“We rise by lifting others” - Robert Ingersoll
Today I’d like to share with you two stories about women who launched their career with the help of kindness. They are from two different countries and two completely different cultures.
Nearly a half century ago, Carol Burnett was given a gift. It changed her life.
An aspiring comedic actress, Burnett was invited to perform at a black tie event in San Diego by her acting professor at UCLA. After her performance, a couple approached her at the hor d’oeuvre table (as Carol puts it, she was busy stuffing canapes into her purse to take home to her grandmother). The husband told Carol,
I am going to give you enough money so you can go to New York to become a star.
There were 3 stipulations:
She couldn’t tell anyone who gave her the money
She needed to pay it back in 5 years
She had to pay the kindness forward.
Well, as we know, the rest is history. Carol appeared on Broadway, starred on the Garry Moore Show and then started the first female comedy television show (The Carol Burnett Show) that ran for 11 years.
Carol kept all 3 of her promises, with gratitude for the gift that launched her career.
Fifty years later in Pakistan
On October 9, 2012, 15 year old Malala Yousafzai, was shot in the head in an assassination attempt while riding a bus in Pakistan. Just two years before the shooting, she had been featured in a New York Times documentary, chronicling her writings about life in Pakistan and how her school was shut down by the Taliban.
At about the same time, Shiza Shahid, born in Islamabad, Pakistan, had just graduated from Stanford University and was working for McKinsey & Company. An advocate for education and rights for women in her country, Shiza flew to Pakistan to meet Malala and her parents. As Malala recovered, Shiza provided the kindness and mentorship that led to Malala becoming the youngest Nobel Prize laureate ever and only the second recipient in Pakistan. Shiza left her career with McKinsey & Company to co-found and become CEO of the Malala Foundation. She says that it was her kindness that led to her amazing new career.
In my early 30’s I experienced a ‘career kindness’
I’ve had the good fortune to experience ‘career kindness’, too. In my early 30’s I started a small t-shirt design business, having no idea how to sell my products. But I learned my first kindness lesson. The owner of the print shop had just lost his dog of 15 years. We had become friends and I knew how hard he took the loss. I went to the pound and, as luck (or fate) would have it, they had a sweet little black dog that they had kept in the office because she hadn’t been claimed. They couldn’t bear to see her euthanized. Her name was Maggie.
Little Maggie and I piled into my car and headed to the print shop. John’s weak protests died when Maggie snuggled up next to him and placed her paw on his knee. Two days later, John’s manager and head designer called to tell me that he wanted to introduce me to his contact who handled the airport gift shop business for our area. We met. I showed him my designs and I was in business.
Back then I didn’t really know what had happened. I was suddenly in business. It felt good. And it felt even better that I had made a difference for John.
Kindness powers careers
I’m not suggesting that you should be kind just to launch a career. But you never know when your kindness, or the kindness of others can make a career difference. The simplest acts of kindness could launch a career.
If you know someone who may be thinking about a career change, or maybe is getting ready to head out into the world, I hope you will share these stories of Career Kindness. Who knows. A little kindness may be just the ticket to a new career.
Do you have a story about Career Kindness? I hope you will share it in the comments or simply by replying to this email.
Check out my other articles in the Kindness Magnet library.
May your week be filled with kindness. 💜
How Kindness Launched Two Careers