Running a small business in a struggling economy can be tough. Keeping a positive attitude when rent increases or solid clients start to disappear can be down right impossible. We when know that we choose our attitude every day, but it's hard to remember in these stressful times that what we put out there comes back to us, ten fold. Reading a recent article in the local paper about Miss Emily, I was reminded of the importance of what has been coined the "law of attraction.”

"There is an ineffable quality about Miss Emily," the article read, "something funny, daffy, charming and quite smart. You can't fake approachable, which is a big part of what makes this woman so interesting and a big part of what drew me here. Face it, nice people are so rare that newspaper stories are written about them." The story went on to describe something she's been doing on her personal time to brighten people's days: "stickerizing" she's calling it. Bus boys, waiters, grocery store clerks, mechanics, and coffee shop baristas have all been on the receiving end of one of Miss Emily’s stickers. A gold star that emotes, “Great Work!” or a smile face in hot pink, Emily picks the right sticker for the job. "I've stickerized airline ticket agents, police officers and people who don't even speak English and it works because rewards and appreciation are universal," explains Emily.

A piano teacher and storyteller, Emily's background is in teaching children, which might explain her childlike outlook. "it started when I put a sticker on my trainer at the gym. He works so hard and like so many us, he's underappreciated. Then it hit me. I've been doing this in class for years so why not use it in life?" The reaction she's been getting is 99% positive. In talking to her trainer at the gym, he explains how the others are jealous of his stickers, worn every day on his nametag, and want to know where they can get one. "It puts people in a childlike state,” says Emily. That can’t be all bad, I think to myself. We had a lot to stress about as children. Why not try to conjure up that state of mind?

When asked why she started this "sticker brigade" Emily breaks for a moment from that toothy grin. "It's been hard. I'm not going to lie. This economy has definitely affected my business and I don't like to put the negative out there only the positive. If I can improve someone's day, even for a moment, then it's good for my soul and the people around me." Sitting in her small piano studio on the pier in Hermosa Beach, with it’s colorful walls and toys around, I can't help but imagine it bustling and brimming with happy children. Framed articles don the wall, all write-ups about Miss Emily and her giving and abundant spirit. As John states in his article, and I wholeheartedly agree, “She is causing an instant and profound change in the everyday moods of people facing an increasingly chaotic world." We need more people like Miss Emily right now.