“Go the extra mile.“
That’s a quote I frequently hear when I was working in the service line. Now that I am out of the service industry, I have another perspectives on “Go the extra mile”. While many may link this quote to servicing of customers, I feel that this attitude is not limited to only the service industry. I believe this is a fabulous attitude to have, regardless of what you do.
“How you do something is how you do everything.”
And this quote pretty much sums up everything. When you are able to always put that little extra effort into anything you do, it could move mountains… for someone… maybe even yourself. Have you ever used gift wrapping services at the shopping centers during Christmas period? The service would be in overwhelming demand, and the staff would be handling the massive requests and wrapping presents non-stop? How did you feel when a retail staff made a small effort to create a nice folded design for your wrapping, or stick on that small ribbon which wasn’t inclusive? It made you feel good, didn’t it?
I was at a Branding workshop recently and we had hands-on practices to design our labels, tagline, secret formula presentation, etc. Very often we were put into small groups to present to each other and get feedback on how to improve. After a group presentation, I went up to a gentleman in my group. He was struggling to put his stuff together during his presentation. I gave him some suggestion on improving his label. The next day, I went back to him and shared with him a tagline I thought of. He was so touched and grateful. Of course, we became good friends after that. A friend, who attended the workshop with me, witnessed the interaction. She said “Hey, you could add this trait of yours to your label!” It then got me reflecting. No matter what I do, I always pride myself to make a little more effort… to go the extra mile! And that’s the reason why my customers and colleagues love me!
The Extra Mile Day was started, on 1 November 2009, to encourage people from all walks of life to simply live a fulfilling, self-directed lifestyle that does not constrain their potential, and that enables them to at least go the extra mile to achieve what they have always wanted.
Have you done justice to yourself? Have you gone the extra mile… made the extra effort to achieve what you want?