A Radio DJ's Advice I Can't Stop Thinking About

Radio jockeys don’t normally teach life (and business) lessons in one sentence.

You know those few seconds before the opening lyrics of a song hits on the radio and the disc jockey is trying to cram 5 pounds of words in a 3 pound bag? Usually it’s about some promotion or whatever, but on this random Tuesday in Portland, the midday host had a few seconds to spare before Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) came in on “1979”, and dropped a gem. The DJ said, “Hey, go out there and be the best part of someone's day.”

Damn. 

I actually choked up. The advice was so good because it wasn’t asking you to be the best part of everyone’s day, just somebody’s. Think about all the random encounters we have on a daily basis. Think about the compliment you could have given, the eye contact you could have had, the smile you could’ve dished, the “I appreciate you!” you could have said, the door you could’ve held.

I’ve said it once, I’ve said it twice: Don’t change the world, change the moment. 

We talk about losing the forest for the trees when caught up in minutiae, but in our own experiences, we’re often lost in the forest of our dreams at the expense of the trees in our lives; the people in front of our face, the interactions on a random Tuesday when no one else is looking.

Don’t cut the knees off of those moments. Be the best part of somebody's day. Hopefully someone out there you don’t know will be the best part of yours.