Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Day 21 - The Assist

My intention for day 21 was to give someone else the opportunity to give.  I was fortunate enough to have some lululemon gift cards, so they were handed out for our team to distribute throughout the day.  Each had the amount and "Pay It Forward" written on the back.  I kept one as I am now addicted to giving at this point, needed my daily fix ya know?

The guests we chose were surprised and appreciative as expected. I loved seeing the faces of our team when they made someone's day.  It made me realize that we can have this feeling every day when we aim to make the people around us happy - this comes around full circle.

I gave mine to a guest who came in the store to shop for his girlfriend - he was calm (this isn't easy on Dec 21), prepared and was very friendly when going through the possible gift ideas.  He was present.  I handed him the gift card while he was in line to cash out and after he finished paying he came to find me in the store to thank me and wished me a Merry Christmas.  I told him to pay it forward and he assured me he would.  Awesome.


Saturday, December 20, 2014

Day 20 - All Hugged Out




















Day 20 was my favourite by far.  I stood outside of our store with a sign that read "Free Hug If Needed." I had some great responses "What about kisses?"  "Who could ever pass up a hug" "Well isn't this a great way to make friends" "I'm a hugger myself actually" "That's hilarious, are people actually hugging you?"  Another woman even pulled out all of the change from her pocket and handed it to me because she thought I was begging, I appreciated the thought but politely declined.

I was expecting the majority of the huggers to be women, but I was definitely proven wrong throughout the day. I also had plenty of parents sending their kids to give me hugs, one little boy even handed me a granola bar and wished me a Merry Christmas (made my day).

Now the rejections were entertaining as well: "No sorry, I'm married"  I then replied "Well I'm not asking for a date."  I had a lady all excited to get a hug while holding her husband's hand and he actually pulled her in the opposite direction.

The most satisfying part of the day was that out the people who didn't get or give a hug, most either looked back and smiled at the thought or laughed [with] me, either way I made their day just a little lighter.

Overall I hugged 150 strangers in a 3 hour window.  Afterwards I felt content, relaxed, loved and definitely cold.  Day 20 was definitely a success!
Day 19 - It's a Wash



My good friend Sarah gave me the idea to purchase car wash tickets and put them on the windshields of dirty cars as a random act of kindness.  So this is exactly what I did.  I chose to do this in downtown Oakville, where parking tickets are handed out like candy and at least this way the "victim" would assume the worst - then BAM! here's a clean car pass.  I walked around the parking lot making sure I picked the dirtiest cars and did I ever.  The one car was a deep navy turned dust grey and the other looked as if they just got back from being a pace car in a monster truck rally, do those even exist?  Regardless, I felt good about this act and I 'soap' they enjoy it too...
Day 18 - Pay it Forward

This past week I discovered I had a $50 gift card to Walmart.com .  Initially, I debated whether or not to buy something just because I had the credit.  But on Thursday I woke up and decided that as a random act of kindness I was going to tweet the gift card number. An hour later, I received a tweet from Mike, a friend of mine who I went to school with in Ohio and is currently working at Oklahoma State University.  He asked if the card was still available.  After I confirmed it was, I received this text shortly after:

"Hey - I'll explain in person but I wanted you to know I used the money to send a physical $50 gift card to some people in need that I help sponsor.  A girl and her daughter who now live in the states but are from a very abusive household in Belize.  Thought you might want to know that your act of kindness has gone farther.  They will be very appreciative!"

Mike's kindness is a confirmation that every day small gestures can lead to something greater and can end up helping someone who actually needs it.  I love it.  
Day 17 - The Question

I wanted to spark some positive thinking in others through a question.  I have learned the most effective way to do this is to ask is "What's the best thing that happened to you today?" It's amazing how many people know right away what the worst thing that happened was, but once they flip their mindset, a lot of fun responses come up.   Everyone I ask takes a few seconds to really think about it, and I find that just in digging for the answer, it slowly gets them to shift into positive mode.  I ask this question every day to the guests in our store, but I put some more emphasis on this for day 17.  Here are a few responses:

"Well I woke up, is that good enough?"

"I had coffee with a friend I haven't seen in a while"

"I'm a grandmother as of yesterday"

"Seeing you" (sarcastic or not, I always follow this one up with a hug)

"I just got out of the hospital after 3 months of treatment"

"I had my last exam"

I love seeing a shift in a stranger just by asking this and about half of the people who had a legitimate response thanked me for asking with a smile on their face.  Mission accomplished.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Day 16 - The Visit





When I think of what makes me happy, the first thing that pops into my head is visiting my little cousins Anthony and Nathan. It doesn't matter how tired or down I am, I can always rely on them for a smile.  Day 16 was about giving presence to them.  It started with a game of "magic magic" where Anthony usually gives me a small object and chants "magic, magic make it disappear!"  I then have to strategically make it disappear.  After it's gone - Anthony and Nathan run around the house checking under couches, inside of cabinets and sometimes in their clothes.  It then turns up in various locations in the house, sometimes I even pull it out of their ears.  This rarely fails, except for the odd time when Anthony sees me hide the object in my pants (Thanks lulu, those hidden pockets have come in handy).  After we finished this particular game, Nathan found my cell phone and somehow turned it on.  With the help of Anthony, they found the camera and started snapping some selfies (Picture #1).   While Nathan went to bed, Anthony and I hung out for a little bit and he read me the bed time story of Me Too (Picture #2).   Finally,  he wanted to show me that he could brush his teeth all on his own so I took a picture to show that he's telling the 'tooth,'  I was at a 'floss' for words... (Picture #3).

 I always get a hug and kiss from each of them before they go to bed and I always leave happier than when I arrived.   Not many things make me more present than these two.
Day 15 - Lorenzo

Since I started this blog, I had the intention of committing a random act of kindness for every day leading up to Christmas.  I have since caught myself trying too hard in seeking new ways to make people's days - a.k.a. assigned acts of kindness.  On day 15, I told myself I was just going to be present and see what happened...

There he was, standing at the front of the store at 3 feet tall, bright brown eyes and a smirk on his face as if he were up to something.  I, along with a few members of our team waved to him and as we all greeted him at once, he spun around to look at everyone and said "whoa, who are you guys?"  Based on his mannerisms, it was as if a 30 year old man was trapped in a 3 year old's body.  I asked him what his name was, he replied with excitement "Lorenzo!" I told him mine was Vinchenzo, he loved it.  I asked him if he had a girlfriend,  he threw his arms up in the air and rolled his eyes to his mom as if I should have known the answer "Of course I do, her name is Ellie."  As his visit continued, he introduced himself to just about everyone on our team.  When he got to Annie, she joked that she had the same mittens as him - Lorenzo dropped to his knees with his arms up in the air (again) and said "OH MY GOSH NO WAY." It's safe to say it was the most entertaining visit we've ever had from a 3 year old.   On his way out of the store, he went and hugged the legs of everyone he met on the way in.  It was then I realized, day 15 wasn't about giving presence, it was about receiving it.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Day 14 - The Rejection
Basketball Dikembe Mutombo animated GIF
I drove to the grocery store with the intention of helping someone carry their groceries.  As I pulled in, I noticed a woman getting her trunk/back seat ready for her freshly purchased Christmas tree.  It seemed as if she was having some trouble so I asked if I could help her out.  She replied with a "no thank you,"(My response would have been "I`m `pine` thanks for asking") I pressed again asking if she was sure and her response was "I think I can handle it."  Rejected...

Hey, it had to happen one of these days and of course she could handle it, I was just hoping she'd 'branch' out... So instead of sulking in a bed of pine needles, I decided to go into the store and buy 3 bags of pre-packed food for families in need.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Day 13 - Worth The Squeeze


13 being my favourite number, I figured I'd commit one of my favourite random acts of kindness on this special day - To hug a stranger.  This is a tough one and as much as I love doing it, it can get weird really fast. My coworkers make fun of me for my failed attempts in the store,  but they fail to recognize that I have a 90% success rate.

Well I was lucky on Saturday - as always I was greeted with a hug from my good friend Renee.  I told her I was on a mission to find a stranger to hug.  She threw me an alley-oop and pointed behind to her friend Ellen, who I obviously didn`t know.  Ellen welcomed me with open arms and a smile, we shared a laugh in the TD bank parking lot and she promised me that she`d pass the hug on. You never know what kind of impact a simple hug can have on someone`s day.


Day 12 - Giving Presents

This holiday season at lululemon we have been given the opportunity to adopt a family for Christmas through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Halton.  On Friday - A few members from our team and myself got together at Wal-Mart to shop for the family`s requests.  Going from department to department, the excitement in outfitting and entertaining the kids increased as we went down the list.  From Lego to underwear, we were able to meet the needs of the family. I learned that beyond just purchasing material goods, there is such a satisfying feeling in knowing that we can directly create a positive Christmas experience for a family we've never met before.

Side note: The highlight of the day for me was meeting a young boy in the pajama isle who told me he asked Santa Claus for the Leonardo Ninja Turtle mask. After an aggressive high five and a huge smile, he explained when he got his picture taken with the big man there was a scary clown and a blown up bear beside him.  His mom chuckled in disagreement, it was hilarious.




Thursday, December 11, 2014

Day 11 - Brush Hour



On a snow-filled Thursday morning in downtown Oakville, lululemon and KIND teamed up to make the Lakeshore visitor's days a little bit easier.  We went up and down the street brushing the snow off of cars and paying for parking.  Personally, I love nothing more than having an excuse to talk to strangers and this was perfect.  We had a range of reactions, "Why are you doing this?" "How much do I have to pay you?" "Oh that's so nice of you guys, you've made my day"  and we also had one restaurant employee come rushing out worried that we were near his car.  We ensured him that we would take good care of it and we were simply doing it as a random act of kindness.  Gift bags were also left on the mirrors with 2 KIND bars and a note that says "Get wrapped up in the present, pass it on."  Approximately 35 cars were brushed off and plenty of days were made.  Overall the day was a success - there's 'snow' better way to spend a Thursday....
Day 10 - The Drive By

For the 10th day of December, I decided to focus on giving something to someone that I take for granted.  I went and bought a burger from A&W with the intention that I'd be giving it to someone who needed it.  As I was driving down Main St. in downtown Hamilton late last night, I noticed a young homeless man sitting in the middle of the sidewalk.  He was holding a sign that I couldn't read from my car, but I decided to pull over up beside him in the bus lane.  I shouted for his attention and as he walked over I asked if he was hungry, "oh yes I am" he replied.  I handed him the bag and as he looked inside he had a big smile on his face and said "oh my god thank you so much."  I wish I stayed to talk to him, but I was forced out of my spot by a city bus.  I usually end these notes with a pun but this one really touched me.  It made me realize through his reaction how much this offer meant to him and how much I overlook these small privileges.


Day 9 - Water you doing?

I'm a firm believer in staying hydrated throughout the day.  It keeps me sharp and if successful, it also improves my sense of humour by 25% - hard to believe eh?  I went to a 6 a.m. class at Crossfit Col on Tuesday morning and I brought 2 gatorades for whoever forgot their water bottles.  It turned out there were 2 gym goers who ignored the call of hydration so it worked out perfectly.  I was even asked "is there any booze in this" as if I spiked it before I handed it over.  This simple gesture led to a few smiles and some jokes, just a  lesson that you shouldn't keep anything 'bottled' up...
Day 8 - A Class Act

It has been said that the best way to be happy is to show gratitude, I figured I'd reaffirm this by sending an e-mail to someone who has made a positive influence on me - my favourite University professor .  He taught an interpersonal communications class at Wilfrid Laurier, where he let me do a 20 minute presentation on my love for sneakers.  Of course I got an A+, I mean come on... I learned a lot from his class, but the most important thing I pulled from him is that passion is contagious.  He got me excited about anything he was talking about just in his delivery.  I've done my best to carry this on as a leader.  I thanked him for this and gave him an update on what I'm up to.  An inspiring reply came shortly after and although I had the intent of making his day, he definitely made mine.


Monday, December 8, 2014

Giving Presence

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog, #givepresence.  My name is Vince, I am a Key Leader at lululemon athletica Oakville - I love puns, sports, kids, talking to strangers and making people smile.  For the next 24 days I will be posting a weekly note about the different random acts of kindness I commit throughout each week of December (and beyond).  My intention is to give the people who I reach the gift of presence for the holiday season. We all know how stressful it is to track down that Frozen Elsa doll or to find that parking spot on a busy Saturday afternoon.  My goal is to have these random acts of kindness remind people that through all of the chaos we all have the opportunity to step back and live in the moment.


Day 1 - Sole to Soul

For about a year now, there has been a brand new pair of Asics running shoes sitting around our store.  They were size 8.5 baby blue with a white logo and some reflective accents around the midsole, they not only brightened up the room but I was hoping they'd also brighten up someone's day.  So my good friend Kelsang told me I should just give them away.  I was doubtful at first as I knew I had to match up the size and style of shoe with a random guest that came into the store.  Not even 2 minutes after our discussion, a guest strolls into the store with a similar style of shoe so I ask her (don't worry I was smooth with this one) what size her feet were, she replied "7.5 or 8, oh please don't show me any shoes, I'll probably buy them."  I told her their story and that we'd be giving them to her, she tried them on and absolutely loved them.  Although she may have not needed a pair of shoes, I hope this gesture touched her 'sole' and encouraged to do something similar for someone else.


Day 2 - Chai Something new

We have all heard the story of someone in a drive thru paying for the person behind them. I wanted to take this a step further and get to know the person that I'd be paying for.  So I walked down the street to Aroma Cafe on Lakeshore, I have to admit I was slightly nervous - side note: these random acts of kindness give me the same tingly feeling I would get before a big football game.  So I stood in line waiting for someone to come in behind me, sure enough within 30 seconds a girl came in and I asked her if I could buy her coffee, she was surprised and accepted with a smile on her face. The manager introduced us and it turned out she played Hockey at Laurier at the same time I played football there. When you're open to 'chai' new things, it's amazing what will come about.


Day 3 - It Was Nice To Meter

Everyone in downtown Oakville knows that parking is a pain in the a**, so I figure why not help them relieve that pain with a few dollars.  This one was interesting as I couldn't really be sly, I stood on the sidewalk by the machine for a few minutes looking back and forth hoping someone would pull into the spot in front of our store.  As this woman in a minivan finally pulled in, I didn't know how to react - I did the whole awkward step forward, step back dance waiting for her to notice me.  As she got out I told her that I'd love to pay for her parking today, she replied "Oh you're doing one of those nice gestures, well thank you and I will definitely pass this on."  This one gave me a good feeling based on her reaction, it made her happy, she was appreciative and she would pay it forward.  It sure was nice to 'meter'...


Day 4 - Everyone Nose

After the Santa Claus parade in November, we had an excess of red noses in the store. Even though I do my best every day to make the kids in the store smile, I thought there'd be no better way than to distribute these noses.  So throughout the day on Dec.4 (which also marked our store's 10 year anniversary) I wore my red nose and handed others out to any kids who came in with their parents.  I had a variety of reactions, some kids absolutely loved it and put them on right away, others were terrified and hid from me (it happens more than I'd like to admit).  This wasn't intended to be an over the top act of kindness, but it definitely made a lot of people smile - even the guests that didn't get a nose.  I would say everyone 'nose' this was a success...

Day 5 - Passing The Time

As a high school football player, I always had the dream of playing football at a Division 1 school in the States. Prior to working at lululemon I was fortunate enough to be able to coach at that level and give kids like my old self the opportunity to gain that experience.  On Friday, I volunteered a few hours to sit down with a prospective quarterback (hence the 'passing' the time pun) and his father to discuss possible opportunities and implement a plan that will help him reach his goal.  I know this is more of an assigned act of kindness, but it was just a reminder how good of a feeling it is to help others no matter the avenue. I will continue to meet with him to help him on his journey and I hope this encourages others to use their knowledge and pass it on to someone who wants or needs it.


Day 6 - The Canadian Classic

When most Canadians think of a random act of kindness the first thought that pops in their head is the drive thru gesture at Tim Horton's.  So I figured I had to do this at least once this month.  I pulled into the Tim Horton's by Sherway mall and ordered myself a green tea (leaf me alone, alright?).  I then got that pre-game rush of adrenaline as I told the employee that I'd be paying for the person behind me.  She was in training and admitted she was not 100% sure how to put it through, with some patience and a few smiles it was all figured out. Once I finished paying for their coffee, I drove off into the night with a smile on my face. I committed the "Canadian Classic."

Day 7 - The All Star Move



With the theme of giving presence for this month, I decided to give my presence to two young boys in the store who were waiting patiently for their parents.  I took a liking to them as they reminded me of how my brother and I would sit together waiting for our parents.  I noticed they were sporting hockey logos on their jackets so I asked if they played and they went on to tell me they each scored 2 goals that morning in their games.  After going back and forth with them for a few minutes I asked them to autograph our feedback book and to leave me a little note along with it.  I asked them to write what they would tell me before I were to play a big game, so the older brother wrote his name and "Have fun and hustle" and the younger brother wrote "skate hard and play hard."  I was impressed at what they wrote and told their parents they should be proud.  Their mom looked at me and told me I made their day, that's all I needed to hear.