22 Responses to “Leadership Secrets from Santa Claus”

• Cath Lawson December 25th, 2009 at 8:40 pm

  

  Wow Gary – What an amazing story. Initially I thought it was a nice tale about some rich guy paying it forward. But he had just been fired when he started doing it, which is awesome.

• Nik December 25th, 2009 at 8:53 pm

  

  Volunteer.

  Take your right arm, or left if you prefer, stick it in the air and utter the magic words “I’ll help”.

  There are plenty of organizations which are crying out for people to take the time to help others, and I have found that the times I was money poor (unable to hand out the $100’s) I was mysteriously time rich.

  When I got laid off during a downsize, I put my hand up to help my local Girl Guide unit. I have upper level management experience and was used to managing a nationwide team of 220 employees with a multi-million dollar budget.

  The skills and knowledge I have been able to bring to the table have made a difference to these kids lives, as I have been able to assist them with marketing the ‘cookie drive’ through to helping build action plans for doing activity badges.

  Now I am back working, but I still give plenty of my time to help out, and frankly, seeing those smiling faces makes it all worth it.

  Not everyone is going to go down the same path and not everyone has the same skills toolkit, but perhaps you’d be that guy volunteering to climb on the roof with me to clean out the guttering on the hall.

  I believe that these kids will all see the fact that others volunteered to help them have a great experience, and in turn as adults will help others – so in fact what I do today, will multiply exponentially with each generation.

  It only takes one of us to be the ’stone in the pond’ creating the ‘ripple’.

• helen ellis December 26th, 2009 at 12:11 am

  

  This is truly a wonderful story. Thank you for sending it to me. A tiny ripple from me yesterday – I went for a walk in the afternoon through a fairly deserted shopping centre near where I live and came across a man I have never met before sitting at a table in the street drinking a bottle of coca cola. I sat down – we chatted – and chatted – and chatted – for about 3 hours! We chatted about everything! At one stage I began to think of making a move to return home and he said ‘you don’t have to go do you? Do you want a cup of coffee?’. I was extremely touched by his genuine pleasure in my company and his act of generosity and, indeed, felt that I myself had given something of value to a complete stranger on Christmas Day.

• Sirdalmi December 26th, 2009 at 12:49 am

  

  Gary, that is one amazing story and thank you so much for sharing it.

  May the joy of Christmas stay with us for the year to come!

• Ivan Basson South Africa December 26th, 2009 at 3:52 am

  

  Thank you for reminding us how easy it is to be a blessing to others. The Secret Santa story is worth sharing to others-especially those who love asking: ” But what can One Person do?”

  By sharing the secret Santa message and “paying it forward” we can soon have an “epidemic for the good of mankind” all over the world.

  I believe that all people are good-some are just better!

  All we need at times are reminders of how each of us CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

  Once again, ” Thank you Gary for doing something constructive to make the world a better place!

  I trust you all enjoyed a Blessed Christmas with your loved ones!

  Regards,

  Ivan Basson (South Africa)

• Cindy Botha December 26th, 2009 at 4:30 am

  

  Wow! Gary that is absolutely awesome. I have done something like this most of my life around Christmas.

  When the need is seen by me, whatever I have in my purse I give out. I left my job though in July 2009 as I was not happy with what I was doing anymore as I was moved to a different department. So did not think that I could help this year. But… the opportunity arose. I wrote a book and was published, still awaiting royalties… then one day I visited a friend of mine both her husband and her pensioners and she was so unhappy that she could not give her Mom who was visiting lunch, so I gave her R200, the only money that I had at the time even knowing that I needed it for petrol.

  She was so happy she cried, making me cry too. It was such a great feeling.

  As a result, I have been blessed out of my boots many times over. You can’t out give the Universe this much I have learned. The Divine is waiting to give more and more out to those who give out.

  Thank you for telling us this story .. it touched my heart so totally amazing.

• Cindy Botha December 26th, 2009 at 4:32 am

  

  Thanks Gary thanks so very much. Bless you for all you are doing to make the world a better place!

• Brenda Poulsen December 26th, 2009 at 4:57 am

  

  Gary thank you for this wonderful story. There have been times in my life when I needed a hand up and always appreciative there was someone to offer that hand.

  I love to return the gesture with others. Maybe when we give to another person needing that hand up it really is a selfish act. The feeling of joy and love that comes from inside me when I help is the best.

  Happy Holidays Gary.

• Michel December 26th, 2009 at 6:20 am

  

  I know if one day in your life you have been hungry and no one has helped you at that particular time this will change the way how you look at people in need and most specially on special day like CHRISTMAS.

  Just before EVE CHRISTMAS dinner I met someone selling something to survive because he does not have a regular job. I invited him to sell his items to my friends and Staff and Family and invited to eat with us and I feel so good to see him happy and this is something I will never forget. I made a promise to myself that 2010 I will help more people than I have ever helped before .

  Thank you Gary for this nice real story. MICHEL

• medra van zuyen December 26th, 2009 at 9:30 am

  

  When I left my abusive husband, I walked away from a huge house on a 16 acre farm with two small children under the age of four with only the clothes on our backs and a toy in each of my children’s hands. We lived in a homeless shelter for three months before finally getting accepted into a section 8 housing unit where I was so poor that they actually paid me $4 a month to live there.

  We were living in the homeless shelter during Easter, we were the only Jews in the place so the holiday was not something we celebrated but when Easter came and I saw some of the children crying because the Easter Bunny hadn’t come to the Homeless shelter it made a big impact on my daughter (the one who was four) and I and we swore we were going to see to it that all the children in the homeless shelter got Easter baskets the next year.

  The following year, we were still living in section 8 housing and I was only making a little over minimum wage but I didn’t forget the promise we had made to ourselves to provide Easter baskets, so I posted a note in the laundry room that if anyone else wanted to help us out with a donation to go into our baskets, it would be greatly appreciated.

  I then went and donated blood for three months in a row so that I could come up with the cash to buy the baskets (I hate needles and I didn’t enjoy this part at all but I had no other way to make the money at that time). That year we passed out 42 Easter baskets that were loaded.

  The women at the housing unit we lived in had been very generous. Almost all of them told me how they had not been able to provide anything for their children over Easter at one time or another and they all wanted to help me out with my cause, and like me, they knew that people were more likely to give during Christmas than they were during Easter.

  It took three of us in three different cars to take the baskets over to the homeless shelter and I think the other two families who helped us pass them out got as much out of it as we did. We have done it every year since then.

  My daughter is now 21 and my son is now 19, we have since come to know the Lord as our savior and even though we still don’t do the Easter baskets in our own home, we still give away several Easter baskets each year.

  My daughter now lives in California and she told me that she has already found a homeless shelter that she plans on supplying baskets to this coming year. I am so proud of her. She’s not making much more than minimum wage herself right now but she’s told me that that is not going to stop her from finding a way to give. She said if I could find a way to do it with two small children, she surely could with just herself to take care of. Besides she said, it’s tradition, I can’t stop it now.

• Cygnet Brown December 26th, 2009 at 10:48 am

  

  I love hearing biographies about people who are making a difference. I was talking with a couple at the checkout at a grocery store the other day. They had box upon box trays of canned goods in their cart. I asked them if they were buying food for the food pantry and they said they were, that they ran the local food pantry. The man said that people were very generous this year. We then started talking about the rest of the year and how January and February are often the darkest and coldest months for many people.

  We agreed that we needed to not only have this spirit of giving at Christmas time but also throughout the whole year.

  Rather than making a resolution to lose weight or quit smoking, this year, let us make a resolution to give more of ourselves to others. This way we can have the Christmas Spirit all year long.

• PVP December 26th, 2009 at 12:53 pm

  

  Hi Gary,

  We have a Caretaker, abjectly poor, with six mentally challanged children.

  Seeing these kids, breaks your heart. I help out as and when possible, to the best of my abilities, but have often wondered, what will happen to them, when they go back to their home country.

  You have just strenghtened my resolve, to put my doubts aside, and take “One step at a time” and keep on going ahead.

  Love you Buddy. And THANK YOU SIR!
  REGARDS
  PVP

• Ruth Schwartz December 26th, 2009 at 2:32 pm

  

  What a wonderful story! My husband and I are not wealthy (in dollars or assets) and we started an all-volunteer nonprofit almost five years ago where we gather and redistribute mostly perishable food from Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods throughout the year.

  This food goes to the residents of twenty different low income senior housing complexes and others throughout our County (Marin County in the SF Bay Area). We distribute about $3 million worth of food every year and take care of about 1500 people every week.

  We spent Christmas Eve with about twenty of the volunteers picking up and delivering three van/truck loads of food all over Central Marin. I wrote a blog entry about this and you can find it on our website. http://respectingourelders.org/

  This is the most gratifying work we have ever done. We are both seniors ourselves, and many of our volunteers are as well. We do not ask anyone to qualify and we do not turn anyone away?ever.

  Thanks so much for sharing that Secret Santa story. During Christmas week, my husband, Curt Kinkead, wears a Santa hat, and people always acknowledge him as the “true” Santa Claus. He quickly tells them that he is Santa’s younger brother, “Subordinate Clause” and he does all the work while Santa Claus gets all the credit.

  It is nice to know there are other “subordinate clauses” out there.

  Happy Holidays!
  Ruth
  __________________
  Ruth Schwartz
  President/Board Chair
  Respecting Our Elders, Inc.

• Lee Zander December 26th, 2009 at 4:31 pm

  

  Thanks for this wonderful Secret Santa story. It’s always wonderful to hear of people helping others, no matter what their own circumstances may be. As for myself, I have given the last 15 years of my life to caring for my aging mother, despite other family members who would just as soon place her in a nursing home. I have been blessed beyond belief – and I won’t be the one feeling guilty upon her passing. ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ That is more than just a beautiful sentiment; it’s how we were meant to live our lives on this Earth.

• Brennan Kingsland December 27th, 2009 at 10:16 am

  

  Dear Gary,

  Everyday I eagerly look forward to your inspirational and motivational messages in the 100 Day Challenge. It always gives a great start to my day.

  Now you have given us another gift to help us expand our horizons.

  Probably the most important part of the story is understanding that Mr. Stewart started his giving when HE HAD JUST BEEN FIRED!

  I think too often I plan on doing good “after I get rich again”.

  We have maintained an animal sanctuary for abused and abandoned animals for over 20 years and that takes most of our resources, since we receive no assistance.

  BUT . . .

  I realize that there are ways I can reach out and help MORE of my fellow humans as well.

  Again, thank you for the inspiration!

  Your friend,
  Brennan

• Martha Williams December 27th, 2009 at 11:25 am

  

  Gary and staff. This year I wanted to advertize the 100 Day Challenge for 2010 in the Senior Community in which I live.

  This is a group of apartments in two large buildings, East and West connected by a community meeting area which includes a mail room. I put up my sign to encourage others to sign up for the 2010 100 Day Challenge. It was taken down six times so I wondered and prayed about what I could do to get it to at least one person who would take advantage of this wonderful character building program.

  I wrote an invitation (SomeOne loves you so much that He sent a Baby to save you and He will send a King to bring you to His Home. That SomeOne is JEHOVAH, The LORD God. When you believe in that Baby as your Saviour, you will have peace and joy in the presence of the King, provided by the SomeOne Who wants you to be with Him at His Home throughout eternal ages — Romans 5 & 6.

  MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR) (and signed my name and put their name and Apt. # and took it to their doors in a freezing, windy Christmas Eve. That evening saw I my first White Christmas) , and added an article (Prayer is the Answer) and the advertizement I had put on the bulletin board.

  That afternoon, I meet a friend and he ask about the note and said he was going to check out the website and order the program. I had told him that the only thing we could take to heaven with us was our character and this would give us the means to build a Christlike character and accomplish what we need to do here in the time we have left.

  I have an email saying I have another sale. Praise God for this one and I do continue to pray for more positive responses.

  God’s love

  Martha Williams

• Shirley PCooper December 27th, 2009 at 6:52 pm

  

  I’ve been doing this for years. My Christmases were not happy times whilst I was ‘under care’ for 9 years. In December 1973 I went to stay with an aunt who’d asked me to come for Christmas as it looked bad that i planned to stay with 3 different college friends over the holidays. I had bronchitis so left college earlier than planned.

  My aunt was very concerned and called a doctor when I got another illness. Then she told me that I was costing the family too much so near to Christmas. I had just done some washing and picked it off the line, put it in the suitcase and dragged it up the road to a pub where I phoned a taxi to go across town to a community house. For some reason everyone went somewhere else for Christmas and I found myself alone in a strange area in an empty cold house. I swore not only would i not have this experience again but I wouldn’t let it happen to anyone else. So when I got my first flat I took someone in for Christmas and gave all the children I taught, a Christmas present. Since then every year I’ve provided for numerous I organise parties and give out presents in pubs and clubs collected from various sources .

  One year I took in foreign students and took them to every event held in December and January, Christmas, Hogmany, Kwanzaa, Church. On Boxing Day I followed an old english tradition and took my guests for a walk in the park, twice round the lake, after lunch and came back to a lovely tea.Another year I opened a mental health day centre for 10 days and fed clothed, everyone for free. Most years I hire a church hall, community room, pub, or use my house which grew in size every few years and catered for up to 200 people. I appeal to the local community, friends, volunteers for food, clothes, presents, time, but donate the bulk of it myself.

  One year I was in hospital with a baby. I taught everyone to knit and crochet and got friens to bring in extra presents. Last year I squatted in a derelict pub. This year I’m in a friends house whilst she’s in rehab after a fall. I’m keeping her cat company. Christmas day I took the cat to see her. It was the best present ever as they’d not seen each other for 5 weeks.

  Whilst I’m here, I’m cleaning, decorating, sorting out the house so that she can come home mid-january to a warm, safe, house. I also believe in random acts of kindness and over the years have paid for all sorts of things without the recipients knowing that I was involved.

• WritingItRightForYou December 27th, 2009 at 11:12 pm

  

  Thank you all for the wonderful stories. I heard a true story a few years ago that had such an effect on me that my family has started doing this every year during the U.S. Thanksgiving when we are all together.

  The story goes that a mother wanted to show her young daughter how to be charitable to those less fortunate, so they went to a fast food restaurant and bought several of the popular child-sized meals which would make a nice little lunch for those standing on street corners with hand-made signs.

  As they drove back around after all of the meals were given out, they noticed one woman had not eaten hers. The woman explained that HER daughter had never had one of these very popular “Meals” made specifically for children and she was saving it to take it back to her at the homeless shelter.

  That story touched me so much that I do this every year with my nieces and nephews to remind them of others before we sit down to the largest family meal of the year with leftovers that last 3-4 days.

• Catherine Richardson December 28th, 2009 at 2:48 pm

  

  Thanks for the Secret Santa stories and the others.

• Puneet December 29th, 2009 at 8:20 am

  

  Thank you for all you have one god bless you

• Laurie Yakish January 1st, 2010 at 6:08 pm

  

  I loved that story. I’ve lost my job and am on the verge of being homeless myself but I find that I feel much better about the world when I take a friend of mine to the gym. She has advanced rheumatoid arthritis. But she is so upbeat that helping her makes me feel better about everything. We spend a lot of time laughing over nothing. So, even when you don’t have things to give giving of yourself changes the world around you.

• Gloria udoh February 9th, 2010 at 7:51 am

  

  Thanks Gary for the Secret Santa story,at least I’ve learned that I don’t have to be satisfied before I can give others a helping hand.

  Thanks also for other of your write up in the 100 Day Challenge, it is really inspiring especially the one on “getting it right the first time”