I have a dear friend…he knows lots of things about a lot of things. And when he tells me to look at something, it’s always worthwhile. It may make me smile, it may make me think. It may make me think AND smile.

I received this attachment when I arrived home after a long and interesting day in a conference about “change management”. Top-line learnings of the conference…an affirmation that we are expected to work better, faster, harder, smarter, for less of everything because that’s just the sign o’ the times. And what about the satisfaction of a job well done? Well, it seems that nowadays your project gets yanked off your plate before you can even complete it because, you guessed it, mandates have changed. Yoink. So that simple pleasure’s gone too. There are ways to work within the constructs of change…and yes, outcomes can be very positive…but bottom line…change can be hard.

I needed a smile.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k&annotation_id=annotation_612418&feature=iv]

I watched this and smile I did…for four minutes. So I smiled…then I thought…who might have done this and why? I’ll tell you this…I don’t know WHY they did THIS particular stunt (as a means to sell), but can only guess that they THOUGHT people could use a smile. And they’d be right…oh so very right.

And what better way to make people smile but to pipe in the beloved Sound of Music…with some kind of Spike Jonze inspired-Macarena and I *think* grapevine thrown in (but it’s been a while since I’ve broken out into dance in a busy train station so my dance move terminology may be off).

The last bit of thinking I care to do today is to challenge myself to answer this question…”what have I done to make someone smile…simply for the joy of making them smile”. Sounds like a fun think to ponder as I drift off to sleep.

Thank you for the smile, Central Station Antwerp people, whatever your intentions may have been…and to my friend for sharing it.