You Like It; It Likes You

You like it; it likes you.

If you are like me, you had a teacher—in college, high school, or maybe elsewhere—who impacted you, who reached you, who changed you.  My guy was Dr. Michale Klein, a writing professor from University of Arkansas at Little Rock.  Dr. Klein taught me that writing could change lives, and that the power of putting thoughts into words had the power of turning words into action.  Dr. Klein brought a 7-Up bottle to class one day, and passed it around the classroom.  The catch phrase of 7-Up from the 1930s-40s was “You Like It; It Likes You.”  It was an absurd suggestion that a bottle of soda could return an emotional sentiment back to its drinker.  But that phrase was revolutionary for the company—it led to a dramatic rise in sales and success for the company, and 7-Up thrived.  After Dr. Klein led us in exploring how words could impact reality, he then shared that his mother before him was a technical writer, and guess who she worked for?  She worked for an advertising company who had a client called 7-Up, and she actually invented the phrase, “You Like It, It Likes You”!  Dr. Klein explained how not only were these funky words transitional for a soda company, but they were also transitional for him and his family.  Those words moved his family from poverty to the middle class because of the professional success his mother enjoyed from her verbal home run.

That story stuck with me.  To this day, I have a “You Like It, It Likes You” 7-Up bottle in my office; it’s one of my prized possessions.  Why?  Not because Dr. Klein’s family was better off because of words, but because my family is better off because of Dr. Klein.  He reached me.  He touched me.  He moved me.  And I experienced personal transition because of the one-on-one relationship I had with my teacher.

That is your opportunity, too.  If you are an administrative, admissions, or financial staff members, thank you for the superior service you provide to your students.  If you’re a faculty member, you walk on holy ground.  The inspiration and motivation you will provide to students this week has the opportunity to change lives (and not just the lives you see in front of you).  Your work with individual students is the best thing we offer as an institution of higher learning; it is the thing.  Just like Dr. Klein did with me, I encourage you to use your experience and field knowledge to present your subjects in unique and creative ways.  You will never know which of your anecdotes or examples will reach a human mind in a transitional way, but the difference you will make will be transitional.  Like the students—they certainly like you.