Today I took a flight from Allentown Pennsylvania to St. Petersburg Florida and had the honor of sitting next to Holly. I took the first risk to say hello and ask her if she was coming… or going… home? She said, ” I was just about to ask you the same question.” As we learned more about each other we found some interesting connections. #1 we had lived in the same town. #2 she was familiar with the WINGS program I founded at Warren Hills High School. #3 her father owned a business that was insured by our company. #4 and most importantly, we found we are in the same business, the trust business. See, Holly is a hair stylist but to her, it’s all about trust…
She told me a story she heard about a psychologist that was working with a patient on a strategy for a particular problem. The following week the psychologist asked how well the strategy worked. The patient responded that she had talked it over with her hairdresser and they had agreed on another strategy she felt would work better. The psychologist realized the power of the relationship between hairdressers and their clients and decided to change his practice and counsel hairdressers on how to counsel their clients.
“There is a bond of trust that is developed over time,” Holly says. She suggests that most people don’t want to go to a psychologist or to a doctor… but going to a hairstylist can be fun. Here they can be beautified and enjoy an open, honest conversation.
Holly is now primarily a teacher of new hair stylists. She spends a lot of time talking to her students about honoring the sacred relationship between stylist and client. She wants them to know how important it is they act with integrity and that when you’re beautifying someone’s body, you are also able to help them beautify their spirit.
Of course, I was blown away by her maturity and sophistication for such a young person. It seems to me, that she has wisdom well beyond her years. Holly and I went on to talk about a variety of trust and integrity issues, and she spent time trying to help me understand how important trust and integrity is in her business. She used examples such as confidentiality, saying that some people share information with their stylist before they tell their family. When she mentioned honesty and respect, I started to think about the Trust Towel. I had one in my bag, so I gave one to her. She in turn handed me a book about cooking and eating well. (Do you think she noticed I am overweight?)
Holly was not just talking about living with integrity she was doing it. We both paid it forward. I gave her a towel, she gave me a book. Wow, this is the way life should be. I asked her if she would consider taking a picture I could post on my blog, “OK” she said. Talk about trust… I was so impressed with her positive attitude I asked her if she would cut what’s left of my hair, but unfortunately, she’s doing more teaching than cutting these days. (Maybe I don’t have enough hair to qualify for her services????)
30,000 feet over the east coast Holly gave me “High Hopes” for the future. If we can turn out a new generation of people that think like this… then we will be just fine. Holly gets “IT,” do you?
