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A Smile of Hope
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Welcome to a new smile of hope
Today's smile of hope comes from California in America.
California is one of the states in the U.S.
with an ocean coastline.
He is a young man named John.
John sells lemonade to people sitting on the beach.
He passes by with his lemonade and sells it.
While selling his lemonade, he asks them a question:
“Are you happy with the place at which you are staying?”
“Are you satisfied with the hotels you are staying at?”
He listens attentively as he pours the lemonade
and gives it to them.
They all complain.
They would tell him the sheets aren’t clean,
or a certain something isn’t clean,
or that they don’t like this or that,
or they complain about the food.
For 10 years he listened and his dream was getting bigger.
He wondered if he could establish a hotel
that didn’t have any of the problems people were complaining about,
for he had listened to many complaints.
For 10 years he sold lemonade and listened
and his dream was getting bigger.
Ten years later, he managed to save some money,
and the lemonade vendor opened a small restaurant,
but he continued to do the same thing,
he listened to what people had to say, while his dream continued to grow
and he continued to save money.
He listened attentively as he went from one table to the other
asking them how they felt about the hotels in the area,
as it was a tourist area.
The people shared their opinions on the hotels and he would listen,
take down notes and continue to dream.
He opened a second restaurant as he continued to save money,
as well as provide good service.
He listened and listened and dreamed until his dream began to come true
and he established a small hotel with the money he saved.
He put all his dreams into this hotel but he continued to listen.
He was the first person in the world to create a customer complaint form
which can now be found in all hotels.
He was the one who came up with this idea.
So who is this John?
It will surprise you.
Who is this lemonade vendor?
He is John Marriott.
Have you heard of Marriott Hotels?
He is the owner.
Was he a lemonade vendor?
Yes, he was a lemonade vendor.
The Marriott Hotels found around the world?
Yes, the Marriott Hotels found around the world.
Oh my, he must be very, very rich.
Imagine, all the Marriott Hotels around the world.
How did he achieve this?
He was nothing more than a lemonade vendor
selling lemonade on the beach.
He listened and found out what people needed,
and he would dream.
Of course, he also had ambition and worked hard.
But these were his two keys.
He listened to people’s complaints and then visualized solutions,
so when he established his small hotel
he avoided and fixed all the things he had previously heard about,
so the hotel was a success,
because people found what they were looking for.
He was a very good listener.
Sometimes, we don’t listen to people or to their needs
and therefore, we don’t grow
and we don’t fulfill peoples’ desires.
You need to listen attentively and have good listening skills,
whether you are a head of state, CEO, worker or lemonade vendor.
This is the story and early life of John Marriott,
the owner of the international Marriott Hotels.
Can you learn anything from him so that perhaps you too will dream
and do something extraordinary?
This would be an amazing smile of hope in your life.
Thank you,
may God's peace and blessing be upon you.