Wed, October 28, 2009 - 10:22:33

The Best Investment You’ll Ever Make Doesn’t Cost a Thing

A few days ago, we read a wonderful story by sportswriter Larry Burton about the late, great NCAA Football Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and we couldn’t help but share it with all of you.  Although the six-time championship winning coach made his name with his fierce competitive streak, the story Bob shares on his blog shows that despite his tough exterior, Bear Bryant knew that NICE was the key to success.

As Bob Morris writes, Bear Bryant was in southern Alabama when he stopped for a quick bite at a non-descript eatery simply called “Restaurant.”  Enjoying his plate of traditional Deep South cuisine and making a bit of small talk with the manager, Bryant explained that he was the new football coach in Tuscaloosa and happened to be in town recruiting a local player and asked for directions to the school.

After he finished, the manager told him lunch was on the house, but Bryant protested saying, “for a lunch that good, I should pay.”  As a compromise, the manager asked if he could have an autographed picture and although Bryant didn’t have any with him at the time, he took down the man’s name and address on a paper napkin and promised to send him one soon.

The next day, back home in Tuscaloosa, Bryant pulled out the napkin, jotted down “Thanks for the best lunch I’ve ever had” on a glossy photo, and sent it out to the restaurant manager without giving it a second thought. 

Then, a number of years later, Bryant lost a battle against the head coach at Auburn University for a talented high school football player.  But a few days after, he got a surprising phone call from the young man, who begged Bryant to let him play for Alabama after all.  Out of sheer curiosity, Bryant asked what had changed his mind.  “Well,” he confessed, “When my grandpa found out that I had a chance to play for you and said no, he pitched a fit and told me I wasn’t going nowhere but Alabama, and wasn’t playing for nobody but you. He thinks a lot of you and has ever since y’all met.”

As luck would have it, the football player’s grandfather just happened to be the owner of the Southern Alabama restaurant where Bryant had eaten years prior and the one to whom Bryant had sent the autographed picture that became his pride and joy.  And with that one small act of kindness, Bryant unknowingly shaped a piece of his future, ensuring that his team would sign a valuable and extremely talented player.

It’s just another example of how the Power of Nice is always at work in our professional and personal lives.  And how, even when they seem utterly insignificant, our smallest actions can have an enormous impact on our lives and on the lives of others.  Although a busy and high-profile football coach at a major university, Bryant invested just a few moments of his time to brighten the day of a virtual stranger, and in the end got an enormous return.  And you can make the power of nice work for you in the very same way by planting the seeds of positivity wherever you go.  It doesn’t take a grand gesture, but simply a small act of kindness to create a positive impression. 

So, in our deadline-driven, on-the-go world, take the time to go that extra inch no matter how busy you are.  Because as Bear Bryant once said, “It don’t cost nothing to be nice. It don’t cost nothing to do the right thing most of the time, and it costs a lot to lose your good name by breaking your word to someone.”

Posted by Linda and Robin