NAPA VALLEY

I hired Bob, a bike tour guide in Napa Valley.

He was in a bad mood.

He rushed through the vineyards and complained about the heat.

I was angry.

I wanted to leave him a bad review.

During lunch, Bob told me he recently lost his son to cancer. His name was Josh. He was 23.

I felt like an a-hole.

My anger was replaced with empathy.

When we view people’s actions through our lens, we think the worst.

A person is not defined by how they behave on Friday.

Everyone is going through something.

There are always multiple lenses to view things from.

The shift? “Why is this happening?” -> “What's happening?”

When your default is to understand you’re kinder. 

The golden rule? 

Always give people the benefit of the doubt.