#1949 “I’m Going To Tell Your Boss…

In our last several +1s (here, here, here and here), we’ve been mining some wisdom from our recent Johnson family trip to San Diego where we had the privilege of joining Captain Daryle Cardone and his family and friends at his Change of Command Ceremony on the USS RONALD REAGAN.

It was a humbling, inspiring, Heroic trip.

Side note…

I hope you enjoy the stories about our family adventures. I’ve gotten a lot of feedback that these stories about everyday (and chess!) things help bring the wisdom to life and I hope you enjoy them as well. 🙏

So…

Today I want to wrap up our trip with a few more Target swipes…

As we discussed, the kids and I started the travel day with the EXPLICIT intention to see just how many micro moments of awesome we could create on our adventure.

We started with our Uber driver Dante. Then we connected with our Southwest Airlines friend.

Then, as I sipped that coffee I wasn’t dumping down a drain (😉 ☕️) we got to witness human beings being awesome with the blind man who was navigating his way to and through the TSA line.

Then…

We made it to the front of the TSA line where we had ANOTHER micro moment of awesome with not just one but THREE TSA agents.

Now…

I have a confession to make.

As you know if you’ve been following along…

I knew EXACTLY how those interactions were going to go BEFORE I even got in line.

I KNEW that I’d end each interaction with each TSA agent telling them that I’d be telling their boss how awesome they were.

And…

That’s exactly what happened.

The woman who scanned my driver’s license and asked the kids how old they were and what their names were was genuinely awesome.

I let her know just how great I thought she was and that I’d be telling her supervisor I really appreciated her and her energy.

She BEAMED and said: “Thanks!!”

Then…

I was actually planning to have Emerson practice his micro moment of awesome creating skills.

But…

I messed that up by starting a chat with the next TSA agent too quickly. 😆

As we put our bags in the trays on the little conveyer belt thing, I told him that San Diego is awesome. He agreed. I asked him how long he’d been there. He said for over 30 years. I asked him what brought him to San Diego. He said he was a Marine who served for 26 years.

I thanked him for his service and told him that my dad was in the Navy stationed at Camp Pendleton in 1955 and that we just went to a change of command ceremony.

Then I said that one of my favorite parts of the ceremony was when the Captain celebrated the Marine drill sergeant who put him through officer training.

That (now retired) Marine was in attendance.

The two of them have remained close friends for nearly THREE DECADES and Daryle’s celebration of him in his speech was incredibly touching.

Then…

I told my new TSA friend that I really appreciated HIS energy and that I’d be telling his superiors how awesome he is.

He BEAMED.

We fist bumped.

Then the kids and I made our way over to the supervisor’s section where I told the Boss how awesome her team is and how awesome she must be to have such an awesome team.

She smiled and thanked me.

Then…

I asked her if there was a way I could officially put in a kind word for her team.

Of course, I knew there was because I’ve done it more than once before.

She had to think about how I could go about doing that.

I laughed and told her my guess was the ratio of people complaining to celebrating is probably pretty high which is why I wanted to make sure I took a minute to celebrate.

She smiled and thanked me again.

And…

That’s Today’s +1.

I’ve got to go send an email to celebrate Ms. Barron and Mr. Grayer from TSA Checkpoint 2 at the San Diego airport.

If you feel so inspired, see if YOU can create a micro moment of awesome with the next TSA agent YOU meet.

And…

If you feel REALLY (Heroically!) inspired, see if you can create a little streak and do it with every one you ever meet from now on.

I HIGHLY recommend the whole experience.

And…

DEFINITELY let the TSA agent know you’ll be telling their Boss how awesome they are.

That’s always my favorite part—to feel the Love 2.0 “positivity resonance” Barbara Fredrickson talks about. The energy is palpable.

And…

So you have it…

Here’s the email you’ll need to celebrate that humbly Heroic agent who keeps you safe: TSA-ContactCenter@tsa.dhs.gov.

It’s Day 1.

We’re ALL IN on being awesome.

All day.

Every day.

Especially…

With people who are often treated less-than-awesomely.

Especially…

TODAY.

P.S. Here’s the email I just sent. Feel free to use it as a template. 🤓

To: TSA-ContactCenter@tsa.dhs.gov
Subject: Thank you!

Hi there. 👋

My name is Brian Johnson. I just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know how much I appreciate all you do to keep me and my family safe.

I know you have a job that a lot of people take for granted and that you and your team may not get the praise and gratitude you deserve as often as you should.

I specifically want to thank Mr. Grayer and Ms. Barron (at Checkpoint 2 in San Diego Airport) and their supervisor Ms. Grenfeld for being awesome this morning.

If you could please make a note and let them know how much they are appreciated I would appreciate that.

Once again, thank you for all you do.

With gratitude and love,

-Brian Johnson