My NYU students welcomed Derrick Aroh, RCA Records executive to class last week and what transpired is worth repeating.

Aroh flew from LA to New York City on a redeye, arrived just before class, spent an hour and a half sharing real life stories about the business my students want to be in and at the end they did something remarkable.

At the end of class, and before Aroh headed back to JFK to complete his whirlwind trip, one at a time, five students thanked Aroh in front of the entire class for traveling 3,000 miles to be with them.

But they went one better – each one shared why they were thanking him and each compliment was different.  He soaked up the sincere gratitude because instead of assuming he knew how they felt, they told him.

We have hidden powers within us to make a difference – say how you feel, back it up with an example of why and you will soon discover it.