Hair Salon Owner Karen Ennis has Heart and Finds Purpose in Allowing Customers to Pay What They Can Afford

Karen Ennis, a Wrightsville, Pennsylvania hair salon owner started a new price model on February 16 that is sure to drive marketing experts and MBA’s crazy.  Karen now let’s customers pay what they can afford. 

According to report entitled “Hair Salon Owner Tells Customers, 'Pay What You Can Afford” by Huffington Post and WGAL TV, “customers now leave what they wish in an unmarked envelope in a box. Ennis does not open the envelopes until the end of the week to ensure the payments remain anonymous.”

Ennis, tells WGAL that she noticed some of her loyal customers had stopped coming in for regular salon services over the last three years. They couldn't afford it, she says. "I look around and I see nothing but hurting souls because the economy has put stress on moms," said Ennis.

Watch the WGAL story below;

The pay what you can afford price system is Ennis way of helping to ease the economic hardship in her community. In the interview with WGAL, Ennis said, "A lot of people are concerned I will lose my shirt," but it's a leap of faith."

It is too early to tell whether the unusual price system will work, but early indications are that many pay more than what was originally on the old price list.

Ennis says this is not a gimmick and has nothing to do with competition. She says she does not want to steal customers from other salons, she just wants to do her part to help in difficult times.

Without a doubt, Karin Ennis has certainly found her moral heart by doing what she believes to be the right thing for her community in spite of many telling her she is crazy. Karen also has found new purpose through her business in helping her community through tough economic times. Karen says it is pure joy to see some of her old customers return and not have to worry about breaking their family budget to get their hair done. To borrow a phrase from Master Card, for Karen Ennis, that joy is priceless.

I was struck by a comment to the Huffington Post report on Ennis, Julie99 says among other things, “There are many good people in the world. Success is not measured by dollars, but what you can do for others. Hurray for this woman.” Julie99 knows what she is talking about. Money is not the answer to happiness and personal fulfillment. That comes from Passion and Purpose, along with the other principals in the “Be Happi” model of Belief, Enthusiasm, Heart, Attitude and Imagination. There is nothing wrong with money, but it will not in and of itself make you happy or assure that you feel successful.

Here is Julie99’s full comment to the Huffington Post report on Karen Ennis;

“Ending near 40 years of service in hairdressing, I charged $5.00 a cut for adults and $3.00 for kids. Some people doubled that in tips. If you required a service more and could not afford, we did the bartering system. If they said they could not afford a perm, I asked if they could bake a cake? We fed a lot of hungry people on those cakes cookies or whatever. We traded service of raking leaves and shoveling snow for some kids. Shoveling parking lot, fixing my auto for part price and exchange for hair services. Once some lady brought two plants, and another two old pantsuits, the best one was when one lady brought two live chickens. I had egg farmer I quickly delivered them to. Cancer victims never left empty headed, as, people would drop off old wigs and we fixed them up. Nothing for me to run to a rummage sale before work to purchase boots or shoes for the needy coming in. Not a fancy place, but where I also raised my children. Christmas, I purchased trees that were selling out for a dollar, for people who never had one, bought construction paper and old cards for their kids to decorate, wrapped up things at my shop and dropped them off anonymously. There are many good people in the world. Success is not measured by dollars, but what you can do for others. .Hurray for this woman.”

For more on the principles of heart, passion, purpose and the entire Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi model, visit Amazon.com to read a preview of the book.

Be Great!

MB

Artist IO Tillett Wright Finds Passion and Purpose in Fifty Shades of Gay

Artist and Photographer IO Tillett Wright found her passion and purpose in life through a personal struggle with her identity while growing up in New York City. In a video for Ted Talks, entitled Fifty Shades of Gay, Wright explains;

“If this was a war with two disparate sides, I, by default, fell on team gay, because I certainly wasn't 100 percent straight. At the time I was just beginning to emerge from this eight-year personal identity crisis zigzag that saw me go from being a boy to being this awkward girl that looked like a boy in girl's clothes to the opposite extreme of this super skimpy, over-compensating, boy-chasing girly-girl to finally just a hesitant exploration of what I actually was, a tomboyish girl who liked both boys and girls depending on the person.”

IO asked hundreds of people she met along the way to quantify themselves on a scale of one to 100 percent gay. What she found was many were just like her…somewhere in between.

This begs the question, if so many are not completely straight or completely gay, where do you draw the line when it comes to discrimination?

Watch the full video with IO Tillett Wright below;

Wright says, “I loved these people, and I admired their freedom, but I watched as the world outside of our utopian bubble exploded into these raging debates where pundits started likening our love to bestiality on national television. And this powerful awareness rolled in over me that I was a minority, and in my own home country, based on one facet of my character. I was legally and indisputably a second-class citizen.

I was not an activist. I wave no flags in my own life. But I was plagued by this question: How could anyone vote to strip the rights of the vast variety of people that I knew based on one element of their character? How could they say that we as a group were not deserving of equal rights as somebody else?

And then it occurred to me, perhaps if they could look into the eyes of the people that they were casting into second-class citizenship it might make it harder for them to do. It might give them pause.”

IO has since photographed over 2000 people who fall somewhere on the spectrum between gay and straight.

“I had spent a year photographing this new generation of girls, much like myself, who fell kind of between-the-lines -- girls who skateboarded but did it in lacy underwear, girls who had boys' haircuts but wore girly nail polish, girls who had eye shadow to match their scraped knees, girls who liked girls and boys who all liked boys and girls who all hated being boxed in to anything.”

IO’s photographs can be viewed at Self Evident Truths. 

Wright's ultimate goal: 10,000 portraits and a nationwide rethinking of discriminatory laws.

Whether you agree or disagree with IO’s cause, Ms. Wright has found passion and purpose through an issue that was personal and important to her. She uses her talent and passion for art and photography to portray this group of people that “fall in between the lines” and combines it with her passion for equality for all, giving IO’s life purpose and meaning.

I applaud IO Tillett Wright’s passion, talent and purpose. As a conservative, I believe in personal liberty for all and abhor discrimination is any form and against any group of people. Admittedly and unfortunately, this is a minority view within the conservative community, but to my way of thinking it is the only consistent and responsible position for conservatives to take. 

Former Vice President Dick Cheney and Senator Ron Portman are shining examples of taking a consistent position of personal liberty for all. They did so after personal experiences with a gay family member, but it should not have to come to that. Conservatives should stand for personal liberty for all and despise discrimination in any form against any group of people, regardless of lifestyle.

For more on passion, purpose and finding your profitable passion, see Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi.

Be Great!

MB

A Beautiful Child Inspires Passion and Purpose for Connie Feda

While browsing a toy catalog Hannah Feda, 9 years old at the time, told her mother that none of the dolls pictured looked like her. Hannah, now 13, has her wish thanks to her mother.

In an article for the Huffington Post by Jessica Samakow and an accompanying video entitled Dolls For Downs: Mom Connie Feda Creates Dolls Inspired By Her Daughter, Connie Feda explains how Hannah’s observation inspired her to create a doll that looked like her beautiful daughter. 

Hannah has Downs Syndrome.Connie’s mission and passion is to "represent children with disabilities in an honest, favorable light and give kids with disabilities a friend for life."  The article notes “With the help of sculptor Karen Scott, occupational therapists and other parents of children with Down syndrome, Feda was able to create dolls that physically reflect what her daughter and other kids see in the mirror.”

Watch the video below.

Connie’s mission and passion is to "represent children with disabilities in an honest, favorable light and give kids with disabilities a friend for life."  The article notes “With the help of sculptor Karen Scott, occupational therapists and other parents of children with Down syndrome, Feda was able to create dolls that physically reflect what her daughter and other kids see in the mirror.”

Connie told WPIX TV, “My favorite thing is the hand. Look at them, they’re so cute and pudgy.”

Connie has designed the Dolls for Downs to be far more than to simply be a “friend” for life. As Feda explains in  Dolls For Downs: Mom Connie Feda Creates Dolls Inspired By Her Daughter,  the dolls will teach “eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, and tactile input. "Our clothing is easier to get on [and] has friendlier sized snaps and buttons. ... Kids play naturally, so it's the perfect [toy] to practice essential skills like buttons, snaps, ties and zippers, hair brushing and story-telling,”

Connie concludes “I want Hannah to see a doll with Down syndrome and see something beautiful, because that's what I see when I look at her.”

The first five dolls named, Ellie, Nikki, Hannah, Grace and Aziza can be pre-ordered at Dolls for Downs. Connie Feda hopes to launch the project on May 1, 2013.

Connie Feda has found passion and purpose through a simple and sad observation from her young daughter, Hannah. I suspect it will be a profitable passion, indeed.

For more information on passion, purpose and how to find your profitable passion, see Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi.

Be Great!

MB

Heart and Purpose Found on the A/C/E Subway in NYC

In a New York Times article entitled, “We Found Our Son in the Subway,” Peter Mercurio recounts a heart-warming story of how he and his Partner of three years at the time had their lives changed forever by a total stranger in a New York City Subway – a new born baby boy!

Mercurio writes;

“Danny called me that day, frantic. “I found a baby!” he shouted. “I called 911, but I don’t think they believed me. No one’s coming. I don’t want to leave the baby alone. Get down here and flag down a police car or something.” By nature Danny is a remarkably calm person, so when I felt his heart pounding through the phone line, I knew I had to run.”

Danny stayed with the baby until Peter arrived, still waiting for authorities to respond. Ultimately, Family Court took custody of the infant. As you might expect, the story garnered a great deal of media attention, nicknaming the new born, “Baby ACE” after the A/C/E subway on which he was found. You might think this is where the story ends and Danny and Peter would simply have an amazing story to tell to family and friends on how they found a baby boy on the subway for years to come.

Peter writes, however, “What neither of us knew, or could have predicted, was that Danny had not just saved an abandoned infant; he had found our son.”

Three months after finding “Baby ACE” on the subway, Danny appeared in Family Court to recount how he found the infant. Enter the family court judge, a remarkable and intuitive woman, unnamed in the story, who at the hearing, asks Danny, ““Would you be interested in adopting this baby?”

Peter recollects, “The question stunned everyone in the courtroom, everyone except for Danny, who answered, simply, “Yes.”

“But I know it’s not that easy,” he said. (Danny).

“Well, it can be,” assured the judge before barking out orders to commence with making him and, by extension, me, parents-to-be.

Peter Mercurio

My first reaction, when I heard, went something like: “Are you insane? How could you say yes without consulting me?” Let’s just say, I nailed the “jerk” part of knee-jerk.

In three years as a couple, we had never discussed adopting a child. Why would we? Our lives were not geared for child rearing.” (Peter).

Danny was an underpaid social worker and Peter an aspiring playwright, struggling to make it financially in the Big Apple.  Peter ultimately changed his mind about the adoption, writing, “But here was fate, practically giving us a baby. How could we refuse?”

The adoption case worker, told Danny and Peter the process would take at least 9 months before they would be allowed to take custody of “Baby ACE,” enough time to get their lives in order and prepare for the addition to their family.

Enter the Family Court Judge again. A week after being told the process would take several months, Danny and Peter were required to appear before the Judge to state their intentions to adopt “Baby ACE,” just three days before Christmas. The Judge asked, “Would you like him for the holiday?”

Peter recalls, “Our nine-month window of thoughtful preparation was instantly compacted to a mere 36 hours. We were getting a baby for Christmas.”

They spent that year as Foster Parents and again appeared before the Judge to finalize the adoption. At the hearing, Peter writes, “I raised my hand. “Your honor, we’ve been wondering why you asked Danny if he was interested in adopting?”

“I had a hunch,” she just said. “Was I wrong?” And with that she rose from her chair, congratulated us, and exited the courtroom.  

Well, you might think this wonderful story ends here and you would be wrong.

Some 12 years later, after same sex marriage became legal in New York State, “Baby ACE,” now named Kevin suggested the Judge who handled the adoption marry his parents. She agreed and with Kevin by their side, Danny and Peter were married.

Peter concludes, “I reflected on the improbable circumstances that delivered all of us to this moment. We weren't supposed to be there, two men, with a son we had never dreamed of by our side, getting married by a woman who changed and enriched our lives more than she would ever know. But there we were, thanks to a fateful discovery and a judicious hunch.”

And now, as the late great, Paul Harvey would say, “You know the rest of the story.”

(I highly recommend reading the entire article by ,“We Found Our Son in the Subway,” it will make you smile and renew your faith in the goodness of many people in this world.) Peter has also written a play on their experience entitled ““Found (a True Story).”

Concentration Camp Survivor, Dr. Victor Frankl said some 50 years ago in his book, Man’s Search for Meaning,”  that people can find purpose in a cause, a person, or a work, often all three. Danny and Peter found a life purpose they could have never imagined on a Subway in New York City in the form of an innocent abandoned baby boy in need of nurturing and love. They did so, by using their moral heart to do the right thing and emotional heart to give their love to a total stranger. And let’s not forget the Family Court Judge, who used her moral heart to do the right thing by following her intuition that Danny and Peter would make great parents at a time where adoptions by same sex couples was not widely accepted.

For more on finding purpose in your life and how to follow your moral and emotional heart, see “Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi.”

Be Great!

MB

6 Year Old Dylan Siegel Knows How to Be Happi

Dylan Siegel has discovered what “Be Happi”is all about. He embodies each of the core principles of “Be Happi,” belief, enthusiasm, heart, attitude, passion, purpose, and Imagination and Dylan is only 6 years old!

The first grader wrote a book entitled “Chocolate Bar” to raise money for his best buddy, Jonah Pournazarian who suffers from a rare disease called glycogen storage disease type 1B.

In an article entitled “Boy, 6, Writes 'Chocolate Bar' Book To Raise $30,000 For Friend With Rare Liver Disease” Ron Decker of the Huffington Post reports that sales from the book and chocolate bars donated by Whole Foods have topped $30,000.

When Dylan approached his parents with the idea, they suggested a more traditional method of fund-raising like a bake sale or lemonade stand. Dylan quickly rejected those ideas and had the first pages of “Chocolate Bar” to his parents in less than an hour. Chocolate Bar is the term used by Dylan to mean Awesome.

Here is how Dylan is living the “Be Happi” model;

Dylan has belief. He believes his friends disease can be cured and his friend, Jonah will someday be able to live a normal life so buttressed by the success of “Chocolate Bar,” Dylan has a goal of raising one million dollars for research to find a cure.

Dylan has Enthusiasm. He is giving his time and energies to helping his friend.

Dylan has Heart. He has a Moral Heart by doing the right thing in helping to find a cure to help Jonah and others with this rare disease. Dylan shows a Mental Heart by having the discipline to stick with the project and produce the first pages of his book in less than an hour. And of course, Dyan is showing his Emotional Heart in his concern and love for his friend.

Dylan has a positive Attitude. He knew what he wanted to do and did not let anybody steer him in another direction.

Dylan has Passion and Purpose. Dylan is passionate about helping his friend, Jonah become healthy. This has led Dylan to his purpose of helping to find a cure for Jonah and others with the disease by raising money for research.

Finally, Dylan has Imagination. He envisioned writing a book called “Chocolate Bar” which was different and unique. He did not want to do something that had been done before.

Dylan Siegel is living the Be Happi model at 6 years old.

For more on the Be Happi model, see Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi.

Be Great!

MB