Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year.
One of the things I love most about this holiday is the spirit of gratitude. We have a family tradition of going around the Thanksgiving table and everyone takes a turn sharing what they’re grateful for.
My Daily Thanksgiving Ritual
Over the years, I’ve extended this gratitude practice to my everyday life and it’s made a big difference in how I approach my days.
Every morning I write down the three things I’m most grateful for that day. And you know what? I’ve started to see a pattern.
The things I’m grateful for almost always revolve around people.
Gratitude for My Network
In my personal life I’m grateful for my parents, family, friends, and teachers. Even as adults we need the help, support, and nurturing of others around us.
With my work, I’m thankful for my mentors, sponsors, colleagues, and my team. And when I reflect on why I’m so thankful for these people, there are three reasons that come to mind.
1. Creating opportunities to shine and make a difference
First, without this network of people and relationships, I wouldn’t have the career opportunities that I’ve had.
Earlier in my investment banking career, it was partnering with colleagues from an industry group that helped raise our product team’s standings from number 23 in the league tables to number one.
In my business now, most of my speaking and coaching opportunities have come from referrals and connections from my network.
And connecting with the people in my network is also how I’ve been able to bring together 52 amazing experts for my upcoming Career Mastery™ Kickstart virtual Summit!
2. Finding my awesome team
The second reason I’m grateful for these people in a work context is that my network has helped me put my awesome team together.
I didn’t use want ads or respond to anybody else’s. Instead, I reached out to my network. And that’s how I found my amazing, supportive and talented team that works together so well.
3. Producing results
Third, by helping me assemble my amazing team, my network has had the knock-on effect of producing business results. Because, together with my team, we’ve produced results and achieved outcomes that we’re very proud of. And it’s come through the amazing people in my network.
Of course, it still takes a huge amount of individual work to achieve your goals. And when you put in the work, show up with excellence and persevere, it’s important to appreciate yourself for the work that you do – just as Snoop Dogg did when he accepted his Hollywood Star, saying: “I want to thank myself for being my awesome self!” When you show up and put in the work, it’s important to appreciate yourself for the work you do.
Yet, we really can’t do it all without the support and help of the network of relationships around us – no matter how awesome we are!
A Simple Act to Make Someone’s Day
To bring it all back to Thanksgiving, these realizations led us to make an innovation to our Thanksgiving tradition.
In addition to going around the table and sharing who and what we’re grateful for, we’ve taken it to the next level by adding this step: everyone commits to reach out to at least one of those people to express their gratitude directly.
It could be through a thank you note in good old “snail mail”, a visit, a text message or a phone call to let them know that you’re grateful for them and why. Who are you most thankful for in your life? Let that person know.
Leave a comment because I’d love to know.
And, finally, I’m thankful for you. Thank you for reading this piece and allowing me into your life to share my insights with you – hearing from you inspires me to continue sharing what I know to help you succeed.
Most of all, thank you for filling me with hope that the world can become a better place, one person at a time. So keep going – I am rooting for you!