Anti-Red Car Theory

What use is changing the world if we do not change ourselves?

Last month, I decided to take a day off to spend with my parents. So, my mother, father, and myself pile into the car. We go for a lovely breakfast and decided to do a little shopping afterwards. On the way out of my small town and to the bigger town nearby, I look down at my gas gauge to see it was sitting at barely less than half a tank. So I decided to stop and fill up before we make it beyond the city limits.

I pull into this one gas station My father, gentleman that he is, gets out to fill up the car. My mother and I are just chatting away waiting for him to get back in.

Now, I don't normally stop at this gas station. Being by the highway, it tends to be very busy and hard to get in and out of. Basically, I just don't like the traffic and the possibility dealing with out-of-towners and long distance travelers. But we are there anyway.

While my mother and myself are conversing non-stop, we both notice this man walking out of the store. He is a mess. His hair is mussed. His clothes are stained. He looks like he just got off work at a plant or garage or some equally dirty job. This man steps off the curb, almost falls, and does this half sitting thing before continuing to stumble back to his vehicle. He then straightens himself back up and walks sluggishly to his car, which just happens to be in the same aisle as us.

My mother makes a comment that the man doesn't look well. So, I am watching him. She was right. He didn't. He looked like he wasn't feeling well at all.

While he is filling up his own car in front of us, the man grabs his left shoulder, walks around to the back of his vehicle, almost falls, and finally ends up sitting on his back bumper.

I see this and immediately jump out of my car to see if he is okay and maybe lend some help. Obviously, the man isn't okay and something bad was going on. I approach him and it takes me a few seconds to get his attention and to start talking to me. At this point, I believe he is having a heart attack or maybe a stroke. He is obviously having a hard time and is struggling.

I look around me at the rest of the vehicles and people for help. And guess what. A sheriff's car is pulling into the pumps on the far side of the aisles from me. So, I promptly wave him over. The sheriff walks over. I explain the situation to him. He calls for an ambulance. Meanwhile, we are trying to keep the man talking and alert.

Once the ambulance arrives, they start checking the man over. His blood pressure is through the roof. At this point, there really wasn't much left for me to do but continue on my planned shopping trip with my parents. The man was being taken care of by the paramedics and the sheriff.

As I am walking back to my car, I am looking around. This gas station is packed. There are people walking between the pumps and the store. Cars fill just about every gas pump. This is a very busy gas station... and no one else noticed that this man was having a medical emergency.

Have you ever heard of the Red Car Theory?

The Red Car Theory is simply this.

Did you pass any red cars the last time you drove anywhere? If so, how many?

You probably can't answer that. Not many people could recall how many red cars they randomly passed on the road. They would tell you they probably passed some red cars but not the exact number of red cars that they passed. They would have to think about their answer before answering.

But, if I told you I would give you $50 for each red car you passed, what would happen the next time I asked you how many red cars you passed last time you drove anywhere? Could you tell me then how many red cars you passed? You would more than likely come back with the exact number of red cars you passed because you would want that $50 per each red car.

Now, people use this as an example for spotting opportunities for oneself. Red cars being opportunities either noticed or missed. People who are actively looking for red cars or opportunities will see them as they present themselves. That person can then seize that opportunity in order to advance themselves.

This view is very self-centered and self-serving. It is a perspective based on only helping oneself. As in the case of the man at the gas station, no one else even noticed there was a medical emergency. Why? They weren't looking for the opportunity to help others.

What use is changing the world if we do not change ourselves? Our old selves got us to where we are today. In order to change the world, we need to transform ourselves to be better. This includes the way we view others and how we see the world. One way we can do this is instead of looking for self-serving opportunities, we can look for opportunities to help others within our communities.

Everyone says they want to be a hero or do something heroic. But they don't look for the opportunities to do so.

Before you say that you do, let me ask you this. What did the last cashier look like and what were they wearing at the last store you went to?

FYI, I disagree with the last quote. You are given many more opportunities to be a hero than just 4 or 5 in your lifetime.