The Quick Hacks to Success
As you can see, I love sharing by example. And I want to make this point in my children’s lives at a young age, so they can be judgment-free their entire lives. For the last five Christ- mases, after the kids open their presents and we have our morn- ing routine, we jump in the car and drive to downtown Phoe- nix, armed with bagged lunches that also contain $100 bills. We drive street by street, alley by alley, to find the homeless peo- ple on Christmas morning and hand each one of them a lunch bag. We then say, “Merry Christmas,” and as we pull away, in so many cases, they are crying or shocked or saying, “Thank God and thank you.” And it’s about more than the food and the money. It’s about having the chance to feel that someone cares. And my children are old enough to realize that people will say, “Why are you giving money to the homeless? They should work, they’re lazy, they have options, they will use it for drugs or alco- hol.” And maybe that’s the case in some instances, but who are we to judge? Rather than pulling away from someone who’s barely dressed, completely dirty, or smells horrible, the lessons I’m able to share with my children are the ones I want to become per- manent in their souls. I get to teach my children that we don’t know if homeless people’s families threw them out, if they were molested, if they were beaten, if they have a severe learning dis- ability that no one noticed. I share with my children that there are a million reasons the homeless person could be where they are. Some of them may be on drugs and may use alcohol, and maybe that’s the only thing that quiets the noises in their heads. I always tell my kids that we have no idea why they are there, but we can wish them well, let them know someone cares, pray for them, and find gratitude for the blessings we’ve had in our own lives. Yes, this is a lesson for my children from a dad who had a tougher childhood than they are experiencing. And yes, I may be doing this to help create adults who have empathy, caring spirits, no judgment, and gratitude. But at the same time, I continue to do things like this to cement those values into my own life and heart. So stop judging, and watch your heart, mind, and world open up—and your income increase in the process.
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