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Chapter
1
HOW
MUCH OF A A DIFFERENCE CAN ONE PERSON MAKE?
Let
no one ever come to leave you without leaving better and happier.
Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face,
kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile,
kindness in your warm greeting.
—Mother Theresa
You have stumbled onto a simple yet profound idea that could change
your life.
You don’t need money,
Yet you provide wealth beyond your imagining.
You don’t have to be spiritually inclined,
Yet it’s the ultimate spiritual behavior.
You need no formal education,
Yet it’s an act of great wisdom.
Your political views don’t matter,
Yet it can make you the most powerful person in the world.
You can affect people as profoundly as the President of the United States,
the Pope, Nelson Mandela, and Mother Theresa.
Because whenever you have someone else’s attention,
Your actions can convince them that the world is a cold, frightening
place, or that it’s full of love and joy.
Just be kind.
Like many, I searched for my purpose in life for quite some time. Happily,
I have found that purpose in marrying my beautiful wife, Charlie, raising
two beautiful, spirited daughters, Coco and Ava, and sharing an idea
I call “Daymaking” with everyone I touch.
I want to leave my children and others with an understanding of the
impact they can have on society simply by caring for themselves, each
other, and everyone in their lives. This is what I call Daymaking. To
make someone else’s day is truly soul’s work that benefits
everyone involved. A small act of kindness such as volunteering at your
city’s homeless shelter can feed individual souls and in turn nourish
humanity. We also refill our own bucket every time we perform acts like
these.
Many people don’t know that “the best” in life includes
serving others, so a sense of fulfillment eludes them. With Daymaking,
I’m talking about genuinely making someone else’s day. If
you serve others for your livelihood, which many of us do, try serving
wholeheartedly or with a “servant’s heart.” This does
not mean with servitude, but with true care and compassion for the well-being
of those you serve. Give 110 percent of yourself to make their day.
It will elevate your work in doing so; I guarantee it, as long as it
is thoughtful and genuine.
It does not take a lot of effort to be a Daymaker. Just behave in a
caring way and watch what happens. Your life will begin to fill with
perfect moments that serve the highest good of all. Perfect moments
are not rare for a Daymaker. They happen all the time.
A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world.
Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.
—Margaret Meade
It only takes a moment to make someone’s day—to become a Daymaker—and
sometimes those moments even change lives as I discovered a few years
ago.
I was working in my salon one day when a client came in to have her
hair styled. I was surprised to see her, since it was right in the middle
of her five-week period between haircuts. I figured that she must have
an important social engagement, so I asked her about her evening plans.
“I don’t have anything special going on,” she told me.
“I just want to look and feel good tonight.”
I gave her a great scalp massage, then shampooed and styled her hair.
During our 30 minutes together, we joked and laughed. At the end, she
smiled radiantly, hugging me goodbye.
A few days later when I received a letter from this client, I began
to realize the enormous potential of Daymaking. My client admitted that
she had wanted her hair styled so it would look good for her funeral.
She had planned to commit suicide that day. But the wonderful time she
had during our appointment had given her hope that things could get
better. She decided to check herself into the hospital and get professional
help. She thanked me for caring, even though I hadn’t known what
she was going through.
I was stunned. I had spent time with this woman about once a month for
three years, yet that day I had no inkling she was so distressed. I
was glad to have made such a difference, yet the experience left me
with an enormous sense of responsibility. What if I had been upset,
distracted, or hurried when she came to see me?
That experience made me take stock of myself as a stylist and as a person.
How many of the ten clients I saw every day might be in a personal crisis
that I would never know about? Even if it were only one person a day,
I might have no way of knowing who needed some extra attention. I resolved
to treat every person I met like that woman. It might sound like a lot
of work, but it wasn’t hard to have fun with my client that day.
It was natural and made my day brighter, too. I vowed to give care and
attention to everyone I saw. I figured it would make their day a little
better, and who knows, it might save a life.
I still thank my client for the gift of that letter because it changed
my life as much as my kindness changed hers. When you realize the difference
you can make for others, whether by spending a light-hearted half-hour
together, giving them a smile, or simply holding a door open for them,
your whole approach to life shifts. Why have random acts of kindness
when we can have intentional acts of good will?
We Can Change the World by Making One Day at a Time
Idealists
. . . foolish enough to throw caution to the winds . . .
have advanced mankind and have enriched the world.
—Emma Goldman
If we live with the intent of being Daymakers in everything we do, we
will not only change our own lives, but the lives of everyone around
us. This can have a powerful ripple effect. If I connect with ten customers
in a day and they go on to connect with ten others that same day, together
we have touched one hundred people. Our company services 4,000 people
a day who each touch at least ten other people a day. That’s 40,000
impressions a day or over 15 million a year. How many people do you
see in a day? Now just imagine the opportunity we have to tip the scales
of loneliness, suffering, and negativity that influence every person
we meet.
How
Did a Minnesota Farm Boy Become a CEO with the Dream of Changing the
World?
If you don’t have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?
—“Happy Talk,” Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South
Pacific
When you grow up on a farm in rural Minnesota, the notion of doing something
to change the world can seem far-fetched. But I was always industrious,
curious, observant, and very conscious of people and their interactions.
An average student, I sported primitive haircuts administered by my
grandmother. Then at 14, I went to a professional salon for the first
time. As rock music filled the air and beautiful women glided by, I
decided to become a hairstylist.
During high school, I focused on this dream. I took accounting classes,
figuring I would need to do the bookkeeping when I owned my own salon.
I also took art classes to sharpen my creative skills.
When I graduated from high school, my father, a pipe fitter, asked what
I wanted to do with my life. “I am going to be a hairstylist,”
I told him with conviction.
“No, you’re not,” he responded. “They don’t
make any money.”
Realizing
a Dream Is a Culmination of Small Moments
To be successful, the first thing to do is fall in love with your
work.
—Sister Mary Lauretta
Despite my father’s objections, I held fast to my dream. After
high school I found the best beauty school in Minnesota, the Horst Education
Center (now the Aveda Institute). I was 18 years old, fresh off the
farm, and ready to take on the world. Horst Rechelbacher, the owner,
worked in the salon next to the Center and charged $100 for a haircut
when the standard in most salons was about $12.
My first job after graduating from the Center was parking customers’
cars at the main salon. And you know what? I did it really, really well.
I did it so well that I made more money than some of the hairstylists.
Eventually I got an “inside” job just in time to escape the
coming Minnesota winter.
My position at the salon would best be described as “entry level.”
I shampooed clients’ hair and folded towels. Again, I did it really,
really well. Noticing my hard work and positive attitude, Horst asked
me to be his personal assistant, which was a major turning point in
my life.
As we worked together, Horst shared many intriguing stories about the
hairdressing traditions of Europe. His stories were so enticing that
I used the valet, shampooing, and assistant money I had saved to go
to Europe and learn the techniques firsthand. I often worked for free
to learn the secrets of the masters and had stints in some of the best
salons in Europe.
When I finally returned to the U.S., Horst asked me to manage the St.
Paul salon. He had started a product line called Aveda and needed to
devote his full attention to it. Although the St. Paul location’s
revenue fell in last place among the company’s four salons, I viewed
it as a challenge and accepted the offer. The first time I saw the space,
I knew I would either have to transform it, or never come back. You’ve
probably guessed that I chose the former. The underutilized, but conscientious,
employees were a big help. In my first week we had a pizza and beer
night and cleaned the salon from top to bottom. Later, I brought in
lively music and hip magazines and spent a lot of time training the
staff. That year, our salon went from last place to first. The company
named me both Stylist and Manager of the Year. Making over that salon
was the start of my career as a Daymaker because I saw how hope and
initiative could change lives. My persistence and ability to make the
most of a situation was about to meet with a larger purpose.
When the vice president of the company resigned, Horst gathered the
salon managers to get our input on filling the position. When it was
my turn to speak I simply said, “If I were Vice President, I would
work on education, marketing, and getting this place rocking!”
Two weeks later, Horst called me into his office. “The other day
you told me what you’d do if you were Vice President,” he
reminded me.
“Yes, I did,” I replied.
“Great. You’re Vice President,” he announced.
I didn’t know how to run a four million dollar company with 120
employees. But I did know how to attract, educate, and motivate great
people. I jumped right into the job, a 23-year-old having fun at what
he loved to do. I was making more money than I had ever dreamed of,
living in a penthouse apartment, and enjoying my boat on the St. Croix
River.
My younger brother turned 18 around that time. When my father asked
what he planned to do, he said, “I’m going to be a pipe fitter,
like you.”
“Why don’t you be a hairstylist?” Dad suggested. Times
certainly had changed on the farm.
Through these experiences I learned that dreams or wild ideas could
come true, in even more spectacular ways than you first imagined. You
have not lived a perfect day until you have done something for someone
without expecting them to repay you. We can experience the best in life
by Daymaking.
Follow Your Dream
The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice
what we are,
for what we could become.
—Charles DuBois
One day I noticed some available storefront space in Uptown Minneapolis.
I had dreamt of owning a salon since that first visit when I was 14.
The travel, money, and prestige of working with Horst had kept my dream
on the back burner for a while, but now I knew it was time to open a
salon of my own.
Horst encouraged my independence. He thought that if I was successful,
I could show others how to develop the Aveda concept outside of the
company. It would have been easy to open with a full staff from the
Horst Salons, but I don’t believe in undermining your friends.
What you put out into the world comes back to you. I started my new
business, Salon Salon, with just two employees.
From the start we did things differently. We massaged the clients’
scalp and shoulders before the shampoo, served espresso and Perrier,
and played world music. Business was good and soon we were busy. We
began hiring and training more students from beauty school. With all
these expenses I sold the boat and moved into a studio apartment, paying
myself $14,000 dollars a year each of the next three years. I toiled
long hours and made many sacrifices during those lean years. But professionally
I grew and laid the foundation for my future.
After the third year, the thriving business ran out of space. When Horst
found out that I wanted to expand, he told me that he needed someone
to run his salons. The Aveda product line had started to soar. We merged
our salon companies and three years later I bought him out of the partnership.
Since then, I have increased it to nine locations in the Twin Cities
and bought Yosh Salon in Palo Alto, California, when famed hairstylist
Yosh Toya retired. That acquisition kicked off our plan to expand nationally.
With the additional salons, we realized that we needed a new name—one
that reflected our growing mission.
Our clients helped in the search for our new identity. One woman described
her feelings about the essence of our company. “I give and I give
and I give to my family, my work, and to my friends,” she told
us. “Here at this salon I get it back, so that I can go out and
give it away again.” We heard the same theme from other patrons.
Another described it as “having her bucket filled up.” We
liked the Japanese word Juuten, “to refill,” so we decided
to shorten it to “Juut,” which as a first name means, “to
uplift humanity and serve others.” Juut captures the essence of
our mission. Our commitment has paid off. Our company was recently voted
one of the top 20 salons in the country and generates nearly $25 million
in annual revenue. We have over 400 staff members/Daymakers, and we
plan to expand around the country in the coming years. The heart of
Juut lies in clarity, purity, and compassion. Creating a caring environment
has not only made a better life for my clients and staff, but it has
refilled my bucket many times over.
Focus on Your Wild Ideas
Nothing happens unless first a dream.
—Carl Sandburg
About 20 years ago, I started focusing on my wild ideas after hearing
a talk by motivational speaker Zig Ziglar. Now, every three months I
write down all the things I dream of being, doing, and having.
Sometimes, I come up with 50 things, other times 150. Over the years,
I have written down: becoming President of the United States, driving
a grand prix race car, living in the South of France, marrying the perfect
woman and being a famous actor to name a few. I suggest you give it
a try, and don’t just write down easy goals—stretch yourself
with your wild ideas. Next, write in one sentence why you want to be,
do, or have that particular goal. Then put the goals that have a clear
purpose at the top of the list. Leave the others wherever they are on
your list of wild ideas.
The next step is very important. Share your list with those who can
help you realize your wild ideas. The more people you share your wild
ideas with, the more likely they are to come true. Some of the wild
ideas I have achieved include skydiving, racecar driving, and buying
companies. Needless to say, I share ideas with everyone I know.
People get burned out easily if they don’t achieve goals. Keep
yourself away from burnout by constantly having purposeful actions.
Working hard doesn’t cause burnout, not achieving your goals does.
The
Moment I Realized I was a Daymaker
Life is a succession of lessons, which must be lived to be understood.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Part of my career included doing styling demonstrations at hair shows
around the country. Whenever I attended a show, I usually wore black
leather pants. With my long hair, I looked like one of the guys from
REO Speedwagon.
On one occasion, I had just finished with a show and was heading home.
I boarded the plane and found my seat. I was next to a businessman dressed
in a conservative suit and shiny wingtips. He gave me an odd look as
I sat down next to him. I’m pretty sure he thought I was in the
wrong section of the plane. Surely, I couldn’t be flying first
class at my age, and certainly not dressed like I was. Once the flight
got under way he seemed to resign himself to the fact that we would
be sitting together for several hours.
Closing my eyes, I mentally reviewed the seminar I had taught earlier
that day. I had described to about 800 attendees the importance of not
only doing great haircuts and colors, but the need to make the day of
everyone who comes into our salons. Just then, the businessman decided
to strike up a conversation by asking me what I did for a living. “I’m
a Daymaker,” I replied. “What in the world is a Daymaker?”
he asked. “Well, I try to do something nice for another person
every day. I call it Daymaking,” I said with a smile. “You
must do it very well,” he added, apparently referring to my first
class seat. I went on to tell him that I was a hairdresser, but that
I “did hair” to make my client’s day. He “got it”
and so did I. From that day on, my business card has read: “David
Wagner—Daymaker,” instead of President/CEO. My clientele,
business, and personal life improved dramatically after I became a Daymaker
in every thing I did.
The
Power of Kindness
Remember that just so much are you adding to the pleasure or misery
of other people’s days . . .
Whether each day of your life shall give happiness or suffering rests
with yourself.
—George Merriam
I would like to share the power of kindness with more people. We all
make an impact on the world around us, so why not use your power to
make the world a better place? It’s easier than you think.
For example, I had a client with thinning hair. Her mother and older
sister also had thinning hair, but they chose to wear wigs. Connie was
on the brink of getting a wig as well. Soon after I found out that she
was receiving monoxidal treatments to reduce her hair loss, I spotted
her in my waiting area looking frightened. All around her clients and
staff with full, expertly styled hair chatted with each other, while
photos of models with luxurious locks adorned the walls. There she sat
in her own personal nightmare.
I greeted Connie with a smile, and sat her down in front of me. She
glanced at me nervously, waiting for my assessment.
“Is this your natural color?” I asked, looking her in the
eye.
“Why yes it is,” she replied surprised by my question.
“Wow, it’s really pretty,” I told her.
As she looked at me, her eyes welled up with tears. “You’re
the first person to compliment me on my hair in ten years,” she
confessed. Connie became my biggest fan and my best client, sending
everyone she knew to me. “You’ve got to see David,” she’d
tell her friends. “He is such a nice guy.” And they did by
the dozens. All I did was notice something special about a person having
a difficult time. Everyone has something beautiful about them. Why not
point it out? Compliments don’t cost you a dime to give, but can
have unending value to the receiver.
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