How to Make Something Unforgettable
Aug 28, 2026
Have you ever received something simple… at exactly the moment you needed it?
That happened to me last week.
My wife and I were sitting down to dinner when we heard an unexpected knock.
I opened the door, and there on the porch stood a group of young women from our church congregation… giggling with anticipation.
I was confused. Why were they smiling like that?
Then I looked behind me at the door.
A riot of colors was staring back.
They had festooned our door with dozens of hand-cut paper hearts… in bright colors… each one hand-decorated with markers and little notes:
“Congratulations.”
“We love you.”
“You’re going to be wonderful parents.”
It was to celebrate the birth of our baby a few months ago.
Along with the hearts, they handed us a plate of warm cupcakes… waved… and skipped off to the next family they were going to surprise.
We had been “heart attacked”.
My wife and I stood in the doorway… taken aback and a little stunned.
In the days since, as I’ve reflected on it… one point has emerged as the most poignant.
The paper cost almost nothing. The markers cost almost nothing. The time to cut out the hearts, sure, took a bit. But not much…
And yet somehow… the combination of those ordinary things with the heartfelt intention behind them… created something I don’t think we’ll forget anytime soon.
To be honest, a week later… those hearts are still on our door. We haven’t been able to bring ourselves to take them down.
In fact, several violent storms have blown through since that evening.
Rain. Wind. Lightning flashes across the sky.
But those little paper hearts? They’re still holding on.
Which brings me to you.
Most of us walk around thinking that the way to be memorable is to do something BIG.
Something impressive, and worthy of a highlight reel. But that’s not what those young women did.
They took ordinary paper. They took ordinary markers. They took ordinary cupcakes.
And they turned them into a moment my wife and I will remember for years.
Because it wasn’t the paper, the markers, or even the cupcakes.
It was the fact that they thought about us and took the time.
So here’s a simple challenge for your week ahead:
Who I somebody that you’ve been meaning to acknowledge?
Whose good news haven’t you celebrated with them yet?
Who — right now — needs someone to simply notice what they’ve been through?
You don’t need something big. You don’t something grand. You just need…a moment.
Because ordinary things, when combined with moments of connection, become unforgettable experiences.
Who in your life needs a moment that will still be hanging on… long after their own storm has passed?
Just like the paper hearts on our door.
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 family. Reach him at: TheChristianHansen.com
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