How to Make Someone's Day: Howard Prager on PYP 500
Channel: Sick to Fit | Plant Yourself Podcast
Date: 2022-01-18

Howard Prager delights in delighting others. And his attitude and energy are infectious.
In his book, Make Someone's Day, he points out that helping others is the best way of helping ourselves. When depressed, he advises, look for someone else to lift up.
Indeed, modern neuroscience and evolutionary psychology are both discovering more and more ways that our species is "wired for altruism." 
From the tend/mend response that we feel when our neurotransmitters release and receive oxytocin, to the survival advantages conveyed by taking care of those around us, it appears that humans find it as natural to be kind and supportive as mean and cutthroat.
And given that choice, who wouldn't prefer a society in which we are held, helped, cared for, and supported?
Howard Prager is president of Advance Learning Group, and is an executive coach and leadership consultant who's worked with some of the biggest names in business and the nonprofit world.
And the heart of his approach has always been generosity and kindness - to help people become the kinds of leaders that others want to follow.
Prager understands that one of the most powerful ways to be powerful is to treat everyone around you like a VIP. Partly because it's such a rare experience to be treated with care and creativity, when people do feel that way, they're likely to say, "You made my day."
And that's the bar Prager urges us to reach for. 
Because in an increasingly angry, fearful, distrustful, mean, and polarized world, we don't need more enemies. We don't need more reasons to hate others. We don't need more proof that we're right and they're wrong.
Instead, Prager suggests that we try kindness.
Look around, and take some time to consider how you can get others to light up. To feel seen and heard. To feel cared for. 
We talk about how introverts can participate in the Make Someone's  Day movement, as well as how to protect your own boundaries to avoid depletion and resentment. 
In our conversation, Prager tells many inspiring and heartwarming stories of making people's day. Think of them as vegan chicken soup for the soul :) 
Including:
the 13 year old Make-a-Wish recipient from Mississippi who chose feeding the homeless over a PlayStation or Disney trip
the lifechanging magic of a beat-up easel
the impact of sincere thank you notes on the Washington Post newsroom staff
and many more
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