I am currently reading a book entitled, "The Power of Small". It is written by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval. It is basically about how some of our smallest actions and gestures can have a huge impact on the achievement of our "big goals". As most of you who read my articles already know, I strongly encourage people to know what their big goals are so that they have some focus on where they are going. However, I also believe that your life can be totally changed by some of the smallest, seemingly inconsequential events or actions.
  
   This was brought out to me just this past week when I met with Jason Kontak, who is featured in an article in the Valley East Today Online Magazine. Jason is the President of the Student General Association and was scheduled to be a special guest on my radio show on CKLU 96.7 FM. I stopped by his office about an hour before the show to discuss some of the topics that we would be covering. The door was locked for the day, but he let me in and we were engaging in a conversation when we heard another knock on the door.
  
   Jason opened the door again and greeted a young lady who looked as if she was a first-year student at Laurentian. The girl asked if he could tell her where the "pub" office was located because she thought she had lost her student card there the night before. Jason informed her that the pub was closed but that he would check in a binder on his secretary's desk just in case the card had been found and brought to the SGA office. Sure enough, the grateful girl spotted her card and expressed her extreme gratitude to Jason for finding it. She needed it to get on the transit bus which was leaving in five minutes to take her home. 
   Jason let the girl out and locked the door again before returning to our conversation.
  
   I later explained to Jason that even though it was the first time that I had ever met Jason and did not know what kind of background he had or what he was studying, the kindness he showed to that young lady spoke volumes to me about Jason Kontak. To Jason, what he did wasn't a very big deal. He was just doing his job. But to the young lady, finding her student card was a huge deal. It was her pass for just about everything important to her. Furthermore, the office was actually closed, so Jason didn't have to do a thing. The girl would have continued in her quest to find the "pub" office and may still be searching for her card. Instead, since this may have been her first experience with the SGA, she left that office with a wonderful impression of the SGA and the President, Jason Kontak. Who knows what that single act of kindness may bring about. This young lady may even decide to run for one of the positions that are up for election, and she may even one day become president, all because of the positive experience she had in her time of need.
  
   I told Jason that if I was considering hiring him for a job, none of his letters of reference, nor any of his long list of accomplishments and achievements, not even his position as President of the SGA would have as much impact on my decision to hire him as witnessing that simple act of kindness to a young lady whom he had never met. I told him that I would hire him on the spot regardless of the rest of his qualifications.
  
   It reminded me of the time that my youngest son, Marty and I met with Dave Newell, who at the time was the Head of supervisor of officials with the N.H.L. He was acting as a "mentor" for Marty and gave him some advice that would help him get noticed for promotion to the higher levels in the world of hockey. Mr. Newell explained that one of his responsibilities was to go out and "scout" prospective referees for the National Hockey League. He would go out to an arena and watch as the referee came on the ice for the warm-up skate. He would watch to see how the referee wore his sweater; how he skated around the rink; how he stood by the boards waiting for the players to finish their brief warm-up. And then, he would look at the referee's skates. He was looking at the condition of the laces. Mr. Newell stated that regardless of what kind of previous reports he had received about how good the referee was, or what he saw in the warm-up, if the laces were marked or worn out - if they weren't perfectly white - he would leave immediately without even watching the referee work the game.
  
   Mr. Newell said that in all his years he had come to realize that if a referee didn't care enough about the laces on his skates, he just didn't have what it took to meet the standard of excellence that was required to referee in the National Hockey League. Once again, it may seem like a little thing, but it says volumes about the person. Marty went out and bought two dozen new laces that day and vowed to change laces every few games following that advice.

   Jay Leno said, "Anyone who is successful can look back at one small thing someone did for them, or they did for someone, that made all the difference. These small things are what lay the foundation for success." 

   And so, as you move forward with your life, remember that it will be the small things in life that have the biggest impact in the end. The next person you hold the door open for or say thank you to may turn out to be a person who will change your life.   
 
   Have a good week!