Most mornings I drive by three young men selling newspapers on the street. One of them has a whole intersection all to himself and the other two share one of the city’s busiest avenues. Each one has a peculiar strategy to get the papers sold, but there is one who usually finishes off his bundles long before the other two. Not because he is standing in a privileged location. In fact when I first saw him there, I wondered about his lack of creativity. The other two are positioned strategically where cars have to stop completely or slow down. But as I passed by him day after day, I realized that the spot he chose has nothing to do with his success-- it is his attitude.

Young man #1 stands alone at a popular T-junction. His face bears a permanent scowl. He seems really upset at having to wake up so early to catch the morning traffic. When motorists indicate their interest in getting a copy of the paper by waving or honking, he drags his feet to the vehicle and with his signature scowl in place, shoves the paper through the window. If it is raining, he is nowhere to be found and I do not blame him. It is bad enough that he is stuck selling newspapers to have to do it in the rain. But as far as I am concerned, it is too early in the morning to have to put up with somebody’s foul attitude, so I refuse to buy from him.

Young man #2 stands at an intersection that has the added benefit of traffic lights. As soon as one group of motorists is detained by the red light, he runs all up and down the row of cars shouting out the names of the available newspapers. I tried to buy from him but was unable to because he was so busy darting in and out of traffic that it was hard to keep track of his position. I found myself waving and honking just in case he could see me. Seems like he never did.

Young man #3 stands firmly in the middle of the busy avenue-- legs slightly separated in a commanding posture; clutching a few copies to his breast in such a way that motorists can catch a glimpse of the headlines as they drive by. He never walks among the cars; I have noticed that he waits until his customers drive up to him. He greets each one with a cheery “good morning!” and a huge smile as they slow down to get the paper. I stopped to buy from him and was impressed by his niceness. “Let me put the paper on your dashboard; would not want you to get stains on our hands.” He said. And as I drove off I heard him shout “Thank you! Have a great day and see you tomorrow!” He managed to articulate all of that in the few seconds it takes to buy newspaper.

Needless to say young man #3 is my favorite. You might be wondering what the big deal is, it is only a newspaper. But to me it is much more than that. It is a matter of whom I allow into my day. He has the least advantageous position of the three, and yet I can assure you he sells twice as much as the other two.We can learn a thing or two from the newspaper men:

You might not be working at your dream job, but you owe it to yourself to enjoy whatever it is that you are doing today.
You only have a few seconds to make an impression. Be sure to be on your best behaviour.
You cannot go through life making everybody pay for what you are going through. Scowling at people you do not know is never a good idea.
Develop an attitude of gratitude and you will be rewarded. Saying a simple thank you even for the tiniest favors goes a long way.
The best way to beat your competitors is by offering better service. I am sure that I am not the only one who passes by two other newspaper sellers to get to the one who is going to say something pleasant.

This morning it rained again and while #1 was missing and #2 was running around with wet newspapers, young man #3 stood in his position, fully covered in a bright yellow raincoat, newspapers carefully wrapped in transparent plastic, and the biggest, happiest smile on his face.

Dinorah Blackman
Books at http://www.lulu.com/blackman