I will never forget that cup of coffee.
A couple years ago, I was traveling when my schedule worked out on Christmas Eve.
I thought the airport was gonna be a zoo, so I got there a couple hours early -- it wasn't.
It wasn't crowded at all, so for me, that means coffee.
So, I get down into my terminal -- terminal D -- and I see the green sign.
And when I travel these days I always wear earbuds, so I'm rockin' out to Coldplay.
And I see the sign, I get in line, and there's one woman in front of me.
She's having a very animated conversation with the barista.
She's kinda waving her arms and they're both smiling and laughing.
I wasn't in a rush, but out of curiosity I popped out my earbuds.
Sure enough, they're going on about their holidays, and their plans, and the kids, and presents.
And she starts to move down the line, so it's my turn to order.
And I was greeted with this very warm and sincere welcome.
This woman said to me, "Hi, my name is Lily. What's your name?"
I said, "I'm Ryan. [laughter]
She said, "Ryan, what can I make for you today?"
I said, "Well, I want a grande pumpkin spice latte."
She said, "You want whipped cream on that, don't ya?"
[laughter]
I said, "Yeah, yeah, I want the whipped cream."
She said, "I tell ya what I'm gonna do."
She said, "I'm gonna make it extra hot, load it up with whipped cream,
sprinkle a little nutmeg on top. That's how I like it.
You're gonna love it." I said, "Sounds great."
She said, "Where ya goin'?" I said, "Cleveland."
She said, "Are you goin' back to Cleveland to spend the holiday with your family?"
I said, "Yes." [laughter]
At this point I start lookin' around for the camera, right. I mean, I'm tryin' to get a latte!
And so I move down the line and the conversation continues. And she's funny.
She's asking me questions about my family and our holiday traditions.
She's laughing and I'm laughing and she hands me my drink and says to me,
"Ryan, have a safe trip back to Cleveland. Go create some extraordinary memories with your family.
When you come back through the Minneapolis airport, I want you to stop here and tell me all about it."
[laughter]
I get my drink, I start walkin' away, and I stop and look back at this woman.
And I think to myself, "You know it's Christmas Eve.
most people would rather be anywhere else in the world than serving coffee in an airport."
Not her. It was like she was meant to be there.
So, I couldn't help myself, I had to go back.
So, I did, I walked back and said, "Excuse me, Lily."
And, you know, she jumps around, "Ryan, is everything okay with the latte?"
And I said, "No, the latte is perfect. I just had to come back and ask you:
What is your secret to making such meaningful connections over serving coffee?"
She corrected me. She said, "Ryan, I'm not serving coffee."
I said, "Okay...what are you doing?" [laughter]
She had thought about this, she had thought about this.
What she told me was, "I'm pouring happiness into people's lives."
I said, "You're pouring what?"
What is pouring happiness? And her definition of pouring happiness?
She wants to be happy in her life, she wants to be around happy people.
She cares about her customers. She wants them to come back.
So, she chooses -- even on Christmas Eve --
to smile, to have fun, to help people, to just be happy.
Instead of just focusing on how to be successful, focus on how to be helpful.
The other thing she understands and masters straightaway
is the very specific and intentional decision around how she chooses to show up --
even on Christmas Eve.
You know this.
A lot of things happen in work and in our lives that are beyond our sphere of influence or control.
She doesn't control the weather in Minneapolis. Trust me, I live there.
All she gets to own is how she chooses to respond to those things.
Decide how you show up.
You know, it's interesting. When I met Lily, she would have had no way of knowing this, but I, uh...
I was pretty heavy in the heart and had a lot on my mind.
My parents -- both retired school teachers and married 45 years -- 3 months before that holiday
I got a call from Mom: "We got some really tough medical news about Dad."
It was a terminal diagnosis. We knew we probably weren't going to have a lot of time.
So, I was sitting in that airport on Christmas Eve, not in the best place in the world.
I will never forget that cup of coffee. When you decide to show up consistently
as the best version of who you are, it gives you your best opportunity to meet people where *they are."
And you never know when someone needs you to be your best.