Backwater Bridge just outside of the Oceti Sakowin camp during a snow fall as “water protectors” continue to demonstrate against plans to pass the Dakota Access pipeline adjacent to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., December 5, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Snow was flying inside the television screen looking just like a picturesque shakable snow globe. People dressed in heavy fur coats, rawhide gloves and large wooly hats stood with poles in their hands rejoicing. They had endured a brutal winter storm to protect their Indian land in North Dakota. People rallied beside them. Some Veteran groups joined them in the frozen tundra of the US plains to show support. There was a warm community of people standing together in the coldest conditions.

The scene made me flash back to a knock on my door one summer day from a Fuller Brush man who shopped door to door to sell his products to my family and others. I remember being amazed as a child that someone came to us – to our house – to sell and support our buying habits. We didn’t have to go to him. This old form of shopping seems obsolete now since consumers can turn on their computer to shop without a sales person. But I remember greeting him happily to see what he brought for us to buy.

I think in today’s times, in the “me” generation, we expect for people to come out to support us, buy from us, or stand up for beliefs we have together. What happened to us going to people to ask for their business, to meet them, to support their wishes and beliefs? Community can be found over the Internet but you know as well as I do that community is found when you are standing side by side with someone or asking someone over a cup of coffee for their business. A deep, meaningful community comes from personal interaction not over a wire.

I worried a couple years ago having less attendance at events after people became happy enough to network or learn from home behind a computer screen. I wondered if human interactions and live events would still be attended if people stopped wanting to mingling in person. Yet at every event I’ve held in the past six months, although the crowds have been slightly smaller, the interaction of women meeting each other and staying longer is evident. Being an active community member matters.

Today’s #WednesdayWisdom is to remind you that as easy as technology makes you feel to be part of a vital community, being somewhere in person is imperative to feeling alive and participating in a meaningful experience. This holiday season think about knocking on the door of a couple of your most important customers, like the Fuller Brush Company did, to surprise them with something nice. Go out and join a community event to feel alive and connected. Pick up the phone and just call clients to thank them. Handwrite a message or deliver a blessing that makes a difference.