faithMile

by Kevin Eikenberry

“Make it a habit to do nice things for people who’ll never find out.”
– Life’s Little Instruction Book

Got something for you to try. The next time you are at a toll booth, after paying for your toll, pay for the person behind you too! I had read of this idea several years ago, paying for the next person and asking the toll taker to give them your business card. (Apparently at least one realtor has done very well with this marketing approach.)

I always thought this was an interesting tactic, but had left it at that. Last week, though, as I neared the Bay Bridge, heading towards San Francisco, I was reminded of this idea, by a friend and associate, Leslie Brunker. She said that she always pays for the person behind her, anytime she’s at a toll booth. So, that’s what I did, I told the toll taker to pay for the next person, and tell them “Happy Valentine’s Day.” This led to a discussion of Leslie’s experiences in doing this, with some great stories of how people respond. During our conversation, the receiver of my dollar, barreled up along side me and waved a thank you.

The entertainment value was worth the dollar, but that is not why I am recommending you try it. I’m recommending it for what it does for the other person. Ever find a quarter on the ground? What happens after you find that quarter? Are you a bit nicer? Are you a bit more friendly, is there a bit more lightness in your step? I’ll bet the answer is yes to all three of those questions.

There was even a study done to look at what is now called the Good Samaritan Effect. In the study researchers stood near a pay phone and studied the people who made calls. One of the things they learned was that nearly everyone checks to see if there are any coins in the coin return after placing their call. The urge is nearly irresistible, to see if the machine made a mistake and returned your quarter.

This behavior gave the researchers an idea. The next day they randomly placed coins in the coin return slots, so that some people did actually discover money. The researchers then had a young woman walk by the phone at the exact moment the people were hanging up. When the woman walked by with her arms full of books, she pretended to stumble and drop them on the ground.

What they learned was that the people who had just found money in the coin return were four times more likely to stop and help the women with her books than were those who didn’t find any money. They concluded that when we feel good, we tend to do good.

This simple act of helping someone – with no desire (or possibility) of repayment is good for us and our self image, and it may positively change the life or outlook of the receiver for the day!

Maybe you don’t have a toll booth near you. But there are other ways to apply this advice.

Pay extra in the parking meter.

Randomly drop coins as you run or jog

Put a coin in the coin return – pay phone, candy machine, newspaper machine, wherever!

Buy a movie ticket for the next guest who walks up (especially if there is no one in line!)

These are just a few. There are many other ways! I’d love to hear what your experiences are with trying this, and what other ways you find to try it. Please send those on to me – I’ll happily put together a postscript for the everyone else.

Try it today – you’ll be glad you did!