A few weeks ago I caught an episode of the dog, bounty hunter…and usually when its on its winter time and it helps me escape a bit looking at Hawaii in the middle of a MI winter…even if they are usually busting crack addicts and pimps in the ‘not so pretty’ areas of Hawaii. You know the neighborhoods that don’t make it to the travel brochures.
Well last night they were after a drug dealer named Buttons. Now Buttons was not just any old meth dealer/addict, Buttons was actually Hawaiian surfing royalty…and well known and highly respected locally and worldwide for what he did to shape the sport of surfing; creating moves inspired by skateboarding in the ’70’s, with tricks like his 360 degree board slide, this deservingly earned him the title of “The Father of Modern Day Surfing”.
As the story rolled out, his surfing royalty title was well known, and the dog and his crew in their somewhat overly dramatic fashion brandishing over-sized badges and mace grenades, found Buttons and busted him.
And here’s the thing…the dog and his wife have walked in such shoes. They have had drug and criminal backgrounds, so you can say they have “walked the walk” in others shoes (or flip flops). If you have ever seen the show, whether its the reality nature or cleaver editing, the dog and other bounty hunters show an incredible amount of empathy and understanding.
To the point where you really believe their ‘understanding’ is just what the individual needs at that time to look to cure their life.
Fortunately for Buttons, after almost decades of drug abuse, he is clean again. Running his own surf school on the North Shore and doing what he loves…clean.
Was this because of the empathy that dog and his gang shared? Maybe not, but I can guarantee that Buttons will never forget about the incident and everyone involved.
What I am trying to get across is that every person walking on this earth has a pain. As pharmacists and in health care we see people with a lot of different types of pain; depression, physical pain, stress, past life experiences affecting them today, financial hardships…fact is its out there.
And I am not saying you have to be over sympathetic…after all I am a firm believer of personal responsibility…but to empathize in understanding where they are, letting them know “it’s ok”, whether its in your marketing materials or how you communicate with your clients…its not only the right thing, but a very powerful thing for bonding and trust.
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