How to Go Farther in Life (Than You Can Imagine)

Have you ever felt homesick?

My wife is from Denmark, and with her family half way around the world sometimes the distance can be hard. And for a Dane, this can especially be difficult at Christmas time.

Contrary to popular belief, the national sport of Denmark is not Soccer (or football as they call it in Europe). Rather, their national sport is really Christmas. I will challenge ANY American to see if they can “out-Christmas” a Dane…any day…because those Vikings take it to a completely different level.

For starters, in Denmark, Christmas begins an entire month early. For the months of November AND December the Danes are having knock-down, drag out, full-on… Christmas feasts every weekend with different groups of friends and family. And by the time the week of Christmas arrives? The party has only just begun. Christmas takes several days just by itself and is filled with another set of eye watering feasts, lighting actual candles on actual Christmas trees, and lots of singing. Like I said… Christmas is the national sport of Denmark.

So a few years ago when we were visiting my family in Southern California over the holidays, our palm trees and Hawaiian shirts weren’t quite cutting it for my wife and she had a hankering for a touch of Denmark and traditional Danish Christmas food. That’s when a family friend recommended we visit “Copenhagen Corner” a newly opened restaurant in Laguna Niguel.

(Photo: The Christmas Tree at my in-laws in Denmark. Note the ACTUAL flaming candles on the Christmas tree…)

A Danish restaurant? In Orange County? There is no way that could be any good, we thought, but our friend insisted it was worth a try. And so, with my wife feeling the need for a REAL Christmas, something fierce, we called and grabbed a table.

When we arrived it was as if we had been transported across the Atlantic and landed in a cozy corner shop in Copenhagen. Candles were on every table, Danish flags festooned the ceilings, and the place was packed with people speaking different languages. At the center of it was Mona, the Danish chef/transplant who’s brain child this was. As her family members staffed the open air kitchen, she darted from table to table, delivering colorful plates of food, and chatted with each customer. She lit up the room, and with her easy laugh and quick smile, she made each person feel welcome.

And then there was the food.

I don’t think Danish cuisine is at the top of anyone’s list for “must have”. But Mona’s recipes? They were (and are) incredible. Fresh, delicious, and she still infused that “home cooked” goodness to it. From the first bite, you know these flavors are coming from a different place, and they invite you to visit and stay a while just like an alluring travel brochure. Anyone who sees Mona in action can immediately tell that caring for people, and using food to make others feel welcome is what she was born to do. Her smile says it all and her energy brightens everyone who enters her little cafe.

My wife, of course, loved it and marveled at how in the most unlikeliest of circumstances… a Danish restaurant in Orange Country, CA …she felt right at home. And best of all, it finally felt like Christmas.

(Photo: The decor in Copenhagen Corner, courtesy of their website)

Since then, whenever we have been back in town, we have made an effort to visit Copenhagen Corner and to chat more with Mona. Additionally, we have recommended the restaurant to ANYONE visiting the area, and the conversation always goes the same. At first, people say, “Danish food? What’s that?” And just like our initial reaction they add, “And in Orange County?” However, each time a friend of ours visits, the response is unanimous: “That was the best meal! And Mona was an absolute delight.”

On a recent visit we were chatting with Mona and her chef husband and they shared how opening the restaurant was at first a challenge. No one understood the food, and there were entire days where the doors were open but the cafe sat empty. However, over time, people gave it a try… and then they came back, again, and again. Soon they told their friends, and over the course of a few years, their little shop is now bursting at the seams at dinnertime.

But why? How on earth has a foreign cuisine (nobody has heard of) succeeded in a place that no one would suspect?

(Photo: Mona -on the right- and her amazing family. Courtesy from their website.)

One reason? Mona.

The attitude and spirit she brings to every plate and conversation is infectious and brings a smile to your face. In a time of siloes where we tend to stick to our own tribes, the energy she brings bridges cultural divides and once again helps us see the humanity in each other no matter where we come from.

What does this have to do with influence and success?

I read a quote recently that said, “The man in love with walking will walk farther than the man in love with the destination.” -Sal Di Stefano. To which I thought, “A person in love with being of service will go farther than the person who only performs a service.”

In the city of Laguna Niguel there are a lot of restaurants. There are many options to choose from, and they all provide well prepared meals. But people flock to Copenhagen Corner again and again because its unique and there we can see someone who not only performs a service, but is in love with being of service. And in our connection-starved world where cell phones, social media, and tribal politics and news have created counterfeit communities of counterfeit belonging, it is astonishing and refreshing when we encounter someone (who may be different than us) who simply loves being of service.

And we turn around and tell everyone about it.

Which brings us to you. You may be thinking, “I’m not all that special”, “Lots of people do the same thing as me” or maybe, “I really don’t know how to differentiate myself!” Whatever you do, instead of focusing on the service, how can you fall in love with being of service?

No matter your career, job description, or natural skills or abilities, pondering that question will open doors of thought and conversations with people who will have unexpected needs. And when you serve unexpected needs in unexpected ways, you can expect your success to be extraordinary.

Attention follows value and connection, and in a world where everyone has comparable skills and abilities, he or she that serves and connects best, wins.

That’s how you will go farther than you ever thought possible.

Just ask Mona, and her Danish restaurant, thousands of miles from Copenhagen… in Orange County, CA.

Christian

CHRISTIAN HANSEN has gone behind the scenes in some of the biggest organizations in the world to find out the reasons why some people get chosen and why others don’t. As the #1 bestselling and LinkedIn Top Ten ranked author of “The Influence Mindset: The Art & Science of Getting People to Choose You” Christian helps teams and organizations who want to stand out and be the obvious choice. With degrees from Brigham Young University and The London School of Economics, he’s helped thousands of individuals position and sell themselves. A fan of international communication, history, and choral music, he currently lives in Utah with his wife. Reach him at: TheChristianHansen.com