A bird taught me a valuable lesson.
Here's the story.
We were at the Wild Bird Show in the San Diego Zoo. At the end of this show, the speaker invited people to give a dollar to support two causes: The California Condor Project and The World Parrot Trust.
Since this is a bird show, they use a bird to collect the money. In this case it was an African Collared Raven, which is a large magnificent bird. People would hold out a dollar, the bird would grab the bill with its beak and stuff it into a large plastic bin.
This bird works fast, too. Maybe the bird realizes the importance of processing of donations quickly, before people can change their minds.
Each time someone gave a dollar, the speaker said "Thanks!" And if someone gave five dollars, the speaker gave the donor a token bracelet and a huge, "Thanks!"
Since I felt especially touched by the show, I decided to give twenty dollars. And I will admit that I was enjoying the expectation of receiving extraordinary gratitude.
So I held out a $20 bill, the bird grabbed it, and stuffed it in the bin.
Gone.
But no one noticed.
After all, the bird can't read numbers. And the speaker was thanking someone else.
I stood there briefly, adsorbing the reality of what had just occurred. I had just spent $20. And nothing happened. No thanks. No bracelet. No glorious fan fare of horns. Nothing.
Then I realized something.
I spent $20 to preserve endangered wildlife, not to receive recognition. And that's important. Great leaders do good things because they're the right thing to do. Any thanks that we might receive is a bonus.
Key Point: Do good things because it's the right thing to do.
Much success,
Steve Kaye
714-528-1300
Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator
Wish you the best,
Steve Kaye
Professional Speaker and Photographer
Inspiring Leaders Since 1992
See: Steve’s Web Site
(Dozens of articles, more than 600 photos, and 157 blog posts)