Note from Mary...

We were afforded a wonderful opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. to meet up with our 2nd oldest daughter, Alexa, who had flown in from Melbourne, Australia on business.

My husband and I make it a practice of wearing 3 "I Make A Difference®" Wristbands on our wrists at all times, so we are PREPARED for any and all opportunities to reach out and acknowledge someone who has made a difference to us in some small, or big, way. Many opportunities come up every time we do errands or travel on business, and this time was no exception...

As with most people who travel to Washington D.C., we have so much fun together seeing historical sites. This time we went to Mount Vernon, the Capital Building, The National Museum of the American Indian, The Mansion on O Street, Hard Rock Cafe and last but not least, the Ford Theater where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

As Craig was dropping us off at the front door of the Ford Theater to get our tickets, a couple standing at the very front of the line - seeing us confused about where to go - asked Alexa and me if we needed tickets, to which we replied, "Yes!" They said, "Here are 3 tickets! Have them and enjoy the show!" To which we both said, "Really?" They replied that they had bought 3 extra tickets for their Grandsons who were not going to make it after all. Here we thought we were going to be late, and we were right on time.

What always amazes me is the timing of experiences like this to all come together at just the right moment. Is it Serendipity, Synchronicity, Coincidence? All three? You decide!

It was such a gift to receive something from strangers that I quickly grabbed the 3 "I Make A Difference" wristbands from my wrist (and 3 from my purse) and said, "Please let me acknowledge you both for the difference you made in our lives today! What a gift, and what a treat to be given these tickets from you. Thank you so very much."

Both the man and the woman looked stunned as they let me help them put them on their wrists... and then said, "No one has ever acknowledged us like this before." To which I replied, "Well they have now!" And here's 2 more for each of you to reach out and do this for someone else." They were delighted!

I shared with them that, if they wanted to make it a regular thing to acknowledge others, they could order their own wristbands from the website address imprinted on the inside of the wristband. They both looked inside, saw it and nodded a "light bulb" moment acknowledgment to me.

What a gift... I love the expression "Give to Live" because it truly is the one thing that makes life so interesting and fulfilling. It feels so great... you've really got to try it!

And not only that... our daughter was visibly surprised and moved by my acknowledgment of this couple, which opened the door to many wonderful conversations between us. How many ways we model behavior for our children, even after they are all grown up! She is taking what her parents modeled for her, through a simple acknowledging practice, back home with her to Australia.

Reaching out...

Co-Creator of the Acknowledgment Movie
makeadifference.com/Acknowledgment

Mary Robinson Reynolds' Column This Week

TOP 10 WAYS to Use"I Make A Difference®" WRISTBANDS
Excerpt from Make A Difference with the Power of Acknowledgment UTRAIN® Program for Educators.

10 - At meetings or trainings to reinforce that "Who" each participant is Makes A Difference in the group outcome.

9 - Faculty, staff or student (family, friends and team members) birthday gift, because who they are really does make a difference.

8 - As a Thank You for "going the extra mile" because it made a big difference.

7 - As a Appreciation for what someone just did unexpectedly for you because it made a big difference.

6 - To positively impact Organizational Negativity when change, intensity and/or reorganization is occurring.

5 - When a parents and volunteers come to the office to check in, they are greeted and personally acknowledged, then given three more to give to others.

4 - At each monthly faculty meeting, set aside time for faculty/staff to recognize one another for what might have taken place recently.

3 - As a "leave behind" or "thank you" gift for voluteers / PTA leaders.

2 - As a gift to celebrate your school's/district's academic successes and/or a milestone.

1 - Keep a basket of extra "I Make A Difference®" Wristbands and Stickers for everyone at the front office, or at the front of every classroom to acknowledge students as opportunities present themselves. The Goodwill generated will grow exponentially throughout the school and district.

PS... PLAN NOW to get Make A Positive Difference WEEK Program on your school's agenda for the very first part of this new year and you WILL see a synergizing effect over the entire population.

Students who learn to acknowledge others will feel good about themselves. When we teach them "how" to safely and effectively become more authentic through learning how to genuinely acknowledge others during a WEEK long experiment in human kindness ... they WILL do outstanding when it comes to being able to relax and "think" when taking their tests. Why? Because in an emotionally calm state of mind, the LIGHT IS ON, and somebody is in there doing their work!

PPS... If you haven't already watched my newest Video Training Series for Educators, I hope you will grab a cup of tea and come join me in discovering just how DO-able this program is for your school. Click Here and watch the Overview Video and then click the UTRAIN® Program for Education graphic below the video.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT this week is to Set an Intention to Acknowledge a minimum of 3 people a day, every day, in one form or another: through speaking or writing (send one of our eGreeting Cards ), touching a shoulder or touching with your eyes in a nod of appreciation. Keep track of what the recipients response was, write it down and then post your best stories to me on Facebook .

Click Here to watch my short Video Training on how to do the Acknowledgment 30 Day Challenge. Lighten Up ...Have FUN with this!

Mary Robinson Reynolds, M.S., Educational Psychologist, Author and Producer of the world renowned videos - MakeADifferenceMovie.com and AcknowledgmentMovie.com - both amassing over 10 million views within a few short months of their releases - spent many years as a classroom teacher K-8 and then as a counselor K-12. She parlayed her phenomenal success with youth at-risk into her programs for business leaders, entrepreneurs and managers on how to be energetically effective in leading improvement in their organizations through the power of Team Synergy and MasterMinding. She has written six books, developed UTrain Programs that anyone can take into their place of work to build organization wide Team Synergy, and has presented to over 20,000 people in two year period in every major city in the U.S. To learn more go to: makeadifference.com

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