I ran nearly everyday over the summer, and on one run, I happened upon a tiny turtle in the middle of the road.

The little guy was trying to warm up on the pavement, but had gotten himself in a sticky situation as cars passed him over without notice. I couldn't just leave him there, so I stopped mid run, picked up the little turtle, set him in the grass, and went along my way. On my way back, I noticed the turtle had crawled himself back onto the pavement! Stupid turtle, didn't he know he could get hit by a car? But the turtle didn't know, he was jut trying to warm himself up on a chilly morning. So I stopped again, picked up the turtle, and made a point to set him in the grass where the sun shined so he would be satisfied.

My purpose in telling you the turtle story is, we all need to take time to help the "turtles" in our lives. Usually, helping a stranger takes a mere minute, but is overlooked because we are too "busy" with our own responsibilities and problems. Did I have to save the turtle? Of course not, I could have kept running. But the turtle needed help, and going out of my way to save the turtle took me only seconds. A more practical example, one day I walked into Speedway to buy a slushie and noticed a rude customer had dropped tons of straws onto the floor and didn't bother to pick them up.

"I would hate if I were the employee who had to clean up this mess" I thought.

So I took a few minutes, picked up all the straws and threw them away. As I was getting my slushie, an employee came up to me and said, "Thank you so much for picking up all those straws. You didn't have to do that." She was right, I didn't HAVE to do that, but I knew that by simply taking a few minutes to throw away straws, I could significantly improve someone else's day, and that's what "turtle moments" are all about. Turtle moments occur everyday, but perhaps we are too busy or self concerned to notice them when they arrive. It's important to me to always be on the lookout for opportunities to help others, and actually act on them when they arrive.

So I challenge you to think about "turtle moments" and look for them as you continue through your week. Helping a stranger only takes a few minutes, and can significantly improve their day. Just ask the turtle!