This content was created by Thomas Anglero. This content was uploaded by Thomas Anglero. This is a podcast episode (Episode 179: "Your Smile Gives Me Life") created February 24, 2023, hosted and narrated by Thomas Anglero. The excerpt is a first-person monologue/reflection in English in which Anglero shares a personal restaurant anecdote about the power of a genuine smile, being present, and spreading positivity, and closes with contact/subscription information (anglero.com and social media). The content_type is PODCAST and the episode is a short inspirational piece focused on presence, joy, and human connection.
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Hello and welcome to the Soul of Innovation podcast. I am the host, Thomas Anglero, and my mission for this podcast is to share with you those private thoughts and reflections that I have being one of the top keynote speakers around the world on technology, motivation, and innovation. I hope you truly enjoy all the lessons I share, all the dots I connect that sometimes are just really difficult to get out. But it's all for you. I truly hope you enjoy this episode.
Welcome to the Soul of Innovation podcast. I am Thomas Anglero coming to you with a short little thought and reflection today. When was the last time you lit up a room? When was the last time you caught the attention of everyone? Let me tell you a short story. I was at a restaurant yesterday and everybody was— I was sitting down at the restaurant talking, but self-conscious, staring at everybody else. This felt like high school all over again. But there was this one woman at a table who caught my attention because she lit up the room. It wasn't her clothes. She was dressed in the simplest clothes of all the people there who were overly dressed or underdressed, if you know what I mean. It was her smile, her energy. When her husband or boyfriend or whoever he was got up to get some food at the buffet, Her smile, I felt it as I was eating. I was like, what is this I'm feeling? And I could feel the radiance of her smile. I was like, wow, that is someone who was truly happy and in the moment. A couple minutes go by and I go up to get something to drink, and as I'm waiting for the machine to finish dispensing whatever I'm about to drink, I do what I always do when I'm standing still killing time. I start dribbling, which, former basketball players, that's what we sort of do. We just dribble without a ball in a spot just to keep the rhythm going. And I pick up my drink and I turn around and she's looking at me laughing and smiling. And she makes me laugh and smile. Not that I was embarrassed, but that she enjoyed the moment. I was in my moment being myself. She was in her moment being herself. And we both laughed and smiled and just shared this beautiful smile together. And I sat down at my table and she waited for her husband or boyfriend to come back. And as he sat down, she just kept on telling some story with all this radiance and energy. She was one of the most beautiful people at the restaurant because she wasn't self-consumed with what she looked like and who's doing what. She was one of the most beautiful people in the restaurant because she was happy, happy with life and happy with others. She didn't care about what she looked like. She didn't care about all these meanest things. She was in love with being in love with just being alive. When's the last time you sat down in a public place and did that? When's the last time you sat down in a public place and were able to attract the attention of everyone in the place? Your smile was able to change the thought process in the entire day of an individual. And all it took from her was just to be her. And all it takes from you is just to be you. She didn't think to herself, "Oh, if I smile at this stranger, something weird is going to happen. He's going to think this of me. He's going to think that of me. It's always not polite to smile at strangers." I turned around after dribbling She smiled, and I just started smiling, and it was wonderful. That's what it means to be human. That's a normal moment. And if those moments don't happen to you every time you're at a restaurant, then who are you when you're at a restaurant? Who are you when at work? Who are you when you're on the train or on the bus? Who are you when you're waiting in the doctor's office? Why aren't you smiling? And why aren't you making other people smile back? It was a wonderful moment, and she reminded me that the cost of that moment was zero. To have such a powerful, wonderful, beautiful moment, the cost was nothing. The value was priceless. Go forth and spread beauty and light. Don't be caught up with yourself. Don't be caught up what others are thinking. Don't get caught up with all your problems. Just be in the moment. Truly, truly. Be in the moment and you realize that all the beautiful things that are happening around you, that are happening around you all the time, like a sunrise, the breeze, a child's cry and laughter. Live life. Love life and smile to someone you don't know, because you'll create a life moment that makes both of you feel just wonderful. I'm Thomas Anglero. I'm still smiling. Until next time.
Thank you for listening to that episode. If you want to contact me, you can contact me on my website at anglero.com, and you can also subscribe to the newsletter, or you can find me anywhere on social media with Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. Thank you so much, and I hope to hear from you very soon.
