As I was walking out of Target this morning, a sign by the door greeted me which said:

• Help people.
• Smile every day.

When I got back to the car, I told my wife, Marcia, about the sign and how I thought it would make a good Weekly Reminder. She said, “Where’s your hook?” I said, “What do you mean hook? I’m not writing about fishing! This is a good example of how to encourage people to do kind things for others.” She then said, “No one is going to remember it if you don’t have a hook.” This led to a rather lively discussion between husband and wife about the relative merits of needing a hook. Finally, we realized what we were both doing and started laughing as the atmosphere in the car lightened up. So, it looks like the message on the sign works. I gave her a reason to laugh, and we both wound up smiling.

One Sentence Wisdom

• “I have witnessed the softening of the hardest of hearts by a simple smile.” — Goldie Hawn
• “The world always looks brighter from behind a smile.” — Unknown

If you know of someone who you think would enjoy reading my Reminder, please forward it to them. Also, feel free to use this content in your own publications—newsletters, blogs, etc.