award-winning educator, mental health advocate, social entrepreneur, inspirational speaker, author/writer, program executive, and radio host

An Unexpected Outcome

I went to an Italian restaurant in pursuit of a hearty meal. After I finished my meal, I paid for my order and returned to work.

Later that day, I reviewed my meal receipt and discovered that the cashier didn’t charge me for my pasta entrée. This is the reason I returned to the restaurant and told the cashier about the issue. The cashier then called the manager to assist me.

I told the manager that I wanted to pay for the entrée that wasn’t included on my bill from my last visit. The manager thanked me for the offer to pay for the entrée; then, the manager charged me. I was surprised that the manager charged me for the entrée. Nevertheless – in my heart – I wanted to do the right thing but I must admit that I really hoped that I wouldn’t be charged.

A couple of days later, I ate at a Chinese restaurant. Once my meal was completed, I asked for the check. It took a long time for the waiter to return with my check. Approximately ten (10) minutes after I requested my check, the manager told me that there was an issue with their system and my check couldn’t be found. At this point, I offered to wait a little while to pay for my meal; however, the manager told me not to worry about it. Therefore, I finished my dessert, gave the server a tip, and

left feeling satisfied after my complimentary meal.

A few days later, I was about to park my car during a trip to visit my mom. There were plenty of parking spaces available in front of her residence. The easiest parking spot to access was behind a car parked on the street, but I decided to park in front of the car. As I started to backup to park in front of this car, I noticed something on the ground waving in my headlights. I thought to myself, “That couldn’t be, but is it?!?!” I then looked a little closer and thought, “That’s money on the ground and big money.” I got out of my car to take a closer look and discovered that it was a $100 bill.

These series of fortunate events occurred after I returned to a restaurant to pay for a $9 entre. The interesting thing is that I know I did the right thing by returning to pay for the entrée, but I was disappointed by the outcome. Notwithstanding my feelings, I strongly believe that I later received an approximately $115 benefit because I did the right thing. It might be a
coincidence, but I don’t think so.

The lesson learned was that doing the right thing may not lead to an expected outcome, but it can lead to an unexpected positive
benefit – even if the outcome is not the one wanted or expected.