motivation monday: lessons from a coffeeshop

You can learn a lot when just by people watching in a coffee shop. I’ve been getting some work done in a coffee shop in Damariscotta, Maine while I’m here on vacation. For whatever reason, I can’t connect to the Internet from the wireless router at my family’s house in the woods. We can’t figure it out. But that’s ok … because I love coffee. And I love the local coffee shop.

Seated close to the door yesterday, I watched as a sweet, blonde 3-year-old boy came in with his family. Perched on his head was a little cowboy hat with a red star. He was adorable. Therefore, he caught my attention.

He kept pointing across the room at a man who was seated at the table adjacent to me. I hadn’t really noticed him before. He wasn’t wearing the cute little cowboy hat!

As I watched, I realized that the reason the little boy was fascinated with the man was because he had “robot legs,” as the little cowboy called them. He pointed, and pointed, and pointed and tugged at his grandmother’s arm until she was willing to take him over to the man.

“Excuse me,” she said. “My grandson is fascinated with your prosthetic legs.”

The little boy pointed at them and said, “robot legs! You’ve got robot legs!”

The man smiled and began to explain to the boy that he does in fact have robot legs! And he told him all the great things he can do with them.

The little boy asked if he could touch them.

“Sure!” the man said.

The little boy asked if they worked.

“They’re great! But hold on to your legs,” he said.

The grandmother and the little boy proceeded to strike up a long conversation with the man about his legs, kayaking, and the beauty of Maine. They must have talked for about 30 minutes. And all the while I couldn’t help but think there’s a lot I can learn from kids.

1. Just ask. There’s no dumb question.

2. Talk to people. They’ll usually talk right back.

3. Make things happen. The little cowboy PULLED his grandmother across the room to talk with the man. I could see that she didn’t want to approach a stranger and potentially offend him by asking about his prosthetic legs. But he kept pulling her and pointing … pulling her and pointing … until he got his way.

4. Be observant. I sat at the table RIGHT next to the man for about 30 minutes before the little cowboy came in and immediately noticed his legs. Why hadn’t I noticed? Because my head was buried in my laptop. What else am I missing when my head is buried in my computer, phone, or tablet?

So, thank, little cowboy. You taught me a lot : )

Happy Monday!
Kate

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