Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Over the past year my family and I have had some very tough times.  From financial to physical, it just seemed as if we had Murphy's Law plastered across our foreheads. It also seems as if when you're struggling, you gravitate toward people who are in similar situations.  How do you become positive when everything and everyone around you is negative?

My wife and I were fed up. We wanted to get out of our rut, change our lives and ultimately become an example for our family and friends. To show them that life is truly what you make it in any given situation.

Everything happens purposefully.

I was at work and my wife called me in a panic over car trouble. She was late for everything; she had to pick up the kids, etc. I consoled her with words like "be strong" everything will "be alright" just "be careful" etc.

When I got home that evening she made a joke that when I was consoling her earlier I sounded repetitive and that is why the words stuck with her throughout the day. Coincidentally, my son (19months old) was stretching to reach a cup of milk she made for him but left high up on the table.

Out of frustration, he fell to the floor and yelled (with a little baby lisp) "BE NICE". We both looked at each other and couldn't stop laughing. It stuck with us and we decided to put it on a t-shirt for him. So many people responded positively over just this one little shirt.

So I decided to really testy it out. My wife was going on a trip to New York with my mother, sister, and sister-in-law. I printed a shirt for her with a custom design I made.  It read "BEE NICE" with a little bee caricature. I wanted to see if people would respond to the shirt.

Wouldn't you know, it worked. At the customer service desk my wife encountered a women that smiled and said, "I like your shirt, I wish everyone around here had that attitude." The customer service rep. offered and gave my wife a better seat than the one she booked (not first class but toward the front of the plane and in a row by herself).

It is my belief that the shirt was like a smile. It was warm and inviting. It made my wife seem positive, happy (which she is) and approachable. All of this before she even said a word.

So that was it for me. That was enough for me to take a chance. I trademarked and copyrighted the logo design; put together some samples of screen printed t-shirts and began selling them to the public.

These shirts are a start for me and my family to make a difference. I want to look around and see a more positive and uplifting place.