What happened to “Please”?

What happened to “Please”?: I was just in Starbucks getting a coffee and the woman next to me collects her coffee from the counter and then says: “Can I have a tray?” She didn’t say it rudely—she just wasn’t polite. That got me thinking... Whatever happened to “please”?  To me, “please” means “I respect you.” “Thank you” means “I appreciate you.” Good manners are powerful in showing those around you that you care about them. I love Frankie Byrne’s line that “respect is love in plain clothes.” How often have you bought something at a store or ordered something in a restaurant and just ached to hear some good manners?  Authentic success is not complicated. It comes down to consistently following a series of fundamentals. Those who get to greatness just run the basics—bit by bit, day by day over many months and years. It’s not hard at all. It just takes small acts of daily discipline around a few important things. But when done over time, amazing results appear. The  best among us just do the things most of us already know we should do to live an extraordinary life really well. And they do it consistently. One of the key things they do is say “please” a lot.  Good manners are a stepping stone to being a remarkable human being, whether as a mother, a father, a salesperson or the CEO. They really do show people that you respect them. Yes, having good manners is common sense. But as the French philosopher Voltaire once said: “Common sense is anything but common.” And if all this stuff is so obvious, how come most people don’t do it? Good manners are a stepping stone to being a remarkable human being.