Fred Shea is a real-life mailman who inspired a movement. I had the privilege of hearing the man responsible for Fred’s fame the other week. Mark Sanborn brought a word of truth that strikes close to my heart and is exactly where my life has been lately (funny how that happens when we surrender to the Divine’s timing). Mark has now written two books based on Fred Shea “The Fred Factor” and ‘Fred 2.0″ . The principles that Mark spoke of that morning are worth sharing.
The four basic Fred principles:
1. Everybody makes a difference.
2. It is all built on relationship.
3. You can add value to everything you do.
4. You can reinvent yourself continually.
Hidden within those basic principles I heard a few other nuggets. “Fear nothing but to waste your present moment.” At a time when my art sales have struggled and my studio lease is iffy I face a decision. Either I can sit and waste my present moments waiting for things to change thus being reactive instead of proactive. Or I can look up and beyond my circumstances and see what opportunities surround me to serve others.
Nugget #2 “Move from transactional to relational” fits well with serving others. What can I offer my customers, my colleagues, my friends and acquaintances other than “Here’s this painting and it sells for this much”. I realize that I consult with most of my customers on any number of things one on one, but have never taken that expertise to the streets (to the webisphere).
Number 3 is the acronym CARE: Create A Rare Experience. Don’t we all crave rare experiences? Recently I was at a local coffee shop with a friend. My lunch arrived before my latte, in other words delayed. Finally it arrived with an apology. However the owner chose to go beyond; she refunded the cost of the latte AND gave me a gift card for my next visit. That coffee shop has become my new favorite place to meet friends and/or sit and write.
Fourth: abundant life is found when we take “ordinary” (art, service, relationships, business practices, etc.) and take the “extra” effort to make it “extraordinary”. This follows Seth Godin’s theory in his book “Purple Cow”: do not settle for very good, go the extra mile to be remarkable. This is a philosophy I have tried to live be for years, but worth repeating and sharing here.
Creating an extraordinary experience is the core to The Fred Factor which leads me to my final nugget. “Be more concerned about your customer’s (friend’s, family’s) needs than they are”. Principle #4 (every day I have a chance to reinvent myself rather than replicate who I was yesterday) inspires me to get up every morning, to be more transformed into the image of the Creator, and to apply myself to be more concerned about others well being than I am about my own. Don’t ya know if we all took that approach the world would be a better place.
Deborah Gall 