As part of my LDR 100, Introduction to Leadership class, we were asked to do a project on Mark Sanborn’s book, The Fred Factor. The Fred Factor is a story about Sanborn’s mailman, Fred, who consistently goes above and beyond doing his job. Sanborn was so impressed by Fred that he decided to write a book called The Fred Factor to help ordinary people live a life with as much enthusiasm, love, and passion as Fred.
For our Fred Factor Project, we were split up into groups and our assignment was to “Be like Fred”. While many groups in my cohort decided to target their projects towards bringing positivity and happiness to random strangers, my group took a different approach.
During one of our many group meetings, we came to realize that we are all blessed with so many wonderful people in our life, whether that be family members, friends, roommates, LAS family, teachers, etc. We also came to realize that we don’t appreciate these people in our life as much as we should.
As a result, my Fred Factor Group decided to write little notes of appreciation, also known as warm fuzzies, to our entire LAS cohort. We arrived a half hour early to class one day and left each of our classmates an appreciative note to open once they got to class.
By showing our gratitude for people we care about and mean the world to us, we demonstrated the four principles of being a Fred: Everyone makes a difference; Success is built on relationships; You must continually create value for others and it doesn’t have to cost a penny; and you can reinvent yourself regularly.
Madi McEachern 