Did you see the edge of your seat thriller named A Simple Favor? It was with the wonderful Blake Lively opposite the ingenious Anna Kendrick and I won’t blow the plot but yes, the premise was based on what seemed like a simple favor involving one suburban mom babysitting the young boy of another mom. The movie was completely riveting filled with intrigue and suspense so if you haven’t seen it, grab the popcorn and watch asap because the sequel is currently in production.
The thing about doing a simple favor for someone else is that you never really know how monumental that solid can be and you can’t possibly estimate the amazing ripple effect the results might have for both you and the lucky duck you’ve done the favor for. Recently I offered to help a person we’ll call O. He was looking for a job in a super specific field and I just happened to have worked with an expert in that very market sector. I made him no promises, but offered to reach out to my friend to see if she could help him navigate an entry level job. O was happy for the help so I set the wheels in motion by forwarding his resume.
I sent one email to her. Just one. And being the brilliant superstar that she is, she ran with it immediately. During the months that followed O had a smattering of very promising follow ups with various members of the company. And although it seemed to take forever with gaps of silence in between, I’m beyond thrilled to announce that O was finally offered his dream job which he promptly accepted! He of course called me to thank me, but I find it hard to take much credit. All I did was a simple favor. He’s the one who presented his best self during the interviews, impressed the hell out of the whole team, and asked great questions. His sharp mind, tenacious spirit, related experience, and inquisitive attitude are what earned him the offer. And I swear I’m practically happier than he is.
Not to be overly dramatic but this will be O’s first job after college. And big news like this doesn’t happen all the time. This puts him on a trajectory that helps form his path in life. It’s literally huge! So when I spoke with him, I told him to take note of this monumental day. Life is jam packed with average days and ho-hum events and nondescript mundane conversations. A game changer like a new job is a reason to celebrate big. Especially your first corporate job right out of college. He has already set himself up to succeed. And I have no doubt that he will be an enormous asset to his new firm.
So I’m sure he’s celebrating and partying and enjoying the good news, which of course he should. He probably also feels both relief and anxiousness and a whole host of other things we all remember feeling back when we jumped head first into the work pool ourselves. And I feel a sense of supreme happiness for him– genuine joy that such a small thing that I did helped him create a gigantic win for himself.
So the next time someone asks you for a simple favor remember this story. For a small kindness from one of us could be life changingly fantastic for someone else. And O… my G-d! You did it!!!
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