Who’s Fred?…….{giveaway}

While at Cabo, I was able to listen to a guest speaker that has written several books. His name is Mark Sanborn and he wrote the motivational book called the Fred Factor. It was amazing, and while he spoke on how to help gain motivation in the business world, I adjusted what he said to include my tiny little life.

He tells of a time in his life that he had just moved into a new neighborhood. One day he received a knock at the door to find a man standing there in a blue suit holding a bag. He introduced himself as Fred, the mailman. “I want to introduce my self to you and let you know that I have noticed that you travel alot, so if you will give me your calendar, I will hold your mail for you while you are gone and deliver it on the day that you arrive home. That way now one will know you are gone.”

Mark was amazed. For years Fred delivered the mail and one day Mark returned from a business trip to find that his rug on the front step was missing. He looked around and saw it over in the corner with something under it. It was a box that had been delivered from UPS, on it was a note from Fred explaining that UPS had delivered the box to the wrong address, so he put it on his step and covered it with the rug to keep it from being seen by others. Not only was Fred doing his job, but also the job of the UPS guy. :}

This man made a lasting impression on Mark. Fred was not only his mailman, but his friend because he took the time to do his job and really care about the people that he delivered mail to.

Martin Luther king Jr. said “If a man is to be called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a  great street sweeper who did his job well”

So that's the Fred Factor in a nutshell. No matter what we do in our life we can go to the extreme to do a good job, make a difference and create a legend that will never leave us.

The book is full of” Fred Sightings”…..experiences where people have touched his life by going up and beyond their job to make a difference.

One I loved was one time he was traveling, he spilt his coffee on his jeans. When he got to the hotel he called to see if he could get  laundry service, and was told that the service was closed for the day. She then told him that if he could get his jeans ready, she would pick them up, take them home and launder them for him. The next morning, she delivered a clean and pressed pair of jeans for him to wear on his way home.

But my favorite is “Spread the Fred” He lists 3 things to spread the Fred:

1. Recognize the Fred’s in your life.

2. Acknowledge Freds for the contributions.

3. Pay Freds back. You know….pay it forward.

I think it is one of those speakers that will stick in my mind, one that really hits home and makes a difference.

Leave me a comment about a Fred Sighting in your life and I will pick one and send you a signed copy.

{Notice: These sightings may be posted on my blog}

This is one of the Hi-lights of my Cabo trip. We went zip lining across this ravine and the rappelled down a 185 foot cliff. So stinking fun!