My friend Michael Sanders, who makes brilliant products at BambooHR, has always provided me with balance. His view on life, business, and success is so refreshing. i miss having the opportunity to work with him everyday. Michael always has a good story to share to illustrate the importance of putting things into their proper perspective and the parable of the American Tourist and Mexican Fisherman is one he has shared with me many times.

All of us have shit that happens to us, all the time, but why do some of us just let it roll off our backs, while others erupt like every little setback is catastrophic?

For me, the answer is PURPOSE. Let me try to explain.

The story goes like this, each of us carries around an emotional bucket that is constantly being either emptied or filled by the words and actions of others. When the bucket is full, we feel amazing. When the bucket is empty, we feel discouraged and depressed. The paradox is that dipping into other’s buckets, by saying things or doing things that are hurtful, actually decreases the level of our own buckets AND adding to other’s buckets, by saying things or doing things that increase positive emotions, increases our buckets.

Many organizations understand the importance of customer service, yet only a select few are doing it right. I run my organization with customer service as the foundation — in fact it’s one of the first things new employees see when they join the company.