I love international travel. Some people like to bring home magnets or shot glasses from a trip, but I prefer to buy a small piece of local art. Those pieces are now displayed throughout my home. They serve as great talking points with guests and as a reminder to myself that I want to be a global citizen.

On my last trip, I found a piece I really loved. It was painted on a small 7-by-9 canvas and wrapped around and stapled to a simple pine stretcher frame. If you’ve traveled much, you know this setup well. Smaller pieces of art stay on the frame and fit neatly into a carry-on bag. With larger ones, you remove the staples, remove the frame, and roll up the canvas for easy transport home.

In high school, I worked for a few years at a fast-food restaurant. It wasn’t glamorous work, but it was a much-needed paycheck. I was fortunate that my first real job included a manager who treated people well. He knew our names. He noticed when someone was having a hard day. He cared about the customers, but he also cared about the people behind the counter.

Looking back, I didn’t have the language for it then, but this was healthy leadership.

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