I was working in a café on Christmas morning. An elderly gentleman walked in and demanded coffee. He left a $1 tip, nothing special. But under that dollar bill was a small slip of paper containing his grandchildren’s crayon drawings of snowmen. I slipped it into my apron and forgot about it.

Later that day, feeling low, I looked at the drawing and discovered something: on the back, someone had written, “You’re doing great.” It felt oddly personal and inspiring, like a message I needed right then.