Are you ever assigned to do little things that don’t seem to matter?
Have you ever been in charge of making a lanyard for an event?
Have you ever seen a lanyard and thought, “Does anyone care about how pathetic and cheap this looks?”
Arriving at Stinker Stores in Idaho for their 2022 Leadership Level Up conference I received my lanyard, and, like usual, wasn’t about to put it on.
Until I looked at it and nearly fell on the floor.
It appeared hand made, but not in the bad way, no, this was handmade by a genius of the craft, a carefully customized piece of art, of great value in it’s perfection, something I will never throw away.
The stuff Promise Legends are made of!
I accidentally screamed out, “Who made this??!!?”
My client, event planner, and awesome cousin, Nate Brazier, mastermind of the event (deserving of much praise as well for putting on such a spectacular conference), said, “Oh, isn’t that amazing? Her name is Yori Lim, she always makes the lanyards, how cool is this one?”
I said, “This is legendary! Where is she?”
He pointed to a corner where she was putting more custom made items in boxes, on tables, and I yelled, “Yori! You’re the epitome of what I’m speaking about later!”
She didn’t know what that meant, but laughed and proclaimed she had been making lanyards and other custom items for the conference for decades, as if it were no big deal.
Later, during my speech, I held the lanyard up as the ultimate example of someone keeping The Promise in their work no matter how small the job – yet here it was:
Custom
Carefully Crafted
A hand-tied knot
A silver medallion bee embedded in plastic
My name prominent, spelled correctly, highlighting my role
The conference logo
A LEVEL with accompanying bubble cut perfectly to size to drive the theme of Level Up home
I brought the lanyard brilliance up to the audience, as Yori, from the back, sheepishly stood and received the loudest applause of my presentation. All deserved!
Yori Lim is a Legend.
Peers and leaders started reminiscing about how this is just her way, the thing she does, her Signature Move she is known for and has always done everything.
She is invaluable to this company and to her peers. The ultimate leader. A Legendary Leader!
The Promise – in a lanyard!
Every little thing matters when we care enough to keep the Promise and create something only we can with our unique gifts and talents.
Anyone can print names on a piece of paper and stuff it in a normal plastic casing, make it forgettable and just good enough. And oftentimes that’s all that can be done due to having so much to be accomplished for an event.
Or you can utilize the strengths of those on the team and ask someone to make it special, unforgettable, make a lanyard that doesn’t stink, and always remember:
The Legend of Yori Lim, Best Lanyard Maker of All-Time!
~ Jason Hewlett
Husband, Father, Writer, Mentor, Hiker
- Speaker Hall of Fame * Award-Winning Entertainer * Promise Legacy Project Coach
- World’s Only Keynote Speaker utilizing entertainment, musical impressions, and comedy to Create Legendary Leadership through the Power of Commitment
- Author of “The Promise To The One”
4 Responses
How neat of you to notice and highlight her and her gifts. It is obviously totally her and it is, for sure, you.
Many blessings. Louise
It was amazing to see what she’s capable of doing at such a high level. Thank you for your encouragement of my writing and stories my friend!
I can not love this enough! Leveling up at stinker is how we do it. I have had the pleasure of receiving not one but two of Yori’s amazing lanyards ( last year it was hand picked and dried flowers from out home office! ) They hang in my car as a reminder of how this company is all about Family
Lisa! I’m thrilled to know this. Yori is amazing. Thank you for the comment and please send her my best.