Oprah’s quote on my Starbucks Americano cup reads: “Be more splendid. Be more extraordinary. Use every moment to fill yourself up.” My first cynical thought was “duh, Oprah.” But really, when I over-analyze it, like I do with most things, I realized why it was so true and why Oprah has been successful enough to be on a Starbucks sleeve. I do want to aim to spend every single moment being splendid. Ordinary is lame. But ordinary is so easy.
Ordinary: Going to the pool with Grandpa and closing my eyes while enjoying the sun. Checking my phone, closing my eyes again.
Add a little “extra”: Doing cannonballs and getting to know the other residents in my grandparent’s apartment complex. Diane was a nun called Sister Elizabeth for 22 years. Edward from Scotland actually sheared sheep in New Zealand, then spent time doing the same thing in Australia, but the sheep’s wool was so different, he was not successful. Charles from Wisconsin is not offended when my grandpa calls him a Yankee. He plays back and my grandpa lights up.
Ordinary: Helping a customer buy a backpack by fitting them, showing them the gadgets, and telling them the price points.
Add a little “extra”: Asking where they’re going, if they’ve started thinking about what they’ll take with them, if they’re super excited, and what their favorite destination has been. This has proven to lead to extraordinary, yet I always leave the conversation bummed that I’m trapped in a store for hours.
Oprah’s next quote on my Starbucks Americano cup reads: “Your life is big. Keep reaching.”
Is it, Oprah? Are our lives big? I think in 2014, we think they are. So we take selfies and tweet when we’re twitterpated and update our blogs about what our coffee cups say. Hm.
beth of fresh air 