Part of the inspiration for Five More Minutes With is that we should live each day as if it were our last, for none of us really knows how much time we may have left.
With that principal in mind, I’d like to introduce you to a little book that changed my life in all sorts of positive ways when I first picked it up shortly after it was published back in 2003.
I spotted the book as I was window-shopping my way along Seattle’s First Avenue in Seattle toward Pioneer Square, one of the city’s most historic neighborhoods. In the window of a large Aveda salon and spa, I spied a cute little square-format book whose robin’s-egg blue cover boasted the face of a handsome 30-something man with kind eyes, gorgeous wavy hair, and a toothy smile.
The book was entitled, “Life as a Daymaker: How to Change the World By Making Someone’s Day.”
For some reason, although I’d never set foot in that particular salon before, I went in and began perusing the book, which was written by David Wagner, a world-renowned hair sylist (founder of the Aveda spas), artist, entrepreneur, educator, author, and “Daymaker.”
I quickly discovered that the principal behind the book–make someone else’s day and you’ll make your own–was one I’d been trying to incorporate into my life for years. I don’t know where I picked it up, but probably from my mother.
Mom, Grandmother, and me
With her sweet Georgia accent and natural beauty, that was one southern belle who never met a person she didn’t like or couldn’t charm. And her life motto was, “Live each day gloriously.”
Wagner’s book poses the simple, yet intriguing question: “Why have random acts of kindness when you can have intentional acts of goodwill?”
Since its publication, the book has sparked the pay-it-forward“Daymaking” movement–a philosophy for living that has captured the hearts of many individuals who aim to change the world–one person at a time–through simple kindness.
In upcoming posts, we’ll explore ways to incorporate “daymaking” into your own life.
But in the meantime, ask yourself: How can I make someone’s day and, thereby, change my own?
