True Story. My husband and I are currently hanging out in Puerto Rico. We’ve just come off the small, yet peaceful island of Vieques. We chose to stay one night in San Juan to pick up a rental car.

We waltz out of the elevator to ask Jesus at the front desk to recommend some tasty vittles closeby. Los Pinos (The Pines) is the winner where we stumble upon Puerto Rican Santa. No, really. He was sitting next to us. He was wearing a black t-shirt and shorts, drinking java.

Now before you begin doubting the validity of my story, I have photos because I know you are thinking he’s not the type to hang out in Puerto Rico wearing flip flops.

Behold!

And guess what? We invite Santa to join us for breakfast. He agrees and soon “Mrs. Claus” joins us from a short outside shopping detour. But it doesn’t stop there. We ask the waitress to allow us to pick up the tab. Seriously, how can one skip out on picking up the tab for such dignitaries.

Santa refused. He insisted on paying the bill. However, he invited us to join him for the day agreeing that we could actually buy lunch. Deal.

As an entrepreneur I’m always looking for ways to learn creatively.

The perfect opportunity presented itself. I was given the chance to see the world from Santa’s eyes and the eyes of children both big and small.

1) Santa’s 80/20 rule

Santa explained the rules of percentages. “Twenty percent have predetermined how they feel about me based on my appearance and how they feel about Santa.”

“Ten percent will completely dislike me. Ten percent will love me unconditionally. Eighty percent is where my opportunity lies to impact those who are undecided with a positive message. Focus on those who you can serve the most.”

2) Know your private mission behind the public mission

Me and Santa had some fairly deep philosophical discussions. He shared with me that Christmas wasn’t about him. “The purpose of Christmas is all about giving. It’s a celebration of the birth of Christ, Savior of the world, the greatest gift of all.” Santa gave me a sermon over lunch.

Santa’s clear that his public mission is to love on people, share happiness and promote the wonder and spirit of Christmas year round. Santa’s private mission is to empower both children and parents in creating healthier bonds by teaching good principles. Specifically, he wants to promote that there is goodness, hope and a bright future for all.

3) Set an example to follow

Puerto Rican Santa gets lots of business propositions. He’s invited to pose with the rich and famous, the poor and downtrodden, kids of all ages. He’s also invited to drink a rum and coke. To uphold his outstanding image, he bypasses things like alcohol and cigarettes– it’s a message that must be congruent for children. When given the opportunity, I’m going to challenge Santa on his sugar intake. 🙂

On side note, Santa’s not a Cookie Monster, he’s an aficionado of cream-filled donuts. I’d like to throw out a challenge. Let’s offer him more appropriate and healthy delicacies like apples, pomegranate, bananas, and pineapple, shall we?

4) Don’t let age become a cage

Throughout the day it was noticeable– some bypassed a smile or free photo op with Santa even when encouraged by the man himself. After a while some embraced their inner child again and took a Santa selfie. They walked away with a smile on their face. Those who skipped out walked away shaking their head. It seemed they were caged in with what is and isn’t okay.

You can tell we big kids stood next to Puerto Rican Santa for our golden opportunity.

The big take away around age is what our society or our personal thoughts deem “appropriate” and “inappropriate”. Forget you’re too old for sky diving. You are too young to be wise.

Maybe it’s time to let loose a little– maybe it’s time to let more smiles out. Perhaps it time to let our conditioning be reconditioned so joy is shared with other fellow humans.

5) Let your signature phrase light the way to your mission

Santa’s well known for his “Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!” It’s his happy go-lucky tag line. Bobby McFerrin’s tagline is “Don’t worry, be happy.”
Mother Teresa shared, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”

So what’s our signature “Ho, Ho, Ho?” I’m currently running with… this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.

Do me a favor. In the comments below tell me what your signature phrase is or if you’ve had any great lessons you’ve learned this holiday season. We’d love to read about it.

In the meantime, have yourself a Merry little Christmas.