Every Thursday I feature a “throwback” post from my blog archive. The goal is to look back and discover new lessons or opportunities to grow. This week, we’ll look at “Everyone’s an Expert” You can view the original post here. For today, here’s a quick recap and a few more thoughts about experiencing things first hand.
This past weekend our church held a child dedication service. This is an opportunity for parents to come and commit to raising their children in Godly environments. It’s kind of a fancy thing where the new parents invite their families to come and share in the experience.
I often get to be the one to welcome everyone, explain the morning, and share some of the vision of the event. This time around, as I was sharing an encouragement with the parents I sarcastically said, “Don’t we all love unsolicited advice from the kind elderly lady in Target about the fact that our child isn’t wearing socks?” The question got a pretty good laugh from the crowd and we moved forward.
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If you’ve never gotten unsolicited advice from a stranger, you haven’t truly lived. And you can’t count this post because you came here of your own free will. But here’s what I know: We all have thoughts and opinions when it comes to… well… anything. While I can’t say “never,” its extremely rare that I hear someone say, “I don’t really have an opinion about that.” We have opinions about the best restaurants, the best movies, the best music, and even the best type of M&Ms. (They’re peanut by the way.) And we all want to share those opinions at every opportunity.
This is not a bad thing. It’s just another human characteristic that shows our deep need for community, connection, and influence. We all want to share our stories and be a part of each other’s. If you give someone advice and they take it, all of a sudden, you’ve become part of their story. You may not be one of the main characters, but you’d at least get your name in the credits. Further, most people want to be a hero in someone’s story. Most of us have this deep drive to serve and help others even in the situations when all we can offer is a movie recommendation.
Looking back at the original post reminded me that without the advice of several people who had gone before me, that trip to New York wouldn’t have been nearly as fun. My wife and I would have missed out on some of the hidden gems of the city. The same is true of our last trip to Disney World. Without talking to people who had gone before us, we would have never figured out that whole Genie plus situation and we would have spent way more time in lines while missing out on some of the best rides.
So, how can you use the experiences you have to make someone else’s story better? How can you share your life with others and help them live better ones as a result? On the other side, who is someone around you that’s gone before you or been where you want to go? How can you invite them to help author your story and make it even better?
We all need each other. Our stories are our greatest tool to help move each other forward. What are you doing with yours?
I am trying to share my stories and experiences through my new book, “Magic in the Mug.” It was written to help people explore their own
stories and find purpose through their journey. Want to be a part of
it? Click the button below to find out how.
BrandonHair.me 
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