When it was my turn to order, I was greeted with the warmest and most sincere welcome.
She said, “Hi, my name is Lily. What is your name?” I said, “I am Ryan”. She asked what
she could make for me that day. I said I wanted a latte.
She said, “You definitely want cream on it, don’t you?” I said yes, definitely. Then she
continued asking me questions. She asked me where I was going. I said Cleveland. She
asked me if I was going there to spend the holiday together with my family. I said yes.
The conversation continued. She was asking me questions and also talking about her
holiday traditions. She was laughing and I was laughing. Then she handed me my drink and
said, “Ryan, have a safe trip and create some extraordinary memories with your family.
When you come back, I want you to stop here and tell me all about your trip.”
Track 27
With a lot of surprise on my face, I took my drink and I walked away. I started thinking
about her. It was Christmas Eve and most people would rather be anywhere else in the
world than serving a coffee at an airport. But not her. It was like she was meant to be
there. I couldn’t help myself and I walked back and said, “Excuse me, Lilly,” she jumped
around and asked if everything was OK with the latte. I said that the latte was perfect.
I just had to come and ask you about the secret of such meaningful connections over
serving coffee. She corrected me, “Ryan, I am not serving coffee. I’m pouring happiness
into people’s lives.” When I asked her what it meant, her definition of pouring
happiness amazed me. She wants to be happy and she wants to be around happy people. She
cares about her customers and wants them to come back, so she chooses to smile and to
help them. Instead of focusing on how to be successful, she focuses on how to be
helpful. Another thing she understands and masters is how she chooses to show up. A lot
of things happening in our life are beyond our control. She knows that she cannot
control these things, but what makes her happy is how she chooses to respond to those
things. When I met Lily, I had a lot of problems in my