‘Hang Out With People Who Make You Forget To Look At Your Cell Phone’ And Other Free Advice
My Halloween costume ended up being a social experiment when I dressed up as “FREE ADVICE.”
Basically, I made myself a sandwich board and wrote “Free Advice! Take One!” on front and back. I then took sticky notes with inspiring quotes, affirmations, and words of wisdom and attached them to my costume, as if I were covered in feathers of positive thoughts for anyone who crossed my path.
It wasn’t hard, because my office wall is covered in quotes, as well as my bathroom mirror, refrigerator door, and I put them in my kid’s lunch boxes each day.
Let it be known, I am a quote freak. I once graffitti-ed my own bathroom with words from ground to ceiling. A great place for contemplation in the morning, I thought. These days, for unwinding, I detangle my mind scanning quotes on Pinterest. For me, it is almost as effective as a glass of wine.
The sticky notes on my “Free Advice” costume were not religious, preachy, nor alienating. Rather, I mostly wanted to see how people would react. I chose this poll of those interested in Life coaching over stapling my business card to the candy I doled out to hundreds of kids that night.
The advice came mostly in themes of: being true to yourself and your dreams, motivation, passion, friendship, showing gratitude, and staying positive.
There were messages like:
“The temptations to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.” and
“Don’t be mad about the results you didn’t get from the work you didn’t do.”
My only wish was that the words on the sticky notes would speak profoundly to people I met on the street, and would possibly shed light on what ever they may be struggling with that day.
So, off to the Halloween Main Street Parade I marched, wearing my “Free Advice” sandwich board, and holding hands with my 1st grader dressed in a down jacket, hula skirt, and leis, and on antibiotics for step throat.
Sure enough, people started interacting with me, and the behavior that ensued was fascinating…strangers squared me up to read the BOLD PRINT.
I would say:
“It’s free! Take one if you need some. It may be just the thing you need to hear today.”
My first few customers were hesitant.
“No thanks, I’m good.”
“I’m all filled up on advice right now!”
But then, people started crossing the street to get to me and interact with my costume. With outstretched arms, people would approach me and say,
“Yes, I could use some free advice!”
“Who doesn’t need a little advice?”
One woman ran up to me and snagged off two fists full of sticky notes, as if they were lottery tickets.
“Thanks, I need all the advice I can get!”
People would take one, read it out loud to each other like a fortune cookie, and agree that it spoke to them.
“Yeah, that’s good!”
Sometimes they would trade them, or insist that the one they picked was better for their husband or friend, and give it to the appropriate person who needed those words most. Others would take one, read it, and then stick it back on.
One parent instructed her 9-year-old, “You can’t just take some advice without giving her something in return!” So, little Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz reached into her bag and gave me a miniature yellow box of milk duds.
Before long the crowd around me was wearing sticky notes, trading them, sharing them, discussing. And the positivity was spreading. People LOVED it.
I approached a homeless man to see if he needed some free advice. He replied with needing advice on a specific topic.
“Where can I find a well-established woman ready to settle down?”
I said,
“Grab some advice, I’m almost out, but it may just be the answer you are looking for.”
He took a look at the advice that was left and politely declined, “I have already heard all of those.”
The best reaction came from a woman in a slow car passing by, who yelled:
“Free advice is seldom worthy!”
I approached the car, and said,“Well I am giving you some anyways, so take it!”And I stuck a sticky note on the inside of her windshield. Days later she told me that she liked the quote and decided to keep it there. It said:
“Hang out with people who make you forget to look at your cell phone.”
It was fun listening to the little kids sound out the words and read the philosophical messages and then take them to heart. I enjoyed hearing their parents translate the message into what their 4-year-old could interpret.
“Be with those who help your being…. means spend time with the people you LOVE!” the mom explained to her baby bear.
I was surprised that the high school kids engaged. A group of 10 teenagers passed me, and almost everyone took one.
One girl grabbed,
“Don’t trade in your authenticity for approval!”
I fantasized that those may have been just the words that spoke to her and helped her with her self esteem that day.
An old man, with a long, grey beard, gravitated toward me and peeled one off.
He put on his reading glasses to see the small print that said,
“Expect nothing, appreciate everything.”
He tipped his glasses and looked me straight in the eyes and said, “I appreciate YOU for doing this!”
At the end of the night, I was all out of free advice. Over 100 wise words had been scattered in the hands of receivers. What I learned is that the majority of people are open to some advice or inspiration. I was reminded that everyone is dealing with something, and appreciates even the smallest token of positivity, hope, and bigger-picture insight. Overall, most people are seeking a pick-me-up of words that can help them get through that day. So, the conclusion from my social experiment is: Those looking to figure out what’s next will seek out what they need to keep moving forward.
