The Power of Nice and A Rose of Thanks
HOW THE POWER OF NICE HAS AFFECTED MY OUTLOOK AND THE EFFORTS OF A ROSE OF THANKS:
I first read The Power of Nice in the spring of 2007 and thought that there were some awesome stories and concepts that could be implemented not only into my life, but also with my start–up nonprofit organization A Rose of Thanks.
The one chapter that I have taken to heart is “Bake a Bigger Pie.” There is enough pie for everyone to share and if we combine the resources that we have separately, then we all can help each other grow.
At the end of July, I was blessed with the opportunity to be invited to participate in the GBK Production EMMY Gift Suite. The first thing I did was think how can I help other nonprofits with the opportunity that I have. I called 3 other nonprofits that I knew were based in Southern California and told them that I wanted to meet and share my experience and if we put our collective heads together we could help each other by baking a bigger pie. The other non profits must have thought I was crazy – only one of them took me up on my offer.
Then something else happened. I loved the book so much so I visited http://www.thepowerofnice.com and wrote to the authors explaining what we were doing with A Rose of Thanks and told them how much the book had impacted my life. To my surprise, they responded by asking me if they could send me a few copies of the book. So I sent back a note asking for 2–3 dozen to be distributed to the Volunteers at the Gift Suite and to the nonprofit organizations we were planning to meet with. The authors not only accepted my request, but they went above and beyond the quantities we asked for!
I kept one copy for myself because I had given my original to the PR firm that was helping me put together my press kits for the gift suite. On the plane ride out to California, a gentleman asked me about the book and I said it was awesome and told him if he got me his information I would give him a copy. I then went to Santa Monica on Monday the 10th of September and was a guest on the David Stein Radio Show for 3 hours talking about A Rose of Thanks. David is also the founder of Celebrate Life Today, the nonprofit I met with while in Southern California and I left him with 6 copies for his group. On Tuesday I met with the gentleman from the plane and gave him a copy of the book. I gave one to my friend who was kind enough to let me stay with him. And then I took the remainder to GBK Productions to be distributed to volunteers and staff of the Gift Suite. A funny thing happened at the gift suite – people were so nice! If I had to pick the Nicest Celebrity that stopped by, I would have to say Leeza Gibbons. She was in the suite for 4 hours taking the time to talk to each vendor as if she was talking to a close friend. Our room was the last room she came to and she came straight up to me and said, “Tell me your story!” As I was telling her about my path to launching A Rose of Thanks, it was evident the impact my story had had on other people that day because Leeza already knew so much about the organization from the other staff in the suite! She was finishing sentences for me! When I asked her if she knew what the Peach Rose meant, she said “thanks and gratitude.– I asked her how she knew that and she told me that everyone down the hallway had been telling her all about our organization. Not only did she personalize a card for the troops for us, but as she was leaving, she said “Matthew, you inspire me.” I was speechless! I’m a Pizza Guy from Charlotte, NC who has chosen to make a difference in the lives of others and I inspire Leeza Gibbons??!! Wow! That is the Power of Nice.
On the flight back to Charlotte last week, the flight attendants asked me about the book which I was rereading mine for the 3rd time. After reading the cover, she asked me if it was a good book and not only did I say yes, but I told her if she got me her contact information, I would send her a copy. You see, the power of nice ties into another important philosophy I believe in – Paying it Forward. Some might ask why I would give a copy of the book to a complete stranger. The way I see it, the book has made a difference in my life and the authors were kind enough to share more than I needed, so I want to share the wealth and the message with as many people as I can.
Which leads me to my last Power of Nice story for now: I belong to networking group in Concord/Kannapolis area of NC and they have helped me out a ton by working with me to get organized, helped me find the boxes we used for the gifts, helped me locate a photographer who took the photo for the press kit, found me a referral to a web designer who helped us improve our web site, and countless other things. Most of the members of this group know of someone who has served or is serving so my mission is close to all of them. I have brought a sense of family and the giving back they wanted to share. So a recent meeting, I was sharing with them the awesome experience at the EMMY Gift suite and telling them that I had something for them that had an impact on my life. A few weeks before I went out to the Emmys, I referenced The Power of Nice to the group and told them that they were all living it and if they hadn’t read it they needed to. So at my recent meeting, I gave each person present a copy of The Power of Nice and almost every person who gave there 60 second speech after me mentioned that the power of nice is how they try to run their business and most said in one way or another it all comes back to this and held up the book and pointed to the name. WOW!
Thank you so much for writing a book that will be changing people’s lives for a long time to come.
Matthew T. Hunt
Founder
A Rose of Thanks
http://www.myspace.com/aroseofthanks