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__________________________________________________ {Straight From the Heart} *What's In A Name?* 10/31/00 Welcome to "Straight From the Heart!" If you enjoy this free daily email service, I encourage you to forward it on to family and friends. If this has been passed along to you and you want to join the list, just send a blank email to: Straight From the Heart $5 Magazine Subscriptions! It's true! Straight From the Heart has You will receive an automated reply which explains why they can be WHAT'S IN A NAME? By Joseph Walker
And he hadn't been shut out in a long time. Even in his early days with the company, he could always sell something to someone. That's why they made him assistant manager so quickly. He was good. A natural. And he had a knack for turning new customers into repeat customers. But on this day, there were no customers. At least, none who wanted to buy. There were plenty who wanted to look, and he spent a lot of time with each one of those. But he could never close the deal. This, of course, exposed him to some good-natured ridicule from his associates, who took not-so-secret delight in seeing the sales prodigy get his come-upence. There was more at stake here than just professional pride and reputation, however. Brent is a new father. He and his wife, Kay, decided that she would be a full-time Mom, which meant he would support the family. When he does well on the sales floor, that isn't a problem. But when he struggles, the whole family struggles. And on this day, at least, he was struggling. Toward the end of the day, a man came in to buy a suit. It had the potential to be a good sale, the kind that can turn a bad day into a good one -- just like that. Brent worked hard to make it happen. They tried on several suits. Brent carefully explained the materials, the craftsmanship and why these suits, while expensive, were such a good buy. The man hesitated. Brent knew all too well the look he saw in his eyes -- the look of a potential customer about to walk out the door empty-handed -- and he was tempted to use some of the tricks he had learned to pressure people into making a purchase. But he had long since decided that that wasn't the way he wanted to do business. So when it became clear that the man was going to leave to do a little comparison shopping, Brent handed him his business card and invited him to return after he'd had a chance to look around. The man looked at Brent's card, and then took a long look at Brent. "So you're Brent's boy," the man said, alluding to the fact that the card identified him as Brent Jr. "Do you know my Dad?" Brent asked. "Sure do," the man said. They chatted for a moment, establishing the link between father and son. Then the man said: "Your dad's a good man. If you're anything like him . . . well, tell me again about that suit." Brent made the sale. But that wasn't why he called his father that night to recount the story. "I just wanted to thank you," he said, "for giving me a name I can be proud of." There were tears in Brent Sr.'s eyes as he hung up the phone, and gratitude in his heart that for all of the dumb things he had done in his life -- and we all do them, don't we? -- he hadn't done anything dumb enough to dishonor the name he shared with his son. Or to make a long, brutal day on the sales floor even longer. Or more brutal. Joseph Walker Send Joseph an email and let him know what you thought of his story! Joseph Walker has been writing professionally since 1980, when he left You'll love his new book, "How Can you Mend a Broken Spleen!" ___________________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles." Verse for the Day: "The Word of the Lord stands forever." Kid's Thought For The Day: "To be a child is to see dragons in summer clouds, hear music in a cricket's hum, Parent's Thought For The Day "A rich man is one who when his pockets are empty, his children Coach's Thought For The Day "A leader is a person you will follow to a place you wouldn't go by yourself." Deep Thought For The Day: I saw a sign at a gas station. It said "help wanted". There was another sign below it that said "self service". So I hired myself. Then I made myself the boss. I gave _
"I thought of you first after my family sat down to watch the video we gave them. They loved it, to say the least! Within thirty seconds my mom was crying and my dad did too. They said it was the best Christmas gift we could have given them!! You did such a beautiful job! They were so surprised and so touched---they really, really, really loved it. Thanks for helping to make it so special to us all. My mom mentioned how the songs were perfect for the video too! Thanks again!" Let me make you a video from your pictures or home movies!
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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