As we get older, we start surrounding ourselves with several styles of shoes for many different reasons, occasions, and purposes. I have some brown boots to wear when I’m working in the garage, and I have other warmer boots to wear when I’m shoveling snow. I’ve got sandals for the beach, trainers if I ever make it to the gym, and I might even have a pair of slippers around here somewhere.
I have an old pair of gym shoes that are my go-to shoes. I would wear them every day, all day, if I could. They are comfortable, reliable, and they slip right on. Over the years, my feet have gotten used to them.
I also have a pair of black dressy shoes. These shoes are uncomfortable, they seem to get tighter every time I put them on, and I can’t stand wearing them for more than a couple of hours. I’m sure we’ve all got a pair of shoes like these.
At the end of the day, if I’m wearing my gym shoes, I kick them off into a pile of other shoes by the door. They get pretty banged up and dirty. They are my old reliables. But, after an event where I’ve worn my dressy black shoes, I sit down at the foot of my bed, and carefully slip these bad boys off. I wipe them down and check for scratches and scuffs. I vigilantly put them back in the shoebox, wrapped in the tissue that they came in, and place them high on a shelf in the closet. I want them to stay protected and pristine for the next time I need them.
While out for a walk one day, purposefully plodding through puddles, I looked down at my dirty, worn-out, wet gym shoes and wondered why I treat them so poorly. Why do I casually and carelessly mistreat the shoes that I rely on, yet revere and respect the aggravating shoes I despise?
I think that sometimes we treat people in our lives the same way. The special people in our lives, the ones we rely on, we tend to take for granted. And troublesome associates are handled with kid gloves. We are so used to having some people in our lives that we feel we will never lose them. And others, that only serve specific purposes, must be coddled, and cared for, for fear of failing them.
We treat our employees and customers in the same regard. We offer sign-on bonuses and special deals for first-time buyers and ignore the backbone personnel and patrons of our businesses.
Good leaders and good people know how to take a few steps away and imagine what it’s like to walk miles in the shoes of others. They try to empathize, understand, and reward reliability with respect. Successful people show gratitude for dependability, longevity, and loyalty. And this is how they get people to walk with them and not away.
The path to being well-heeled starts with polishing the shoes you’re wearing. And that is how you Master Happiness.
My Favorite Shoes
As seen in Stroll, Hawthorn Woods CC Magazine. Follow “Bacon Bits with Master Happiness” on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, Amazon Music, Audible, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
Marty Jalove of Master Happiness is a Corporate Coach, Business Consultant, and Marketing Strategist that helps small businesses, teams, and individuals find focus, feel fulfilled, and have fun. Master Happiness stresses the importance of realistic goal setting, empowerment, and accountability in order to encourage employee and customer engagement and retention.
The secret is simple: Happy Employees attract Happy Customers and Happy Customers come back with Friends.
Learn more about my favorite shoes and so much more at Master Happiness:
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