Mother's Day

Today I'm sure you did your best to make your mother feel special. You sent her a card, with presents. Maybe even flowers. You may have made her breakfast in bed, and cleaned the toast crumbs off the sheets. Perhaps you took her out to brunch, or dinner. At the very least, you wished her a Happy Mother's Day. You made your mother feel like a star!

What about the rest of the year? What do you do to show appreciation to the people in your life? I'm sure you don't give them presents every day, but do you even say thank you? People are hungry for appreciation. You'll be amazed at the results you can achieve simply by thanking people for what they do.

My first job in professional theatre was as assistant director to Ed Sherin on a production of A Streetcar Named Desire. The great Shirley Knight starred as Blanche. I didn't do much during the production -- just followed along on the script and ran errands for Ed -- but to this day I can quote large pieces of dialogue from the play.

On opening night, Shirley gave gifts to everyone who worked on the play, including the stage crew, prop manager, lighting board operator -- and me. She gave me a small children's book, The Story of Ginger and Pickles, signed her name and wrote 'thank you.' I still have that book. It may not have meant that much to her, but it meant the world to me. I felt that my contribution, small as it was, had some value to her. That's how a great star behaves.

Our paths have not crossed since, but if I ever had a chance to do something for her, do you think I would hesitate? All because she took the time to thank a lowly assistant director many years ago. Most of the time, we never know how our behavior affects others. But our behavior can have a powerful effect, for good or bad. If you want to be a star, treat others like stars -- not just on special days, but every day.