Russ Lowry shares why staying connected to people matters, starting with a loss in his insurance community. He walks through small, free actions: call an old friend, say please and thank you, hold the door. None of it costs money. All of it counts.
We'll call this it takes $0 to be a Decent Human Being. My insurance community lost a guy this week that was shocking everybody. The guy was at Chris Farley Life at the party, funny as hell, always upbeat, and he passed away by his own hand. And people were just like, I wish I would have called him. I wish I would have reached out more. And then I was talking to Riley about this with some of his contact. And so often people are like, well, I'm waiting on them to call me. Like, old friends or people, you know. It takes $0 to pick up your phone at lunch or in the evening or shoot a text or make a phone call to an old friend. So think about that as you. As you age and you get busy with your careers and your spouses, it helps to keep in touch, I think, with your friends. You know, these need to be good friends. We're not talking about the Heathens, but you're good friends that you're like, gosh, you know, she went this way, and I went this way. Or he moved to Dallas, and I stayed in Oklahoma City. We just never see each other. Well, the phone works from Oklahoma to Dallas or Oklahoma to California or wherever. Pick up the phone, call them, shoot them a text, check in with your friends. And the same thing it costs $0 to be a DC human being is saying, please and thank you. I see so often people treat waitstaff, which, of course, your mother. That's how we met. She worked in a bar restaurant for her friends that I knew, too. So she's always very cognizant of after being a waitress, of how treating waitstaff and all that. So it doesn't cost much or anything to say thank you when someone fills your water and it really helps that person. I think same thing with holding open the door. It's amazing how often holding open a door for somebody just makes their day. Or they're like, oh, thank you. I appreciate that. Or, you know, going out a little extra step, helping someone pick something up that they dropped without asking. If the world did more of this, we would be a better freaking place. That's for sure. Again, it cost $0 to be a good person, to treat people with respect and to be kind to people and to go out of your way an extra few steps. The other night, this kid lost his balloon at pizza. We were priors, and you saw the media just crying, wailing. The mom's mouth dropped open, and they're like, there's nothing they could do. Well, the old man's got a few steps that he's. So I picked up the pace. Luckily, the balloon, the wind pushed it down enough to where I could grab it and brought it back. And you would have thought I gave her the winning lottery ticket. She was just mouthing the words thank you over and over again as little Johnny went from crying like he'd been shot to tears of elation that he got his balloon back. So just a little. Just a little funny story, mom was giving me grief about moving so fast to catch that balloon. But again, it cost $0 to be a decent person. Please and thank you. Hold the door open. Go the extra step. Smile at people. We just had one about that. Say hello. All these things affect people. They make you a. A better person. A person someone wants to be around. And you just never know what someone's going through and how you being kind to them or reaching out to make a difference. You know, reach out to my insurance buddies and occasionally like, hey, man, I'm glad you called. I just been thinking about this issue. You want to pick your brain? I'm like, sure. Or I'll say, hey, anytime. Call me. And I make time for people to call me and spend some time with them because it's lonely being an entrepreneur. As you might find out. It's hard to talk about your problems as a business owner sometimes. So again, it costs $0 to be a good person. See how far you can push this in life. And you'll be a better person. People will like you more, and the world will be a better place. For your example.
