My Million-Dollar Recliner

What is the most valuable thing you own? If you had to answer this question, how quickly could you do so? What would you qualify as value: monetary value, sentimental value, future value?

There is an old cliché that says “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. Simply put, you may not value the things that I value, and vice versa.

I have a chair in my home that is worth $1,000,000. (Yes, those are 6 zeroes, as in $1 million.)

My guess is that you doubt whether or not this is true, and you would be perfectly within your rights to question that assertion. Allow me to explain:

Until recently, I had never owned a recliner. When I bought a new home, one of the things I realized was the need for new furniture. After gallivanting all over town, I finally decided on a pair of La-Z-Boy recliners. True to form, I groused about how much they cost, but ultimately, I relented, and made the purchase.

Did I pay $1,000,000 for the recliner? Of course not! So how in the world can I claim that it is worth so much? Is there a special automated reclining mechanism? Is it covered in a rare fabric? Does it have a built in Swedish massage apparatus? The answer to all of these questions is “No”.

The value of this chair has very little to do with its physical attributes. You see, my chair is known as “The Big Chair”. When my 5- year old daughter finishes her dinner, she races into the living room and calls out to me, “Daddy, I’m warming up ‘The Big Chair’ for us!!”

On any given evening, we will spend anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour sitting in “The Big Chair”. Sometimes we talk with and tease each other, while other times we simply watch television. You see friends, the value of the chair has increased dramatically because of the experiences I have had, while sharing the chair with my daughter.

What is the most valuable thing you own? Would you like to increase the value of your possessions? What can you experience while sharing those possessions with others?

Do you have a baseball glove that could become worth $10,000 when you play catch with your child? Do you have a car that could become worth $50,000 when you give a neighbor whose car is in the shop a ride to the grocery store? Do you have an extra bedroom in your home that could become worth $100,000 when you share it with a friend who is going through a tumultuous time in their life, and needs a temporary place to stay?

The value of your possessions will increase as you use them to build relationships with others and create memories that will last long after their usefulness has passed.

What about it; could you be the proud owner of a $1,000,000 chair?

Make it an AWESOME today, and a BETTER tomorrow,

Originally published in KeyNotes Volume #4 on 8 April 2002.