Just before Christmas last year, I visited Winner’s (a major home-outfitting retailer) and spotted a gift card lying on the ground. I picked it up, did my shopping, then when I was ready to checkout, I asked the clerk to verify the card’s balance. Turns out it was brand new with $100 on it. Instead of pocketing it, I asked him to put it behind the desk and let the other cashiers know hoping the person who bought it came back looking. He told me that was very generous. To me, it wasn’t generosity — it was simply the right thing to do.  

Not long ago, that kind of thinking was expected. In the 1950s, neighbours borrowed a cup of sugar without hesitation. Kids roamed freely, doors were unlocked, there were very few fences between homes, and trust was the foundation of daily life. Responsibility wasn’t only personal, it was shared. People acted with an understanding that their choices affected the whole community.  

Fast forward to today and we’re overrun with toddler logic: ‘You have blocks, I want them, so I’ll take them.” What it sounds like coming from the adult child, “You’re lucky that you have a nice car, I deserve one, too.” or, ‘I didn’t break the economy, it’s the government’s responsibility to fix it.”  

We also see it in the culture of expecting instant results, free perks, and constant convenience, also hallmarks of toddler logic. And as this entitlement has grown, so has our need for protection. Where trust once lived, now we rely on locks, passwords, PIN codes, and alarms — all because we expect someone might take want for free what we worked for.  

Aha! ~ Toddlers take, adults earn  

One drains trust, the other strengthens it. And energetically, life has a way of matching what we put in. If we cut corners, we usually get cut short. But when we show up with responsibility — doing what we say we’ll do, finishing what we start, and taking care of what’s ours — we create conditions where trust and rewards naturally follow.  

Think of it this way: life is like the drive-through window. First, you place your order, then before you get your food, you have to pay. That’s how responsibility works. It's a growing trend in some neighbourhoods for parents to teach their children to steal — maybe out of desperation, maybe out of survival. Toddler logic passed down another generation. Will it continue?  

You can’t bypass the payment and still expect the reward. To the toddler, food magically appears when they’re hungry.  Entitlement expects instant rewards; responsibility understands the steps it takes to earn the outcome. And when we choose the latter, we discover that what comes back to us is always far more satisfying than anything that just shows up.  

Locks, passwords, and security systems may protect on the surface, but in the bigger picture, no amount of safeguards will replace the inner work required to build trust and earn outcomes.  

The real shift in humanity begins when we model something different: adult logic that acts responsibly, builds trust, and knows that the good life is not free … and … what goes around does, indeed, come back around.  

Ultimately nothing comes from nothing. The good news is that every responsible action plants a seed — and those seeds always grow into something far greater than what was first sown.  

Live the magic.  

P.S. I suggested to the clerk at Winner’s that if nobody claimed the gift card, to put all the staff names in a hat and draw a winner (they all work so hard at that time of year).  

Society has slowly been groomed to believe that the good life is someone else’s responsibility. We’re encouraged to never grow up because the system will provide for us. It’s far more empowering and rewarding to dig in and reap the rewards of effort and responsibility.  We’ll talk more about it in Human U. Join us!