A few years ago when I was bartending at the summer weekend concert Hog Wild I learned a valuable lesson of the power of words. A gentleman, whose name will remain anonymous and unfortunately passed away from an auto accident, came up to the bar and ordered a beer. I turned to get his request at one of the tappers and out of the corner of my eye I noticed he took his beer tickets and put them in the huge jar the bartenders used as a till. In all honesty, he was playing games a little but no harm done. After I handed him his beer he stated that he already disposed of the tickets. My reply to him was: “I know you did; I saw you; and even if I didn’t you’re a man I trust.” His eyes opened some and he thanked me for the compliment.

Very discreetly I watched him for a couple of minutes, and noticed that all of a sudden he had a sniffle. He then wiped a tear away from his eye. I thought to myself: “When is the last time someone paid him a sincere compliment as a human being?” It must have been quite awhile.

The point of the story is this: Your words can hurt and tear down; or your words can help and build. What do you want your words to be remembered for?