All Episodes - The Daily Gratitude Minute

433: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. You know, I talk a lot about unplugging and gratitude in terms of two things that can really help your mental wellbeing, and today I wanna talk about how they're related because I think they're related in several. First unplugging can provide an opportunity to take a break from the constant distractions and stimulation of technology, and instead help you focus on being present and mindful. This can lead to increased feelings of gratitude as you are able to appreciate the simple pleasures and people in your life that you may have been neglecting or taking for granted while being plugged. Additionally, unplugging can also help reduce stress and increase overall wellbeing, which in turn can make it easier to cultivate a mindset of gratitude. By disconnecting from technology and spending time in nature or with loved ones, you can better appreciate the gifts of life. And feel more grateful for what you have. In short, unplugging can provide a space for mindfulness and gratitude to flourish, helping you live a more fulfilling and happier life. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been your daily gratitude minute. Cheers.

432: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. Today I've got a tip for you to living a better life practice mindfulness and gratitude. I know I've talked about this a lot, but I want to kind of reiterate this, taking the time each day to focus on the present moment and appreciate what you have in your. Can help increase feelings of happiness and satisfaction. This can involve simple activities such as taking deep breaths, journaling, or reflecting on what you're grateful for. When you focus on the positive aspects of your life and cultivate an attitude of gratitude, you can improve your overall wellbeing and live a more fulfilling life. I'm Scott Colby with Say With Gratitude and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

431: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. I've got a quote for you today from Willie Nelson of all people. He said, once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results. I love that. For me, this quote means that the way we think about things affects the outcomes we experience in our. If we have negative thoughts, we are likely to have negative experiences and results. On the other hand, if we focus on positive thoughts and cultivate a positive mindset, we'll start to see more positive outcomes and experiences in our lives. The idea is that our thoughts influence our actions and attitudes, and therefore they have a direct impact on the results we get. Now by replacing negative thoughts with positive ones, we can change our outlook and improve the outcomes we see in our lives. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude minute. Cheers.

430: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Here's a tip to boost your gratitude game, try the compliment sandwich technique. Now, you may have heard of the compliment sandwich, but maybe not in terms of gratitude. So here's what I'm talking about. So just like a sandwich, you start with a compli. Then you add a suggestion for improvement and then finish with another compliment. So next time you catch yourself complaining or focusing on the negative, try sandwiching your thoughts with something positive. For example, instead of saying, I hate my job, try saying, I'm grateful for the steady income, but I wish there were more opportunities for growth. I'm grateful for the skills I've. This way you're still able to express your dissatisfaction, but also appreciate the things you have. And remember, a little gratitude goes a long way in making your day a whole lot yummier. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been the Daily Gratitude minute. Cheers.

429 The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby. From Say It With Gratitude. I'm always a big believer in celebrating wins, but like I sometimes do, I don't take my own advice on occasion. And celebrating wins is one thing that I c probably improve upon, and so I'm gonna take a moment to celebrate a win. Back at the beginning of November, I. To get back into being more consistent with the daily gratitude minute, and it's got daily and it's titled, but it's been anything but. But back in November, I set a goal to do the Daily Gratitude minute every single day for the month of November and December, and I am proud to say that I hit that goal now. I took a couple days off. So once I hit that goal, and I think that's okay. You don't have to be perfect and you don't have to feel like you have to continue after you hit a goal, but I do think it's important to maybe reevaluate and set a new goal or see what you want to do with things after you do hit a goal. So one of the reasons that I haven't done a daily Gratitude minute in the last couple days is that I've been really focused on the sofa, the summit, 30 day fitness journey. I'm doing a YouTube video every single day, and we're recording a video and editing, editing it and, and putting it up on YouTube every single day. And that's taken. A lot of my time maybe underestimated how long that was actually going to take. So, uh, but do you want to be again, consistent with the daily gratitude minute and not, you know, only do it once a week or, uh, even less frequent. So you'll still be hearing from me with a daily gratitude minute in the month of January as we go along. It just may not be every day, but I still like providing. This audio for you. So what about you? What is something that you've been consistent with or that you want to be more consistent with? Would love to hear from you. You can feel free to send me a DM on Instagram over at Scott Colby, which is my handle. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

428: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. We are off to 2023. Hopefully your year is off to a great start. I know we're only a couple days in, but wanted to again, wish you a happy New Year. Last, uh, week I told you about a family that I was supposed to take out on a gratitude hike. It got canceled because the roads were closed, so we went into a coffee shop. We just had a family gratitude session for a couple hours. It was wonderful. We played the Grateful Deck. We had great conversations. We wrote handwritten notes. I wanted to let you know if something else that we did. Now, it wasn't me doing this. This was the family. So this was my friend Matt, uh, who lives in Michigan and his wife and two daughters. Every, every year during the holidays, they take time to kind of reflect. The year that's just ending. And they set goals and intentions for the new year, which I love it. They do this as a family. I think their two daughters were, are, are 16 and I think the other one's 13, but I, I'm not quite 100% sure. Anyway, I love what they do as a family. They pick a word for the year and they really focus on that word. make decisions throughout the year based on, Hey, is this in alignment with the word that we've chosen for the year? Now, I've heard of some of my colleagues doing this, uh, and I've actually done it myself, but I've never heard a family coming together picking one word for the entire family, and I love that. And I think that could be something. that could really bring families together, right? I think, you know, playing the Grateful Deck can do that. Writing handwritten notes as a, as a family can do that, having great conversations at the dinner table. But have you ever thought about picking a word for the year and having the entire family have that as their word? I actually love that. What they did, um, and their word that they picked for 2023 is, Uh, so they're trying to, you know, see how they can more make more impact on the world, but also in their own personal life. So, uh, just wanted to share that with you. Maybe that gives you some inspiration about how you and your family can work towards some common goals this year. I'm Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

427: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Today is January 1 and I want to wish you a Happy New Year. I also wanted to mention a fitness challenge I'm offering for free called Sofa to Summit: A 30 Day Fitness Journey. You can get signed up here: http://30dayfitjourney.com/ Today is just a welcome and we officially start tomorrow with workout #1.

426: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

As we wrap of the year, I want to share something from my friend and mentor Pat Rigsby, who received this from one of his friends. His friend said - At the end of each year I make a list of 20 GREAT things that happened to me the past year. It can include personal, family, health, financial, business/team related events and victories. They can big or small. Imagine - journal these and in a decade you'll have 200 WINS to reflect on. Pretty cool!

425: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

In this episode, I'd like to invite you to Sofa To Summit: A 30 Day Fitness Journey. It's completely free. You can get signed up here: http://30dayfitjourney.com/

424: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

How to make the most out of a challenging or unplanned situation. This family did it beautifully when their gratitude hike was unexpectedly canceled. Check it out!

423: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

I wanted to share with you another goal of mine for 2023 and that's to complete 52 hikes over the next 52 weeks - The 52 Hike Challenge.

422: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. Yesterday I just got back, uh, to Tennessee from Virginia where I spent a few days visiting my family for Christmas. Had a great time. Like I mentioned, I love the week between Christmas and New Year's to, to plan, reflect, really get my head focused around what I want to accomplish. Personally and professionally now every year, one of the goals I seem to set is a reading goal. don't normally hit it. So I'm trying to be a little bit more realistic this year. I know in the past I've probably set goals like, Hey, I'm gonna read 30 books a year. I'm actually a pretty slow reader, and I get distracted. I might be in the middle of a book, and then I will see another book that I want to buy, and I'll purchase that book. And it's kind of a vicious cycle of purchasing books before I finish the current books that I'm reading. . So this year I'm gonna do something a little bit different. I'm gonna make my goal more manageable. I think I'm, I'm shooting for 12 books for the year, so I want to read 12 books. So that's just one a month. The second thing I'm gonna do that I think will help me is I'm planning ahead, uh, each what book I want to actually read, uh, for the year. So, I am going to pre pick the books that I want to read for the year. Um, and that way hopefully I will stick to it and not buy books during the year without finishing other ones. So I'm gonna give myself a little bit of flexibility. So here's what I'm gonna do. Before January 1st, I'm gonna pick 10 out of the 12 books that I'm going to. During the year, I am probably going to make these 10 books that I already own, cuz I have way more than that that I haven't read. And then I'm gonna allow myself two wild card books. So two books. That I can choose during the year that I want to make part of my 12th. So I'm gonna pick 10 ahead of time, two wild card books that I can choose, uh, during the year because you know, there's gonna be books that I come across during the year that I want to go out and purchase. Spur the moment, and I'm gonna give myself some leeway to do that twice this year. Now I've got my first book already picked out. I gotta pick out the others, um, uh, by January 1st. But the first book I'm reading for January is called Thirst by Scott Harrison. He is the founder of Charity Water. I love inspirational books like that. Founders of nonprofits, they do amazing things and I can't wait to dig in and, and. Just see his process of starting a charity. He actually, uh, was a, a alcoholic and drug user, and he really turned his life around when he started this nonprofit. So Thirst by Scott Harrison is my first book. So, are you a reader? Do you set reading goals or what book are you currently reading? Send me a DM on instant, uh, on, um, Instagram. My username is Scott Colby, so you can find me there. Would welcome a little chat on what books you're reading. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been The Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

421: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby. From Say It With Gratitude, it is Monday. There is one week left in the year. I love this time of year, you know, between Christmas and the new year. There's that week where we can take time to reflect, maybe celebrate what we've accomplished in. Previous year that we're just wrapping up and we can look forward to see where we wanna take our lives, maybe our businesses, maybe our relationships. Where, where do we want to be, you know, one year from now? And what do we wanna work on? We have the power to create the type of life that we want. I think I love this time of year because it allows me to pause, take a breath, reflect, and there's this sense of hope and there's this feeling of possibility. Like anything is possible next year, and it's up to me to make it happen now. I love that feeling. What I don't like is that feeling seems to go away after the first of the year. I would love to capture and hold onto this feeling. all year long. How do we do that? I'm not exactly sure. Each week there's a possibility for have making it an amazing week. There's hope. Each day we wake up with a blank slate. There's possibility there and there's hope, but it doesn't quite have that same feeling that I have this week, the week before Christmas and New Year's. If you have any suggestions on what you've done in the past to capture that feeling of possibility and hope all year long, let me know. I'd love to hear what your thoughts are, but I would just encourage you take this time to really take a deep. You deserve some relaxation. You deserve to celebrate what you've accomplished, and you deserve to know that you have the power to take your life in whatever direction you want in the upcoming year. If you want to chat with me, tell me any ideas you have, you can email me, Scott Scott colby.com. Prefer social media, find me on Instagram at Scott Colby. Feel free to send me a direct message there. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been your daily gratitude minute. Cheers.

420: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby. From Say It With Gratitude. It is Christmas Day, so I wanted to wish you all a very merry Christmas. Now I know not all of you celebrate Christmas, so if you don't, happy Sunday to you. Just got a really simple message for you today, no matter where you are in the world or who you are with today. And that's to be kind and you know it's real easy to do, right? They say kindness is free, so you can spread it as much as you want, but oftentimes we forget about it, and so hopefully during this holiday season, in particular today for celebrating Christmas with your family, possibly friends, maybe people we haven't seen in a while. Maybe you're by yourself. Think about how you can have more kindness in your life and spread it to other people. You know, we could probably all use more kindness in our life, both giving it and receiving it, but give it first. Without expectation of receiving kindness and back spread it around as much as possible. We could all do our part to make the world a little bit of a better place, a little bit of a kinder place with less, less fighting, less complaining. So think about how you can spread kindness this holiday season as we move into 2023. That's my message today. Have a healthy, happy, and very merry Christmas. We're just a happy Sunday. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

419: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. Today is Christmas Eve. I love this holiday season. I'm at my parents' house in Virginia celebrating with family, and I want to give you a tool that may help, uh, you have a better Christmas, even Christmas Day. It's The Grateful Deck. The Grateful Deck, which is 120. Question. To remind you the good in your life and the spark meaningful conversations. Now, of course, you can't purchase it and get it in time for Christmas, but what you can do is download the digital version of the Grateful Deck that's over@gratitudetoolkit.com. Gratitude toolkit.com, you're gonna be able to download all 120 questions. You can even cut 'em up into cards, you know, print 'em out, cut 'em up. And I thought this may be cool for you to get around with your family, gather around the fireplace or the Christmas tree. Either tonight on Christmas Eve or tomorrow during your Christmas Day dinner, and just go around and, and ask each other a few of the questions from the Grateful Deck. I promise you, you're going to have some amazing conversations. It'll bring you closer together. You're gonna feel the love and you're gonna remember the good in your life. So, Again, the Grateful Deck. You can download the digital version over@gratitudetoolkit.com. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

418: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby. From Say It With Gratitude, it is just a few days before Christmas. I know a lot of times this time of year we're getting together with family and sometimes we don't get along with family members. Maybe we haven't spoken to them, uh, in a little while, and it may be difficult to kind of face them in person. And sometimes you have to be the one. Kind of starts the conversation. So what I would just kind of encourage you to think about is that you never know when. is when will be the last time you have the opportunity to speak to that person. Um, and I know a lot of times looking back, we have regrets about things. Maybe we didn't get to say something that we would like to say to the person or tell them how much we love them. So again, I know it's difficult to sometimes resolve conflicts and start that conversation. Oftentimes we want them. Start the conversation. Uh, and so this has been one of the most difficult things for me too. So how do you, how do you start the conversation with somebody when you think you're in the right and they're in the wrong? And that's our ego talking. Um, so I'm still working on this personally. I know it's not easy, but I would just encourage you to think like, Hey, this may be the last time. You get to speak to that person. You never know. Um, if you're not ready to face them and have a conversation. Uh, and this doesn't have to be during the holiday season. I'm just bringing that up because we are close to Christmas, but this can happen anytime of the year. I would encourage you to try this step instead, if this resonates with you more, uh, write down three things that you like about the person. So even if you're having a conflict, even if you've had arguments and you don't see eye to. , there are some things that you love and appreciate about the other person, especially if they're family members. So write down three three's just kind of arbitrary. Maybe there's more, maybe there's less. But think about what you love, what you appreciate about that person. Write that down. And remember the good in the other person that could help you kinda maybe get the ball rolling to resolve a conflict that you and the other person has had. So anyway, this a little bit deeper of a daily gratitude minute, but I know during holiday season it's challenging for a lot of us. I just wanted to bring this topic up. Hope this helps you. If you have any questions, you can always email me, Scott Scott Colby dot. I'm Scott Colby with the Daily Gratitude Minute, and I hope you have an amazing day.

417: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. My tip for you today and my encouragement is to show appreciation to local businesses. You know, running a small business is not easy, especially in this day and age. There's lots of businesses popping up both online and brick and mortar, but I want you to consider showing some appreciation for a local business that you do. Business with, you know, so one that comes to my mind is my veterinarian. I take my cat Mia in to see her, uh, any ti anywhere between once a month and once every three months. So here are a few ways you can show appreciation to your local business. So perfect examples. Just writing a handwritten thank you note. That's an easy one to do, but not. Businesses receive notes from their patients or their clients or their customers. I know I recently wrote my vet a handwritten note. She thanked me for it the next time I went in there, uh, for an appointment for my cat. So they really appreciate it if they're acknowledged, if a local business is acknowledged for their hard work that makes their day. Another thing that you could do is just post about them on social media and tag them. So I'll often take a picture with my cat being treated by the vet and I'll post it on Facebook and I'll give them a lot of love that shows that you care about them as well, and it gives that business some exposure. And then finally, another thing that you could do is to write a five star review. Businesses thrive on reviews because let's face it, when we, as the customer or their patient are looking for, Uh, a new service, like a new mechanic, a new coffee shop, a new restaurant, a new veterinarian. We read reviews and a lot of times we make our buying decisions based on reviews. So show your local businesses love. Leave a five star review. It'll make their day. So there you have it. Just a few ways to show appreciation to your local business. Go out and take my advice. Hope you, uh, actually do that. Uh, if you want some other tips on how to live in gratitude and how to actually run a business by using gratitude to build relationships. I've got a really cool toolkit, uh, gratitude toolkit.com, lots of different tips and strategies that you could do to better your life and to better your professional career. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

416: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. I wanted to share with you one of my other interests besides gratitude, and that's hiking. You may not know it, but I'm a hiking guide. I'm also a fitness professional, fitness coach. I help people get in shape. Now, if you think about it, hiking has very similar benefits to gratitude. They both can help your mental wellbeing, and so I love helping people get out in nature and going for a hike. I think it can do a lot for you, not only physically but mentally. Just like I mentioned, I take groups out on hikes. One of my goals in the next year is to help more people get out in nature and hike. I've got a couple things. Uh, on the horizon. Some have already gotten started that I just wanted to share with you. I've got a YouTube channel called the grateful hiker.com, the grateful hiker.com. It's got a few different things, some videos on how to get in shape for hiking. I'll be doing a lot more of those in the upcoming years. It's got some hiking tips and some even, uh, just kind of like vlog style videos of me going on a hike here in the Smoky Mountains, which is near where I live. . And then the other thing that I have going on for next year is helping people get in shape to hike. So if you go to the website, SOFA to summit, S O F A T O S U M M I T, sofa, two summit.com, I've got some free leg exercises and leg workout. that you can download. Uh, and once you download those, you'll be on my email list to get more emails on getting in shape to, to climb mountains and to go for hikes. So I wanted to just offer that to you if you want to, if you're interested in, in getting in shape. And you, your summit doesn't have to be the top of a mountain. uh, it certainly is not everybody's cup of tea. Maybe your summit is you want to be able to walk to, to the end of the driveway, walk around the block, or be able to play with your kids or grandkids. That could be your summit. These exercises and workout will get you in shape for whatever your summit is. I'm designing. In my head to get people in shape to hike a mountain. But again, everybody's mountain is different. So go to sofa to summit.com and download those. And one of my goals coming up in the next couple of weeks is to put together a free 30 day sofa to Summit challenge, a free 30 day sofa to summit challenge, which will be a daily. kind of work out for you to do over the next 30 days. There's gonna be some rest and kind of recovery days, so don't worry you're not gonna do 30 days of intense working out. But if you desire to get in shape, uh, for either a real mountain or just, uh, whatever your summit is. Um, again, go to sofa to summit.com, download the free workouts that I have available now, and then you're gonna be put on the list to get notified when that 30 day challenge will begin. So hope that helps you. Um, if you have any questions, of course, you can email me, Scott Scott colby.com. . I am Scott Colby with Say It With the Gratitude, and this has been your daily gratitude minute. Thank you so much for listening. Cheers.

415: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby. From Say It With Gratitude. You know, as we wind down the year, it is, uh, almost the end of 2022, as I record this and a lot of people are spending the holidays with friends and family members, I thought about like, how can we approach the end of the year with positivity in our heads instead of. Remembering maybe the bad that came your way this year. So I took five questions from the Grateful Deck and. I want to tell you what these questions are in hopes that you maybe use one or all of these questions during your family dinners, uh, during the holidays. I think these are great questions to wrap up the year as a way to reflect the good in our lives. In this year before we turn the calendar into, into the next year. So, uh, first question, and again, this is, I'm recording this at the end of 2022. So what was your favorite memory of 2022 or just what was your favorite memory this year? Second question. What are you grateful for today that you didn't have until this year? Number three, tell me about a challenge you had this year and a positive that you took away. . Number four, what is the kindest thing somebody did for you this year? And number five, what excites you about life right now? So imagine reflecting on the good that came your way this year instead of focusing on the bad. Hope this helps. Now again, this comes from the Grateful Deck, which is my card game of 120 questions just like you. that stimulate meaningful conversations. You can buy the actual physical copy of the deck over at my website. Say it with gratitude.com. Say it with gratitude.com. If you just want the downloadable version, it is free. You can download it over@gratitudetoolkit.com. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

414: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. We are less than a week from Christmas. It's a time of year that is very joyful for many people. But I also wanna remind you that it is a challenging time of year for a lot of us, and so it's. Reminder that we all experience this time of year differently. For some people, it's a time of joy getting together with friends and family. For other people, it's a stressful time. Uh, it's a time that we may be grieving, maybe suffering loss, maybe depressed, sad, anxious, whatever the case may be. Not everybody experiences the holidays the same, so just wanted to remind you to be. Uh, I guess extra kind this holiday season. Give people grace, uh, acknowledge them, make people feel good. Um, it's a great time of year to. So appreciation to people in your life that are meaningful to you. Make people smile, uh, because again, for many of us, we, uh, are looking for reasons to smile during the holidays, and we don't have that. So if you can go out every your way. And make somebody feel good this holiday season, why not do that? I'm Scott Colby from Saint With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

413: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Saint With Gratitude. It is middle of December. Just wanted to express appreciation for this time of year. I know this time of year is challenging for some people. Um, and I, I love this time of year as a chance to reflect on my life, but also, , see what direction I want ahead in the, in the coming year. So I usually take a couple weeks starting now to just see where I want my business and my personal life to go in the coming year. Not do too much work, actually do a lot of journaling, a lot of reflecting, a lot of brainstorming and thinking and getting together. With other people that are meaningful in my life. And, uh, it's just a chance to, Hey, how can we start fresh for the next year and really design our life the way we want? So I just want to express appreciation for this time of year. I love it. What do you like about December as you head into the new year? Would love to hear from you. Feel free to email me@scottscottcolby.com. Otherwise, thank you so much for listening. I'll see you next time.

412: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude today. December 17th is a special day. It's my best friend, Lori's birthday. Happy birthday Lori. Hope you have a wonderful day. Just want to say a few, kind words about Lori. You know, we've been friends for, a better part of 10 years, a little bit over 10 years now. And she's. Probably the most loyal friend I've ever had. She's an amazing woman. She just cares about all of humanity. She's somebody who's dependable, somebody who is courageous, somebody that you can count on. She's somebody that speaks up for what she believes in and believes in in. and, just you couldn't ask for a better friend. So I am just really grateful to have her in my life. She's helped me tremendously professionally, but even better, she's helped me personally be a better human. And for that, I thank you, Lori. Again, happy birthday. Hope it's a wonderful. And cheers to many more years of friendship together. I'm Scott Colby with Say With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

411: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. Yesterday I delivered a virtual gratitude workshop to a company and we were talking about connection in the workplace. One statistic says that 61% of employees are lonely and underperforming. And I think it's important to note that loneliness is not the absence of people. It's the absence of connection. So if you think about it, you know, you could be married, you could have children, and you could be lonely if there's not meaningful connection between you and your family members. You could work for a company where you work closely with a group of people. It could be up, you know, over a hundred people, and you can still feel lonely if there's an absence of meaningful connect. So whether we're talking about the workplace or we're talking about your home, loneliness has become a problem. I think it's gotten worse during the pandemic, and it doesn't matter if you are surrounded by people, if there's no connection there. So I really want you to take this message to heart. How do you create meaningful connections? One way, which I've talked about a lot, is to ask meaningful questions. , and that's one of the reasons I created the Grateful Deck so that we could start having deeper conversations and we need to create that space and invite. People to share what they are feeling. A lot of times at work, we don't share our feelings. We check our emotions at the door when we get to work, right? And we can have all these feelings of depression, overwhelm, stress, and anxiety, and our coworkers may never even know that if that's the case, that person that has all those emotions is gonna feel lonely. They're not gonna do a very good job. They're not gonna feel good. and that's gonna cost the company money. So think about how you can create a deeper connection at work. If you go to gratitude toolkit.com, gratitude toolkit.com, you can download all 120 questions from the Grateful Deck and start using it at work or even at home, and create these closer bonds. Team members so that they feel like they belong and that they're heard and that you acknowledge them. So hope that helps. Go to gratitude toolkit.com, download the questions. If I can help in any way, send me an email, Scott Scott colby.com. This has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Thank you so much for listening. Cheers.

410: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. . Yesterday I was in a virtual meeting and we were playing a few rounds of the Grateful Deck, which is my card deck with 120 questions to start meaningful conversations. We each took a turn to answer a question, and the question I got was, Tell me about one of your happiest moments. So, I love this question because it reminds us of the good in our lives, and, and we can recall a memory that we had that perhaps put a smile on my face. So my answer to this question was back in 2003, it was the day after the 4th of July. , that's when I adopted my cat's, Nomar and Mia. Now, Nomar is no longer with us. He passed away at the, uh, in, um, August of 2019, right before I moved to Tennessee. But back in 2003, I was living in Dallas at the time. I had never owned a pet before, but I knew, um, from my, uh, had a relationship with a girl. got a cat and I loved that cat, so I figured, hey, one day I'll get a cat. And so my sister was visiting me in Dallas and we went to the mall to do some clothes shopping and the S P C A was there, and you know, when. There's S P C A A rescue. I love to just look, you know, I'll look at the cats and the kittens and the dogs and the puppies. Well, sure enough, I picked up one of the cats. I forget which kitten I picked up first. Uh, and I was talking it over with my sister and. Before you knew it, I had decided to adopt a kitten. And Jill, my sister, had suggested that I think about getting two. She had had a cat at the time, uh, just one cat and she always kind of wished she had had two cats because whenever she left town, her cat was alone and she felt bad and would have liked for her cat to have the company of another. So I actually ended up going clothes shopping at the mall as my intention. And I came home that day with two kittens, uh, Nomar and Mia and uh, Mia, who is still around. She will be 20 in April. Uh, both of those cats have put a lot of smiles on my faces, brings a lot of joy to my heart, and I just really have. Memories of the day. I adopted both of them. They were really young, so they weren't from the same litter, but they were from, from the same rescue about two weeks apart. So we kind of pegged Mia's birthday as April 10th, 20 or 2003, and Nomar as April 27th, which is also my birthday, 2003. So he was just slightly younger and uh, just got, I've gotten to experience the. Of being a pet owner for the last 19 and a half years. Those of you who have a dog or a cat or uh, any pet, you know what I'm talking about, they. Bring a lot of happiness and joy to our lives. One quick thing before I sign off, so this was a question from the Grateful Deck. I encourage you perhaps to take that question and get a group of people. Maybe it's your family on Christmas morning. Maybe you have a group of friends or even at work to start a meeting. You can. Learn a lot about some, somebody that you may not know by just answering that specific question. If you want to download all 120 questions, I've got a, of course you could buy the physical version, but if you want this for free, I've got the downloadable version. You can go to gratitude toolkit.com. Gratitude toolkit.com. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been your daily gratitude minute. Cheers.

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Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. I had a conversation with my friend Terry yesterday. Now Terry just moved from Colorado to England. He runs running camps, uh, at least he did in Colorado. And we had partnered, uh, doing some adventure trips where we would lead groups of people doing. Various adventure activities, including hiking. He was asking me how my hiking business and speaking business was going, and I said one of my goals is to lead companies, you know, teams in organizations to come together and get outta their comfort zone and climb a mountain together. And I told Terry, you know, imagine some people sit in the same uh, office and maybe next to each. For 3, 4, 5 years, and they don't really know the people that they work with on a personal level. And I hypothesized to Terry that I bet after bringing a team together and climbing a mountain, let's say it takes five to eight hours, that that team would know each other better, more intimately than potentially. working together, sitting next to each other over the last three to five years. Now this is hypothetical. Some organizations do a really good job, uh, integrating their teams and getting to know each other on a deeper level. But for many companies, you go into work, you put your head down, you do your job, you don't really. Personal or meaningful conversations with your coworkers. You're just all about business. And the research shows that that isn't the most effective way to build a team. So when you get outside of your comfort zone and get out and do something like climb a mountain, you can foster better communication, improved creative thinking, improved critical thinking. the ability to resolve conflicts better and our overall stronger team oriented foundation. So that's one of my goals in 2023 is to put together hiking programs like these for organizations. If this is something that you. And your company may be interested in at least exploring, we could chat about it. Just send me an email@scottscottcolby.com. Would love to have a conversation on what this might look like for you. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this is Ben, the daily gratitude minute. Cheers.

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Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. Okay. Today's gratitude tip. This is for businesses, especially if you have an actual store location or it can set up outta market, and that's to offer free goodies. Um, so what I mean by this, I'll just give you a couple examples. Trader Joe's, uh, which is a grocery store chain, they always have complimentary coffee in the front of the store. This freebie lets the store showcase different types of coffee that they carry, and meanwhile, shoppers get a chance to try before they buy and have a warming cup of Joe while browsing the aisles. Or it's just a way to show gratitude towards. Customers offer something for free like coffee. I know in uh, Denver, when I lived in Denver, there was a cookie company called Marsha's. Cookies and they were always at farmer's markets and they would set up, uh, their table and have free samples of cookies. I would try the samples and then I would buy the cookies. So not only was it goodwill given away free samples of cookies, but at actually increased, I would imagine an increased sales as well, at least for me. Uh, and then this past weekend I was at a holiday market in Johnson City, up in northeast t. , same thing. There was a, a booth that sold some pretty good quality chocolate, uh, like different types of chocolate bark. I actually sampled their dark chocolate peppermint bark and I was hooked and bought a package of that. So when you can give away samples, um, you can increase sales or increase, uh, the time that. Customers are in your store shopping and it just creates a goodwill, good conversation starter as well. One last thing. So this was tip number nine in my book, the Grateful Entrepreneur. If you want a free downloadable copy of the Grateful Entrepreneur, you can go to this website, gratitude toolkit.com. Gratitude toolkit.com. I will send you a free sample of the book, excuse me, a free download of the book, not a sample. The entire book as well as some other gratitude goodies. So just go to gratitude toolkit.com and you can download it. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

407: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude The other day I mentioned that a friend and colleague of mine interviewed me to express appreciation. About another friend and colleague of ours in the fitness industry, just how awesome a person she is. So I said some really nice words about her and my friend who did the interview. He's interviewing a bunch of people, he's editing it and putting together a nice video montage to gift our mutual friend. I want to point out, there's actually a service that can do this as well. So if you're interested in doing something like this in your business to express appreciation to somebody, could be a client, could be a coworker, it could be anything. There's a service called tribute and you can find it over@tribute.co. And it makes it simple to create a group video gift that you can give on any important occasion. . Once you start a video project with Tribute, they'll give you a link that you can send to the people that you want to have in the video. They can record just some nice words, and then tribute, the software will put together the montage. It's a really awesome service. I've used it, uh, when my sister, she used to work for me and my business, uh, when she left, and this was when I was doing my video, uh, my fitness coaching program. when she left and, and was no longer working for me anymore, I put together a video montage using tribute. Had a lot of my fit for photos members, say some nice words about my sister Jill. And it was just a cool way to express appreciation to her for the work that she had done, uh, while working, uh, with my company. So again, tribute.co. If you want to put together a video montage. For somebody expressing some nice words about them, I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

406: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. I was talking to a friend of mine on the phone the other day and he needed some advice on sending handwritten notes and buying gifts for. Some of his clients and customers now, he had read my book, the Grateful Entrepreneur, which has some tips talking about this, but he couldn't remember what I had said, so I gave him a few pieces of advice that I wanted to share with you. Number one, when it comes to writing handwritten notes, he was curious, is it okay to put business cards in there? And I. You don't do that. Um, that signals that you're writing a handwritten note, almost like you're trying to get more business. When you put in your business card in there, make it a completely personal, um, relationship and appreciation. So leave the business card out. I wouldn't put it in there. Make it like you're writing a handwritten note to a friend if you're writing. A handwritten note to a friend or even a family member, you would not put a business card in there, so don't do that for your clients and customers as well. Okay, so when it comes to gifts, what makes a good gift and what PO possibly could make a bad gift? Well, despite that, this being a very popular gift, food items and wine. That sometimes, uh, could be a red flag. And here's why. Let's say you get a bottle of wine as a gift to one of your clients, and I certainly have, so I'm not, uh, saying that I've never done this. But what if they are a recovering alcoholic and you don't know that? Tour. What if you give them a gift of like cookies and they're gluten free because they have a gluten allergy? So I got this tip, actually I didn't make this up from, uh, John Roland who wrote the book, Giftology. So highly recommend you read that book. And he suggests don't get gifts that are consumables where you're drinking wine or uh, excuse me, where you're gifting wine or possibly a food item because you just don't know. What the person's situation is in terms of allergies or, or being, um, uh, off of alcohol. number two, and again, this, I got this from John Roland. Uh, he suggests you don't put your business logo on the gift. And I know a lot of people do this, and this, again, is really a promotional item if you do that. And that's not really a personal heartfelt gift. He gave kind of an extreme but funny example, like if you were giving a gift of. Towels, uh, to a bride and groom at a wedding, you would not put your logo on the towels, right? You would put, uh, possibly have their names inscribed on the towels. So when you are doing a gift for a client and customers don't put your logo on it and maybe even go as far as. If, depending on what the gift is, scripting their name on the gift, that shows a really nice personal touch. Um, also make it more heartfelt by learning more about your customer and clients and what their, their likes are, what their hobbies are, uh, and also even if you know something about their family members and then gifting them something around that. So, um, imagine. If your client has a cat like I do, and you got them a gift of their cat's face on a pair of socks, somebody gave me, uh, that gift and it was very meaningful. So something like that is gonna have a lot more meaning than just like a Starbucks gift card. So see if you can learn about what their likes are, if they have any pets, if they have any kids, if they have, uh, a spouse, if they're. and possibly get a gift that the whole family can even enjoy in you. So imagine if you have a, a client that's important to you and you got a gift that their spouse and kids love, that's gonna go a long way, uh, in cultivating that relationship with a client. So hope this helps. Uh, again, you can. Find out more about strategies like this in my book, the Grateful Entrepreneur. I sell it on Amazon, but if you want a free copy of the downloadable version, you can go to gratitude toolkit.com. Gratitude toolkit.com, and download it for free. And then the other book that I reference, Giftology by John Ruland. I highly recommend that's a great book in learning how to gift to your clients. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

405: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. A couple days ago I was asked to participate in a pretty unique project. A friend and colleague of mine, Eric, uh, he asked to interview me just for a few minutes about another friend of mine and a colleague. In the fitness industry, Alicia, and the interview was all about appreciating Alicia, you know, what I, I appreciate about her, how she's helped me over the years, whether in my business or or personal life, and just really reflecting, um, about what the type of person Alicia is and. How she just cares for all of humanity, whether it's humans or animals. And so it allowed me to reflect and say some really nice words about Alicia. So what Eric is doing is he's interviewing a lot of Alicia's colleagues and friends, and even family members. Uh, to express appreciation to her, and he's putting together one big appreciation video that he's going to gift her. So this is a present for Alicia. I thought it's a really cool thing to do, basically, uh, a video montage of everything that we love about Alicia and who she is as a person. So really unique way to express appreciation to somebody to get a bunch of people together and collaborate on this, uh, montage video. Something that you could do to somebody important in your life, whether personally or somebody professionally. What a great way to show a tribute to somebody that you care for. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

404: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. I often have people that I'm speaking to, like in at a conference or for an organization, I'll often have the audience members write a thank you card, which is definitely good practice. Right? It's kind of a lost. But the cool thing about writing thank you notes is not only does the recipient benefit, because obviously they're receiving words of praise and and appreciation, but the person that writes the card feels more grateful to, they benefit as well. In fact, science backs it up. When you write a handwritten note, you become happier. There's actually a cool video on YouTube, um, and you can look it up. It's called an Experiment in Gratitude, the Science of Happiness and the study, um, had participants write a thank you note and then call the person that they wrote the note to and read the note to them. And the conclusions from the, um, from the study showed that. when you actually read your note to the recipient, you became even more happier than when you just wrote the note. Uh, so there's actually a deep emotional bond that can connect two people, not only when you write a note to that other person, but when you actually read them, most likely it'll lead to tears. And the study on YouTube, uh, in this video also showed that the person that came into the study. The least happy actually had the biggest jump in happiness. So if you're feeling down or anxious or just stressed writing that thank you note and then reading it to the recipient is gonna do wonders for your mood. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute cheer.

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Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. You know, when I give my keynote to companies and at conferences on creating a happy workplace by increasing human connection and leading with gratitude, I recount my time in Guatemala, specifically when I first arrived in Guatemala and when I had to say my. And the bottom line is when I arrived in Guatemala, they made me feel completely welcome. They, uh, loved us with open arms. By us, I mean, the volunteers and I, they made us feel welcome and like we were a part of their family or part of the community immediately. And then by the end, when it was time to say our goodbyes us volunteers, we didn't want. We had felt, um, so ingrained in their community, we had a lot of fun. We got our work done, and I talked to companies about making your team feel the exact same way. When somebody is new to your company, you can welcome them with open arms and then you want to create a team that doesn't wanna leave. Right? Turnover is the biggest, um, one of the biggest costs that companies. There are lots of turnover, people leaving. You have to train new employees. It's hard to find good, good help sometimes, especially in this day and age. So how can we create an environment that welcomes our team as they come in and makes them not want to say goodbye? That's the ultimate goal. That will save your company a lot of money in the long run. And you could do that several different ways, but two best ways I know of is to increase that human connect. feel, make people feel like they, uh, you know, belong to something. Uh, and also to appreciate your team in a meaningful way. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude minute. Cheers.

402: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude. On yesterday's episode, I talked about an online event that I went to Sunday evening called Thank You Live and all about appreciating people in our lives in 2022 and, uh, appreciating the things that we accomplished in 2022 looking. Before we look forward to 2023. Another cool thing that we did, two things. One, we wrote a card or a note to somebody in our lives that made a difference in 2022. And one thing that Blake, the leader of the program, Suggested that we do is that we start our card with a prompt without you. So imagine you're writing an appreciation note to somebody else and you lead off by saying without you. Now, this is something that I teach, uh, companies to do when they're writing handwritten notes to their customers or their team members, or really anybody in their lives. A secret here. I actually stole it from Blake. I learned it last year, and I love that prompt. So without you think about leading off your appreciation notes or your gratitude thank you notes with those words. Without you, what would your life look like without that person? But the other cool thing that we did on Sunday evening, we wrote, Ourselves a thank you note. That's right. We wrote a note to ourselves, appreciating us, thanking us for things that we did in 2022, or maybe ways that we persevered, things that we overcome. So I had never written a handwritten note to myself, and it's great because we often think about the things that we didn't do, but think about writing your. A note in 2022, thanking yourself for certain things that you did or experiences that you went to, or obstacles that you overcome. Hope this helps you, uh, enjoy and have a great end to your 2022 as we look forward into 2023. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute cheer.

401: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. Last night I participated in an online event called Thank You Live, hosted by Blake Fly. His mission is to do this event every year for 55 years. So this was number seven, I believe he does it every December. and there's several things I like about it, but I'm gonna focus on one thing. It's one of the first things we did. Uh, we, he had us reflect on our year, you know, when December comes and it's almost time to turn the calendar into the new year. I know for me personally, I know for many people we focus on what we want to accomplish the following. That is great, but we don't tend to reflect on the things that we're proud of, that we accomplished during the past year. So what Blake had us do was write down every month of the year, of course, January through December, and he had us write down something that we accomplished, something that we are we're proud of for each month, and it could be multiple. So you might be wondering like, Hey, how I can't remember what I did in February. I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday. That is true. So Blake gives some hints on how to remember, uh, things. And the thing that worked for me, uh, the best was looking at my pictures. So I just went to my online photo album and Google, and I looked at all my pictures for January. and that reminded me of something that I accomplished. Did the same thing for February, March, April, all the way throughout the year. So that helped me remember all that I had done, and that's not the only way you could do it. He suggested you could also look at your calendar. Um, sometimes that reminds you of what you did, uh, during the year, maybe even social media photos. And look, search for those by month. Um, anyway, so I encourage you to go through this. Reflect on what you did this past year. Celebrate your accomplishments, see what you're proud of, and that'll help you feel good and and focus on what you want your next year to look like. Uh, one last thing before I sign off. I've got some really cool tools to help you live in more gratitude, both, uh, personally and professionally. Uh, you can go to gratitude toolkit.com and download some goodies there. They're all free. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

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Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. Recently, I've been working on my mindset and more specifically the language that I use just so I can be more positive day to day. You know, I think our minds tend to be more negative as humans. That's only natural, so it can take some work to think positive thoughts and. That's one way gratitude comes into play that can help you be more positive naturally, but also just watching your language. So I've been looking at my language specifically around money and having a more of a positive mindset. I tend to, you know, when things are expensive in the grocery store or the gas prices rise, then I'll say something like, Hey, this is, this is expensive, or this is crazy. Why is this cost So, and that doesn't do any good, right. That that's a negative money mindset. So in terms of what you can do to have more positive mindset, not specifically towards money, cuz that's something I'm working on personally. It may not be something that you're interested in, but, so just in general, uh, I got this from a book that I've read called Life is Good. So The Life is Good Book, life is Good, is a, is a world renowned brand, but they have a book out and I remember. Chapter on gratitude. They said, replace the words I have to with, I get to. And so I was just thinking about that yesterday, replacing the words like, I have to pay my bills with, I get to pay my bills. Not everybody gets to pay a heating bill, right? If we're homeless or, you know, other circumstances we might not have that, that, uh, going for in our lives. Perhaps we can't afford, uh, a gas bill and we don't have the means to do so. I have the means to do so. So when I think about it, and maybe this is something a takeaway for you, replace the words, have to with, get to and watch, just how that changes your perspective on what's going on in your life. I get to go to my job. I get to pay my bills, I get to buy grocer. That's awesome to be able to, to be able to afford those things and have those means in your life. Just remember, not everybody is as fortunate as us. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

399: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. You know, as I recently have been updating my keynote presentation about leading with gratitude to, in order to create a happier workplace, I came across a word that I never heard before. I'm sure it's a made up word, but I liked it and it's, the word is phubber. And so I ask people on my keynote, are you a, are you a Phubber? And it's the combination of the word phone and snubber. It's somebody who ignores a person they're with and gives attention to their cell phone. So we've all probably done it before. We've all probably had it done to us before. It doesn't feel very good. I know I've done it. plenty of times. It's not something I'm proud of. I want to do it less, but just kind of just picture two people at a restaurant sitting down to a meal or having coffee together and one person's talking and the other person is on their phone. That person that's on their phone is a phubber. They're paying more attention to their cell phone and, and giving the impress. that whatever's going on on their cell phone is more important than the person, the human being across from them. And the problem with that, the person that's being phubbed, that's being ignored, feels rejected. They feel excluded, and they feel not important. So I wanna encourage you to practice not being a phubber to put that phone away, or don't even bring it with you when. Having a conversation with another person. When you're connecting with somebody, when you're listening, be present, show them that you care and create that connection. The relationship will deepen and that's a, a sign that you appreciate that person when you listen to what they have to say. So that's my tip for today. Hope that helps. If you want more tips on how to use gratitude in your business, in your personal life, I've got a whole gratitude toolkit. You can go to gratitude. toolkit.com and download all my freebies. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

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Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. I'm still in Spokane, Washington as I record this, but headed back, uh, to Tennessee. Uh, this afternoon I, I'll get in about midnight, but I was at a coffee shop here in Spokane that I've been to several times, and a gentleman walked in, um, and he was using a cane, uh, having trouble walking a little. But he said hello to the baristas and they wished him a happy birthday. So he was obviously a regular there. They knew today was his birthday and I just, something little like that saying happy birthday to somebody can make their day. I'm sure it made him feel special. I actually struck up a conversation with him a little bit, uh, for about five minutes. Um, just told him I was, you know, outta town. I wished him a happy birthday since I had over. That today was his special day and he was telling me, um, how he had suffered a stroke but having, having a little bit of trouble speaking and walking, but wished him a wonderful day and weekend. And, uh, I'm hoping he gets hundreds of messages today on his birthday. But something simple that a company can do is wish their customers a happy birthday. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute cheer.

397: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. I recently finished a book called the Mr Thank You Project by John Israel. I've mentioned this book a couple times before and it details John's journey of writing five thank you cards a day for an entire year, and I'm blown away that he was so consistent and completed his mission. And as you could imagine, it sometimes became difficult to think about who he should write the cards to. You know, that's a lot of cards, over a thousand cards to write. So he ended up starting to write some cards to some people he didn't know. And I want to share with you a great example. So John went to. Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, and I'm actually in Spokane right now. I just gave a keynote presentation this morning, so this reminded me of his story. John's a big Gonzaga basketball fan, and in 2017 they lost in the NCAA tournament in the finals. And as you can imagine, John and all Gonzaga fans were completely sad and depressed about the final result. So he said the game ended at about 9:00 PM and he still had his five cards to write for that day. But the last thing he wanted to do, especially because he was feeling so low in the moment, was to write these cards. Well, as John was trying to figure out who to write the cards. , he suddenly had an idea. You see, he thought about the Gonzaga basketball team that year, and yes, they did lose the championship game, but they also went further in the tournament than any other previous time. This was the furthest they had gone in the tournament. . And so in reality, it was a time for celebration, so John flipped his attitude and said, what if we celebrate the year that they had, forget about being depressed, that they lost a championship game? Let's celebrate and give thanks. To going further than any other Gonzaga team had in history. So he, he ended up writing a thank you note to every single player on the team. He looked up their statistics, what were their best games, and he recalled those best games in his card. He wrote to the coaches and he said, Flipping that attitude changed his mood 180 degrees from one of being sad and depressed and down because of that heartbreaking defeat to now one of joy and celebration on what an incredible season the Gonzaga basketball players had given John and all the other fans. So, great message on how you can take something negative and just by changing your. Looking for the good. Turn it, turning it in into something positive. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude minute. Cheers.

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Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude as I record this audio, I am in Spokane, Washington here to deliver a keynote talk on gratitude in the workplace at a conference. And I flew in, uh, to Spokane today, and there was a snowy day. And there were some delays not getting into the airport, but actually once we landed, we had to sit on the plane for an hour and 15 minutes because they weren't able to plow yet. And there was another plane at our gate and they couldn't get out. They had to de-ice that plane. So we were delayed getting to the gate. Uh, and it was a little bit frustrating. I mean, I didn't make a big deal out. It, but Delta, the airline I was on sent an email a couple of hours later, which I loved. I was gonna read it to you. It says, hello Scott. We know spending additional time on board your flight after arriving wasn't what you planned today. We encountered a delay getting the aircraft into the gate after landing. This wasn't the experience you wanted to have. We wanted you to have with us, and I'm truly sorry for any inconvenience this may have. I've deposited 5,000 bonus miles into your account. We appreciate your business and this is not intended to put a value on your experience, but as part of our apology for the inconvenience, so I actually love that it was Delta owning up to something they couldn't control cuz it was weather related, but they were just doing something. Treating us passengers as rural human beings and not transactional. So something I talk about a lot and it was really cool for Delta to put that into action. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude minute. Cheers.

395: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. You know, one of the things I talk about in my keynote is how human connection has gone down quite a bit over the last 10, 20 years. And an example I'll give is the way we used to get music back in like the eighties and the nineties versus the way we get our music now. So let me give an example. When I was growing up again in the eighties and nineties, there was a record store called Tower Records. It was all over the country. They sold CDs, DVDs, videos, and my mom would drop my brother and off there, my brother and I off at the record store for a couple of hours. I would get the latest classic rock CDs that I wanted. My brother would take a few hours to go through every classical music. CD that there was looking for a rare recording of something and it got me thinking. How we used to get music back then is radically different from how we get music now, and we used to have to interact with human beings back then when we were looking for music. So listen to this example, we might ask a friend for an album recommendation. That's human connection point number one. Then we would drive to the record store, like Tower Records where our mom would drive us there. We would ask a store employee if they have it. So that's human connection. Point number two, we would grab the album stand in the checkout line. We might talk to another customer next to us in line about their music taste. That's human connection point number. We'd purchased the album from the store clerk, human connection point number four, and we'd head to a friend's house to enjoy the album. Human connection, point number five. That rarely happens anymore nowadays. How do we get our music? We get our music digitally. We don't have to leave our home. We don't even have to leave our sofa. In fact, we can just say, you know, Alexa, play this song, and our AI device will play whatever song we want them to. Or we go to a Spotify, Pandora, whatever that looks like for you. So in this day and age, human connection has really decreased. Um, and we really have to be conscious about that and be proactive in finding ways, touchpoints, where we can connect to other human beings because that's only going to help us. Cuz as we connect to more humans and have these deep, meaningful relationships, our happiness increase. Hope this helps you. If you have any comments, please don't hesitate to email me@scottscottcolby.com. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

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Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. When I work with organizations on gratitude in the workplace and developing more meaningful connections, one activity I have. The groups do is to break up in pairs. So you're with a partner and you're thinking about the one word that describes how you're feeling about life right now, and you're sharing that word with your partner. Then to take it a little bit further, you're thinking about why you chose that. and share that with your partner. So imagine you're in a group of two. You're telling your partner, what word describes how you feel about life right now? It could be anything. It could be a negative word, a positive word. Be truthful and honest and open. So it could be overwhelming or stressed or joyful or anxious or cheerful, whatever word that is. And then open up and explain to your partner why you chose that word. Then your partner does the same. , we do this unplug. So we leave our phones behind or we turn them off so we can give our partner our undivided attention. Imagine what type of connection this brings to you and one of your coworker. You're giving them full attention, so you're very present in the moment. That is a sign of gratitude. Listening shows your partner that you care about them. It deepens a relationship. It shows you that you value what they have to. Many times at work, and this is why we do this activity many times at work, we leave our emotions at the door. We check our emotions at the door. When we step into our office, whether it's a virtual office or a physical building, The problem with that is many times we have things going on in our lives, right? And our coworkers never know how we're feeling, and this can affect our work. If we're dealing with things at home, it can affect our work, but even more so, With our coworkers not even knowing how we're feeling, because we don't bring it into the workplace. We have a sense of loneliness. When we're lonely at work, we're underperforming. We're not in as engaged and think of loneliness as a, a lack of connection. So how do you create more meaningful, deeper connections at work? You do activities like this, you partner. And you share. How are you feeling about life right now, and why do you feel that way? That goes much further than just asking a coworker, how are you today? Fine. How are you? Fine. That doesn't get you anywhere. So start asking these meaningful questions to create deeper connections at work. You'll create. Deeper bonds, a sense of belonging, and you'll actually create some friendships at work. This will lead to a happier, more productive workplace that's going to contain people, employees that want to stick around a lot longer. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

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Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. Today I was practicing my keynote talk, which is, uh, creating a happy workplace by developing meaningful connections and leading with gratitude. Um, and I was just kind of reminded about how important it is to. have a happy workplace. And one of the big benefits besides creating a team or having a team that wants to stick around longer, so you know, they're not, uh, looking at switching jobs, which forces a company to. Hire new peoples. Turnover is a huge cost to companies. But the other cool thing about having a happy workplace by having a team that feels connected and appreciated is they will recruit people to join your company, your organization. So if you do have any job openings, which sometimes, especially in this day and age, these positions are tough to fill. Imagine having a team. Ready and willing to recruit for you because they're so happy. You know, if you have happy employees, they're going to want to have their friends and people that they know work for the company as well, so they will actively recruit for your team. So that's just another benefit of having a happy workplace. So not only a, a group of employees that stick around longer. But also they will actively recruit for you should you have openings in your organization. So just another reason to have a happy workplace, and you do that again by appreciating your team and having meaningful connections amongst employees. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

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Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. I often talk about starting your day with a morning routine, which may include expressing gratitude, but what about gratitude? In the evening, I think it might be a good idea. You know, a lot of us go to bed and we have anxious thoughts. We're worried about the future. We're thinking about things that happened to us in the past and that, uh, can affect our sleep. Many of us don't have an evening routine, or at nighttime we're doing things like scrolling social media. And watching the news, this can put negative thoughts into her head right before bed, and that can't help. you have a good night's sleep. So what if you instead planted some seeds of gratitude in your head right before bed? It could be anything. Things that we've talked about before, keeping a gratitude journal before bed where you're writing down, uh, maybe good things that happened to you during the day or just things that you're grateful for in life. Maybe write a handwritten note before bed each evening. Um, that could be another thing that you could do or, or just think about the things that you have in your life, um, that are good. Uh, and you don't even have to write. Things down. You could just have these as thoughts in your mind. There's even gratitude themed meditations that you could do. So you can look those up online on YouTube or any of the various meditation apps that are out there. So my, um, hope for you is that maybe if you are. Already doing something in the evening, like watching the news that maybe you have a change of heart and you look at planting some seeds of gratitude in your mind right before bed. See what difference that makes in the quality of your sleep. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been the Daily Gratitude minute. Cheers.

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Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. I just got back today from my Thanksgiving holiday where I spent it in Virginia with my family and I wanted to give special gratitude today to my pet sitter. My cat sitter Bailey. She watched Mia while I was. and I'm just so appreciative of her. You know, Mia is 19 and a half years old. She has health challenges, she's got arthritis, she has kidney disease, so it's really hard for me to leave her. Um, but I feel confident with Bailey. Bailey comes in. She sends me pictures every time she's here. Bailey is actually a vet student at the University of Tennessee, so I love that she has veterinary experience and with M as health challenges, I feel really comfortable having Bailey come over and watch Mia Bailey also comes over three days a week, even when I'm in town. To give Mia fluids for her kidney disease. So, uh, Bailey just give me a lot of peace of mind. Um, and because of her, I was able to enjoy my Thanksgiving break at my parents' house without worry. So, Bailey, I really appreciate you. Thank you so much for being so, um, uh, just really good with Mia and taking great care of her. So what about you? Do you have anybody that you are grateful for specifically today? Let me know, or better yet, let that person know. Maybe even think about writing them a handwritten note. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

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 Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby from say it with gratitude. You know, I started the daily gratitude minute, three years ago. It was Thanksgiving day, November 28th, 2019. And the idea was to record a daily audio. That was about a minute long. Sometimes it goes two or three minutes. Now I have not been successful at doing this daily, but here we are three years later, this is episode three 90. So it's been inconsistent, but it's pretty darn good, right? To still be doing this three years later. So today I want to share a message that I shared with you three years ago. Today's the day after Thanksgiving here in the U S so it is Friday and it's known as black Friday. Black Friday has been regarded as the beginning of America's Christmas shopping season. And it's a day where many stores offer highly promoted sales and open very early, such as, as midnight, or may even start their sales at sometimes on Thanksgiving day. This day has also been known for customers waiting in long lines for stores to open. I'm not sure if they do that any more, but traditionally this went on for years. Customers, we're hoping to get the best deals and even a time where there's a lot of pushing and shoving. If you can believe it or not. Imagine just kind of elbowing out people next to you. Trying to get a good deal. Especially a lot of times there's a limited number of a sale item. Flat screen TV is one that comes to mind. It's definitely not a day where people seem grateful for what they already have. And in fact, a pretty funny, but true quote I've seen going around says black Friday, because only in America, people trample others for sales. Exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have. It's funny, but it's sad because it's true. Now I love one of the big retailers here in the U S that has taken a stand against black Friday. And that's R E I. Five or about eight years ago. I think it is now. REI is chief customer officer Ben steel, joined colleagues at a table, brainstorming black Friday campaign ideas. When a novel idea came to his head. What if they just closed up shop altogether. So that's what they did. REI is not open on black Friday the day after Thanksgiving. One of the biggest shopping days of the year. And as Ben steel put it, people thought we were crazy. Retailers were saying, why the heck would you give up one of the busiest shopping days of the year?  And to be really transparent steel didn't know if it would actually work, but he wanted to focus on his employees. Ultimately the risk paid off in the REI team found that much to their surprise. The mass of anti shopping effort in campaign seemed to resonate for both customers and retail workers who had grown weary of black Friday. Imagine working these long hours the day after Thanksgiving, and sometimes on Thanksgiving day. So what had initially been intended as a galvanizing moment for REI employees? Has evolved to, into a larger cultural movement. REI uses this hashtag called opt outside, encouraging people to forego long lines. And big box department stores on black Friday and had outdoors instead. You know, I love that because I love the outdoors. So I want to encourage you to do the same head outside today. Get out into nature, use it as a time to get some peace and quiet time to spend. With people that you love and a time to really reflect and think about all you have and all that you're grateful for. I'm Scott Colby with say it with gratitude. And this has been your daily gratitude minute. Cheers.

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 Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby from say it with gratitude. Today is Thanksgiving day in the United States. I don't want to wish everybody who is celebrating a very happy Thanksgiving. I am fortunate and grateful to be spending Thanksgiving with some family members. My parents. I'm at my parents' home in Smith mountain lake in Virginia. And you know, for about 20 years, I didn't spend Thanksgiving with my family. I lived for 11 years in Dallas for nine years in Denver. And I always chose to spend Christmas time with my family and. It's expensive to fly home twice within a month. So I usually just stay put for Thanksgiving. Uh, but now I'm blessed to live in Knoxville, Tennessee. And it's only about a four and a half hour drive to my parents' house. So I'll be celebrating Thanksgiving with my mom and dad, Jim and Gloria. And then also my sister, Jill. Her husband, Dennis, their dog biscuit. He can't leave out. And then my nephew, who I'm really excited to see. His name is Benjamin. He is a freshman at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. Uh, so my, his parents, my brother and his wife, they live out in Northern California. So, uh, Benjamin decided instead of flying all the way out to California from Pittsburgh, kind of a, an expensive flight. He decided to make the Trek to my parents' house in Virginia. So I haven't seen him in five years. Uh, the last time I saw him was in 2017, when we all got together to celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. Interesting fact. So Benjamin goes to Carnegie Mellon. I was actually accepted there for college. I didn't go there, but his dad, my brother, Chris went and got his, uh, PhD at Carnegie Mellon. So pretty cool that Benjamin's going to the same. College that my, that his dad. Got his PhD. And then we also wanted to just express gratitude towards my family. You know, there, I'm very lucky to have them in my life. Uh, have supportive siblings and parents, very loving. Um, You know, whenever I'm in need. Uh, if I'm struggling in some area of my life, relationships or loss of a pet. Uh, financially business wise, I've got a supportive family that I can turn to. Anytime I want for emotional support or other types of support, visit them could stay with them. Um, and it's been that way for a long time. Uh, just growing up. Uh, had a very good, um, upbringing and that's carried on into adulthood. So I'm definitely grateful for my family. You know, not everybody has a supportive family. Um, but whoever you're spending the day with whether you're celebrating Thanksgiving or you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, cause you're in a different country, whoever you're spending the day with on Thursday here. Let's. Give them some extra gratitude. Show some love, give a hug, flash a smile, write a thank you note. We could all use more of that in our world right now. And, uh, I just hope that you can spend. This day with some loved  ones. I'm Scott Colby with say it with gratitude. And this has been the daily gratitude minute. Cheers.

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 Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby from say it with gratitude. I often talk about gratitude in the workplace. And when I do, I like to emphasize that gratitude in the workplace starts with you. I think it's important to have a personal gratitude practice first. Before you can spread it to others. And the reason I say that, so think about the benefits of gratitude, right. And having a gratitude practice. The research shows. There's a multitude of benefits. A couple of them being be more positive. You have less anxiety, less stress, more. Optimism. So think about if you're living in an attitude of. Uh, not being grateful and complaining and being down and being anxious and overwhelmed and stressed. So you're not your best. How can you be expected to lift other people up with gratitude? If you're feeling so low yourself. So I don't think you can effectively have a gratitude practice at work where you're appreciating other people. If you were feeling bad yourself. So that's why I think it's important that gratitude starts with you and that you have your own gratitude practice. First self gratitude, right? And thinking about all the things that you appreciate in your life so that you can live a more optimistic, positive. And uplifting. Day by day life. So what are ways you can live a more gratitude? I'm not going to go into too much detail here in this episode, but find a way to express gratitude on a consistent basis that resonates with you. Maybe it's journaling. Maybe it's writing handwritten notes. Could be keeping a gratitude jar, could be making gratitude videos for other people or gratitude phone calls. Could be doing an act of kindness or volunteering in your community. Whatever that looks like for you doing on a consistent basis. Watch to see how your attitude and mood change. And when you're uplifted by yourself, gratitude practice, you can begin to uplift others in the workplace with gratitude as well. Hope this helps. If you want some more ideas on implementing gratitude at work, go to my free toolkit@gratitudetoolkit.com. Got a lot of goodies for you to download I'm Scott Colby with say it with gratitude. And this has been the daily gratitude minute. Cheers.

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby with say it with gratitude. Last week. I'm one of the episodes. I talked about a book that I was reading. I just started it. It's called the Mr. Thank you project. And it's about John Israel who had a goal to write five. Thank you cards a day for one year, 365 straight days, which is incredible. What a mission. And one of the first groups of people that he wrote to, he was on an airplane and decided to write to the pilots. And he got to thinking like, Hey, what, what should I say in the card? What am I grateful for? And. He thought a little harder. And then he thought about like how these pilots. When they're flying across the country, like most weeks out of the year, they're away from their family. But what they're doing is they're oftentimes helping the passengers. See their families. And when John thought about this, gosh, gosh, it's helping so many people, you know, spend holidays with their families or other events with their families. While they're away from their families. What a noble thing to do in this world? What a noble profession. As well. You know, when flights are delayed or canceled, sometimes the pilots. They face the brunt of a passenger's frustration. So that's other things to be grateful for. So when you really think about what pilots go through and the, uh, dedication to their work. We have a lot to be grateful to pilot. So John wrote a, I think on this particular flight. You know, there's pilot and copilot, and he had a second leg of his flight. So he wrote to four pilots on one day. And I think he asked like one of the pilots who had been. A pilot for, I think 22 years. If he had ever gotten a thank you card before and in 22 years of being a pilot that pilot never had. So an incredible mission. Uh, that pilots do John express gratitude towards them. And, uh, yeah, I can't wait to finish his book. I'll bring you more episodes. Of the daily gratitude minute that cover other lessons learned from the book. Mr. Thank you.  I'm Scott Colby with say it with gratitude. And this has been the daily gratitude minute. Cheers.

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby from say it with gratitude. You know, one of my favorite things to say is find what makes you happy and do more of it. We often get caught up in our to-do list. Right. I know. I certainly do. I usually focus on work more than having fun. Or we sometimes spend our days reacting and responding to things such as emails, social media posts, and text messages. I do that as well. This goes on day after day, week after weekend month after month. But when was the last time you stopped and took some time to notice how you feel. Now more than ever. It's important to stop and take some time for our mental health. So this week, I want you to do this. Take out a journal or a piece of paper and write down all the things that make you feel happier. Then create some space in your schedule to actually enjoy these things. Guilt free. It can be anything I can nature connecting with a friend. Being around animals. Having a cup of coffee, just relaxing or volunteering with kids. Now the key is to not just be aware of what makes you happy, but actually taking action and finding time to do them. You deserve to feel good. So make quality time for yourself. I'm Scott Colby would say it with gratitude. And this has been the daily gratitude.  Cheers.

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby with say it with gratitude. I've got a gratitude tip from my book, the grateful entrepreneur, how you can show your customers. Uh, just that you care about them as human beings and not just as a transaction. And that's to offer sympathy. You know, how many businesses send out sympathy cards when a family member of a customer or employee passes away? Practically none. Your business should do so. Send a heartfelt handwritten sympathy card. When your customers lose loved ones. Sometimes it's not easy to know what to say in a card. Right? So I've got a couple suggestions of the wording suggested by a woman named Florence. Isaacs could be really simple. Here's a couple of examples. Dear Janet. I'm so sorry to hear about your mother's passing. You are in my thoughts and prayers at this time of sadness. I send my deepest condolences. Follow that with your signature. Here's one more option, dear Janet. I just heard about your mother's death. I'm so sorry for your loss. Please accept my heartfelt sympathy. Again, simply sign your name. Such brief notes are both powerful and appropriate.  I personally also send sympathy cards when a customer loses a pet because our furry friends or families too, and clients will truly appreciate that gesture. I'm Scott Colby with Say It with gratitude, and this has been the daily gratitude. Cheers.

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby from say it with gratitude. So this afternoon, I ran a virtual workshop for some employees, uh, from a small company based out of Northern Virginia. And I tried an activity that I only tried once before I learned this one from Chad little field who owns a business called we and me. He facilitates connection. Activities and events as well. And he calls this activity breakout blackout. So the group I was with was virtual. So we were all on zoom. And so if you're not familiar, a breakout is when you're on a virtual meeting using a platform like zoom and you break out in the smaller groups in a separate room. Well in the breakout blackout, you're in a virtual room by yourself. Yep. That's right. You're in your own virtual breakout room. So, what do you do in there? Well, it depends on the purpose of the meeting, et cetera, but of course I facilitate gratitude and connection workshops. So, what I did was I had the participant search for an interesting or surprising fact about gratitude. They each had three minutes to find a unique fact about gratitude and then share it with the rest of the group. So everybody got into their own breakout room yet they were by themselves, which is perfect for the introvert among us. They found an interesting fact about gratitude and when they returned to the main room, Uh, everybody typed what they found and the chat, and some people shared verbally. It was awesome. And I learned a couple things about gratitude that I didn't know. Such as people are less likely to express gratitude at work than anywhere else. And gratitude is good for your cholesterol. Just want to pass this along in case it's useful for your next virtual meeting. I am Scott Colby with say it with gratitude. And this has been the daily gratitude minute. Cheers.  

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 Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby from say it with gratitude. In my book, the grateful entrepreneur, I gave a tip for businesses. If they wanted to stand out from their competition and that's to send out cards on weird holidays. Now it's. Not that common for businesses to send out cards as it is, you know, many businesses don't send out. Thank you cards. But I think if there's one time, a business does a pretty good job. Sending out cards it's during the Christmas holidays. Well, if you could imagine the average, person's getting lots and lots of cards during the Christmas And those don't really stand out. So, what I recommend is that you send cards on other types of holidays, such as Groundhog's day St. Patrick's day, 4th of July. Thanksgiving is a good one too, which is coming up. Uh, since it's a holiday specifically to express gratitude. Now when I was doing research for my book. I found an example of a company that was doing this well and was getting a great return on their investment. Joe, John Bachmann, who owns Bachman's auto care in Illinois for eight years, at least at the time of the article that I read. He had spent an average of $1,858 per year on thank you cards for his entire customer base. So almost $2,000 he was spending on. Writing and mailing. Thank you cards. Now that seems like a lot, right? Well, John has consistently seen between a 35,040 5,000 return on his yearly. Thanksgiving and Christmas and July card. So those are the two times during the year he sent out Thanksgiving and Christmas in July and his customers weren't getting cards from anybody else during that time. So he was able to stand out from his competition. He initially tried sending out cards during Christmas and was not getting a good. ROI return on his investment. So he changed his plan. Started to send out cards twice a year during the weird, not very common times to do that and his results skyrocketed. So. Really cool idea. It's not too late to get your cards out for Thanksgiving, get those cards out. And if you don't get Out for Thanksgiving this year. Think of the next time. That there's a weird holiday, so not Christmas, but maybe Groundhog's day that you start to send out cards to your customers and your clients. One last thing. If you want to download a digital copy of my book, the grateful entrepreneur for free. Go to gratitude, toolkit.com.  And you can enter in your email and i'll send you a digital copy of the entire book i'm scott colby with say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. I want to give you a quick connection tip that you can. Use at work now I didn't make this up. There's a book I recently read called connectable all about creating connections and belonging. And the workplace and the authors have come out with a connection deck, which are 30 challenges that you can do to. Build connection in the workplace. And so one of the challenges in the connection deck is asked for advice. So they say, if you want to earn someone's trust and empathy, which is important at work, right. Ask them for advice. So they say share a small decision or minor problem with somebody at work to get their advice, pulling someone into your day prompts, connection, and allows others to demonstrate empathy. As an example. I'm trying to make a decision about X, Y, N, Z. If you were me, what would you do? So, if you want to strengthen your connections at work. Build somebody's trust and empathy, then ask them for their advice.  I'm scott colby with say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

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Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby from Say with Gratitude. I just started reading a book called Mr. Thank You, by John Israel. I've known John for a few years. Mainly online, I guess only online. We've chatted, we've done a Zoom call together. Uh, but he wrote this book a few years ago and I'm surprised that I'm just now reading it. But it tells of his journey and lessons learned from. Writing five handwritten notes. So he wrote five thank you cards every day for a year. Now, that's incredible to me because I sometimes give myself a challenge of writing one thank you card a day for 30 days, and I struggle. So I'm interested in knowing how he did it and how he kept himself accountable and going. I know one of the things he did, cuz I'm still at the beginning of the book, but he outlined some rules up front that he must follow and I wanted to share four rules with you. Number one, all notes about must be handwritten so he can't copy and paste an email and send it out to a bunch of people. These need to be handwritten notes. Number two, every day, five cards must be written and every morning starts at zero. So in other words, he can't save. For the entire week, let's say on Sunday and write 35 cards, he needs to write five notes every single day. Rule three, a maximum of three cards count per individual. So in other words, he can't write 365 cards to his wife. He could only write to his wife or any one individual three times throughout the year. So he has to come up with a lot of different people to write notes to. And number four, this is really interest. if he writes less than five thank you cards in a day, he needs to donate $1,000 to charity. So imagine such a big kind of penalty, kind of, I mean, you're donating to charity, but it is a penalty in that it's a thousand bucks out of your pocket any day he forgets to write or doesn't write five handwritten notes that's gonna keep him accountable. When he first put together rule four, he was going to donate a hundred dollars to. If he wrote less than five notes in a day, and his business coach at the time said, I don't think that's a big enough penalty. And he asked him, Would you have donated a hundred, 200 or 200 bucks to charity anyway this year? And John said, Yes. He said, We need to make that rule even more strict. And they came up with donating a thousand dollars to charity for any day that. misses his five thank you notes. Incredibly powerful tool to keep yourself accountable. So I'm just at the beginning stages of this book. I can't wait to dig into it. It's again, it's Mr. Thank You by John Israel. I'll do another gratitude minute, um, once I finish the book and share with you my big takeaways. If you've read it, would love to hear from you. You can always send me a DM on Instagram over at Scott Colby dot. I'm Scott Colby with Sat With Gratitude and this has been your daily gratitude minute. Cheers.

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Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude. I often talk about listening as a form of gratitude, but only if you're present. So what do I mean by that? Well, oftentimes when somebody is talking to us, we're doing other things. We're checking our phones, we're thinking about our emails, we're thinking about what we need to do during the. notifications come up and we look at those instead of paying attention to the person who's talking to us. This sometimes happens in meetings, just one-on-one conversations, even at meals or just having a cup of coffee with a friend. So the issue with this is if you're checking your phone when somebody's talking to you, how do you think that person. They don't feel cared for. They don't feel listened to, They don't probably feel understood, they don't feel valued. But if you can do away with all the external noise and be in the moment with the person that's having the conversation with you, and even don't even get out your phone, even put that phone. So the study's been shown that even if your phone's on the table and you're not using it, the level and the quality of conversation goes down just by the mere presence of having your cell phone on the table. So don't even bring it out. Leave it in your bag, leave it at home, leave it in your car. Be fully present with somebody that's having the conversation with you. That way you can be a better listener. They're gonna feel cared for, valued, and. And that is a form of gratitude. That's a great gift that you can give somebody else. The act and art of listening seems to be harder to do these days, but practice it without your phone than being fully present. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

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Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude. Yesterday I mentioned a nonprofit here in Knoxville, Tennessee called Send Senior Citizens Love their mission. Is to keep the connections alive for senior citizens at risk, for isolation and loneliness by collecting handwritten notes and delivering them to seniors all across the country. Seniors who are at risk of being lonely, they're in hospitals, they're in nursing homes, and I wanted to give a suggestion on how your organization could do. While helping your team bond and build deeper connections with one another, it's simply this once a week or once a month, or even just one time, your team can pledge to come together. Let's say at a, at a lunchtime, you come together and your right handwritten notes that go to seniors who are in hospitals battling loneliness. So just think about. It's a Thursday, it's noon. It's when you usually have lunch. You come together as a team. Everybody's got their lunch, their food. You're writing handwritten notes for a good cause. You're bonding over the act of writing handwritten notes, but you're also getting to know each other on your team personally. You're getting to ask your team members questions. You're learning their hobbies, learning about their families, what they like, what they don't like, what they're struggling with, some successes or good things happening in their life, all while bonding over the act of writing handwritten notes for a good cause for senior citizens who are lonely. So doing this can bring your team together. Number one, you're bonding over the act of writing handwritten. But specifically these handwritten notes are going for a good cause. So you're also bonding and coming closer together by doing something for good. What a powerful way to build connection amongst your team. When you have connection like this, your team will be more engaged. They'll be more productive. They're gonna wanna stick around a lot. So give this a try and let me note Nephew specifically want to write cards for my friend's nonprofit. Send Senior Citizens Love. You can go on their website, send senior citizens love.org and contact them or get ahold of me@scottscottcolby.com and I'll put you in touch with Ashley, who's the founder of the nonprofit. I'm Scott Colby with Sat With Gratitude and this has been The Daily Gratitude Minute cheer.

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Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby. With Sat With Gratitude. I want to briefly talk about, uh, a woman's nonprofit here in Knoxville, Tennessee. Now, I met her online through a kind of a local Facebook group here in Knoxville, and I was intrigued when I learned what she was doing. She has a non-profit, well, first of all, her name is Ashley Lynch. Ashley has a nonprofit called Send Senior Citizens Love Send, Senior Citizens Love, uh, and her mission is to end isolation and loneliness among seniors. Of course, I love that mission. Her inspiration was kind of fairly recently. Both of her grandparents passed away. And she had noticed they were a little bit isolated and lonely, um, I think in the hospital. And she realized there's other seniors that are lonely in hospitals and nursing centers. So she wanted to do something to make them feel less lonely. So what she does is she actually collects handwritten notes from people all around the world that she delivers to senior citizens in hospitals and rehab. So, you know, I've talked about the way that handwritten notes can connect people together and help you feel cared about and less lonely. And that's her mission. And she does this for certain population, senior citizens, and I just love it. You can actually write notes and send it to Ashley's nonprofit organization and she'll get it to a senior citizen. In a hospital or a rehab center, so it's really cool what she's doing. You can check out more information about her nonprofit at Send senior citizens love.org. Send senior citizens love.org if you, um, want to connect with her. Kind of personally, just let me know. You can shoot me an email to scott@scottcolby.com and I'll connect you with her, or you can just contact her through her website. Again, I love her mission of ending isolation and loneliness among seniors. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

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welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. When I talk about gratitude in the workplace, one of the things I like to mention and encourage is for you to be specific with your gratitude, especially when you are expressing appreciation for somebody at work. So what I mean by that is instead of just saying, Thank you or good job. Be specific about what you appreciate about that person, and I would encourage you not to even tie it to performance. So a great example of this recently actually happened to me. One of the things that I do besides talk about gratitude, I'm a health and fitness coach for a company called Metabolic Living, and there were six coaches and one of them recently, uh, decided to leave her position with the. And before she left, she took a moment to express appreciation to all of the other coaches. So for me, she said a few nice words. And then she ended by saying, Three of my most favorite things about you are your calm presence, your heart for all of humanity, your creativity and spirit of exploration. So she was expressing what she loved about. And that meant so much more than just saying, Hey, you know, great job as a coach of these last three years that we've been working together. So when you are expressing gratitude to a team member, be very specific and tell that team member what you love about them. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

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Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby. I want to talk a little bit about. Workplace wellness. Now, a Surgeon General's report that just came out declared that toxic workplaces can be harmful to a person's mental health due to factors like long hours, chronic stress, and being underpaid. Now, that's pretty obvious. The report highlights that 76% of workers in the US have at least one symptom of a mental health condition. While up to 84% of people said their workplaces contributed to mental health issues, these numbers are incredibly high. The surgeon general outlined five essentials that would help workplaces support well. These include protection from harm, connection, and community opportunity for growth matter at work and work life harmony. Now, all these are important. My eyes are drawn to connection and community because it's something that I talk about in my keynotes when I'm speaking at conferences and in into organizations. So how can you have more connection and community in the workplace? Well, lots of ways you could do that, but something I talk about is just asking meaningful question to spark meaningful conversations. Really to help you get to know your coworkers on a more intimate level so that you can have a deeper relationship, possibly even friendship. Friendships at work have been shown to. Correlated with happiness in the workplace. So how do you ask questions or know what questions to ask? Well, I designed the Grateful Deck, which is 120 questions to spark meaningful conversations. You could do use these questions in the workplace. I just drew one at random so you can get an idea of what one of the questions is like. Um, the question says if you could spend a day off work doing one thing that you would. What would it be and why? So if you ask a coworker this question, you can get to know a little bit about one of their hobbies and why they started, um, to, to like that hobby. And that can give you some insight about this person. So, uh, if you want to download all 120 questions digitally, you can go to gratitude toolkit.com, put in your email address, and I'll send you all 120 questions in the Grateful Deck. These questions are great for. Perhaps starting a meeting, or maybe you can pull a coworker from work and go through a few of the questions and just go back and forth and create a bond between you and one of your coworkers. And if you want to purchase the physical deck that I'll mail to you, I've got 'em over at my website. Sat with gratitude.com. I'm Scott Colby from Say It with Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

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Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby. Thank you so much for joining me as I record this. It is November 9th, 2022, and I've set a goal to write one. Appreciation card, uh, in the month of November and in the month of December. So I'm gonna be writing a card every single day for two months. And if you set a goal like this, you might wonder like, how do I know who to send a card to? I don't have that many people to appreciate, but in reality, you probably have more than enough people to appreciate if you really sit down and think about it. So, It can be a struggle to figure out who to write a car to, but let me just share with you a few people that I've written a car to. In the past week I wrote a card to my veterinarian who always takes really good care of my cat Mia, and uh, I really appreciate her kindness and. Looking after Mia's best interest and making her feel as comfortable as possible. I sent a card to my friend John and Lauren, who let me stay at their place, uh, overnight in Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, while I was traveling on my way back from a speaking gig in Wisconsin. I sent a card to my friend Geoff, who, uh, I'd met online. He's a fellow speaker. He lives in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and when I spoke in Spokane in September, he made the 40 minute drive to see me speak, and then he invited me to see him speak and also gave me some pointers on how I could engage with the. Uh, so I really appreciate that. Um, and then lastly, I recently wrote a card to a woman named Lauren who saw me deliver a breakout session in my, um, conference I went to in Wisconsin. And she just sent me an email saying how much she enjoyed, uh, my session. So being a guy who is appreciation language is words of affirmation, I really appreciated her kind words. And I wanted to let her know that. So those are just a few examples of who I've written cards to. Uh, in reality, you can write cards to people for any reason. It doesn't have to be somebody that's done something for you. You could just appreciate a friend and tell them how much you love about them. Or it could be somebody that is not a friend, but just you've seen or had an engagement with them in passing such as. Your barista at your local coffee shop. Maybe they asked you how your day was. Maybe they smiled at you, and just let them know how much you appreciated that. So plenty of people to write cards too. I'm enjoying the process of writing these daily cards. Maybe it's a habit you wanna pick up. If you do, would love to know about it. You can always send me an email@scottscottcolby.com or uh, DM on Instagram, Scott Col. Hope this helps you get those cards out in the mail. I'm Scott Colby with Sat With Gratitude and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

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What you plant in your mind will be returned to you. If you think about positive things and have a grateful attitude, that's what you'll get in life. If you complain and think about all negative things, that will be returned to you.

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Most days are filled with lots of noise, challenges and stress. But it's reassuring to know that we can feel better anytime we want to. Even on the most chaotic days, there is always an opportunity to pause and feel good. Today I want you take a few minutes to make space for yourself and catch your breath. Go ahead and turn off your phone and shut your computer for 5 minutes. Put on some holiday music if you'd like or just sit in silence. Focus on your breath - 3 counts in through your nose, and 3 counts out through your mouth. Be in the moment and start thinking about the things that you're grateful for in your life. Or just keep focusing on your breath and the count. This little indulgence is not selfish. It's self-care, and it's important.

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A lot of people think self-care is selfish. But you wont be able to be your best, if you don't feel your best. You need to put your oxygen mask on first, before helping others.

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When expressing gratitude to someone, replace high tech with high touch.

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A great activity you can do if you facilitate virtual or in person meetings that will help you get to know someone else quickly.

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Have you ever written a love letter to your significant other or spouse? If not, it's a great thing to do to deepen that connection between the two of you, and I share some tips of what to say in the letter.

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In today's episode, I talk about what it means for a company to lead with gratitude, which means everything should be relational, and not just about the transaction. I share a story about how my favorite coffee shop in Denver, Fluid, used gratitude when my cat Nomar was having a couple of teeth pulled.

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Today is a tip from my book, The Grateful Entrepreneur: Get together with your clients and customers while you're on the road traveling. It's a great way to build that relationship and get to know them on a personal level.

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In this episode of the Daily Gratitude Minute, I share 2 tips on writing appreciation cards to make them more impactful.

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Say Happy Birthday! Send out birthday cards to every team member and customer on their birthday! If you’re connected to your customers on Facebook, the platform lets you know when it’s their birthday. It’s a cinch to post “Happy Birthday” on their timeline. But hundreds of other people are doing the same thing. Too bad your message won’t stand out. Recently, I read about a CEO named Sheldon Yellen who handwrites 8,000 birthday cards a year for all his employees—with personalized comments relevant to each person! In addition, when he hears about random acts of kindness in the workplace, he sends a thank you note to the individual letting them know their efforts didn’t go unnoticed. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

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I did a virtual gratitude presentation yesterday for a start up software company of 9 people. At the beginning of the workshop, I had them pick up their smartphones and put them underneath their chair. The goal was to have more quality conversations and deeper connections without being distracted by their phones. I did this in my in person breakout session last week in Wisconsin. At the end of my workshop yesterday, I was talking to the owner of the company and he mentioned an article he read with the latest research that states having a mobile device within easy reach divides your attention, even if you're not actively looking at it. When you're having a conversation with someone, put your phones completely away, even not bringing it with you, and see if that makes a difference for you and the person you're with in your conversations (especially the listening part).

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My gratitude today is for my vet, Dr. Wulforst, at Riverside Vet in Knoxville, TN, for being an amazing vet for Mia.

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In March, 2018, the university of Virginia, which is where I went to college became the first number one seed. To lose to a number 16 seed and the March madness, college basketball tournament. If you don't follow sports, just know. That this is bad. Very bad. And I was crushed of course, being a UVA grad. After watching a Ted talk. UVA is basketball. Coach Tony Bennett decided to use that historic loss to his team's benefit. Over the next year, rather than shying away from talking about the loss, the players and coaches instead talked about it as much as possible. And each time they talked about it, the team talked about what they learned from the loss. What coach Bennett learned from watching the TEDx talk? Was that when you tell the story about something bad, that's happened. You're not telling the story to change what happened. You're telling the story to change you. When something happens to you, it sits on top of you. Like a rock. And if you never tell the story, it sits on you forever. But as you begin to tell the story you climb out from under that rock, and eventually you sit up on top The story doesn't change what happened? But the story has the remarkable power to completely change our whole relationship to what happened. Well, it worked for UVA's basketball team. They faced their story, that historic loss in March, 2018. And when the March madness tournament rolled around in 2019, they won the championship. They climbed out from under the rock of the historic loss and sat on top of it with that championship. So this week think about an adversity you've gone through and face your story. I'm scott colby was say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby. Thank you so much for joining me. I was recently, uh, out on one of my gratitude hikes. I was leading a family. Uh, and for those of you who don't know, I. It's one of many things that I do. I take groups out on private hiking tours in the smoky mountains. And we were playing the grateful dead. So the grateful deck is my card deck that I created back in 2020, and it's 120 cards consisting of questions to spark meaningful conversations. And. Uh, helped develop deeper connection. So we always play a few rounds of the grateful deck on my gratitude hikes. And, uh, I was asked to question, uh, from one of the cards and the question Who is always there for you. And how do you feel about them who was always there for you? And how do you feel about them? I mentioned my friend, Lori Heisler, she's somebody that's always there for me. We've known each other for 10 years now. Uh, she's been there for the good and the bat, right. She, she, uh, uh, you know, There's something where I'm struggling in my business. She's there lends and ear and helps talk me through challenges that I'm having. When I lost my cat Nomar, she was right there. Um, helping me make that decision to, to say goodbye. Definitely a great, uh, to have her around for such a. A tough time as saying goodbye to a pet. Um, she's there for the winds too. She reminds me to celebrate the good that I've done in my business or in my life. Uh, so it's nice to have that reminder. She's also an adventure friend, so we like to go out and do fun things together. She's one of those friends that I have fun doing things with. No matter what we're doing, it's just easy to be around here. I can be my. Complete self around here. So those are the reasons I mentioned, Lori, somebody that's always there for me. And, and, and why. Uh, but I would encourage you to think of that question. You're in your Who's that person that's always there for you and why, and I want you to think about taking a step further and telling that person, maybe write them a handwritten Maybe you have a phone call with them, maybe if they're, if they live in the same. You know, areas you can have, uh, you know, just, uh, a meal, you know, got to lunch dinner. A cup of coffee and tell them. What they mean to you and why that's, why they're important to you. So it could definitely increase your bond and your connection with that person and watch that. Relationship grow. So, uh, hope that helps try it. If you do, do something like that, I would love to hear how it goes. You can find me on Instagram at Scott Colby and send me a DM. There would love to connect with you there. Otherwise, thank you so much for joining me. I'm scott colby with say it with gratitude and this has been your daily gratitude minute cheers

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby with say it with gratitude. My tip for you today is to think about the bad things in your life. Now, I know that may sound weird. We're talking about gratitude, right? Shouldn't we be focusing on the good. And yes, you do want to focus on the good in your But that doesn't mean you need to ignore the bad. That would be disingenuous. Right? We've all had negative things happen to us. We've all had challenges. We've had to go through. But I want you to remember the bad things. And think about the good that has come from the bad things in your life. So what are some challenging obstacles that you've overcome? I mean, if you're here listening, you've probably overcome several obstacles in your life. Right. So, what did those challenges or the bad things or the failures? What did they teach you? How did you grow from And that way you're not ignoring But you're learning from the bad and growing from those things. So think about the good that has come from bad things that have happened in your I'm scott colby with say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby, helping them have a good day. I want to ask you a question. Are you a fiber? Now you may not know what that word means and that's okay. So it's spelled P H U B B E R. Actually. Didn't know what it meant until a few weeks ago when I was updating. My keynote and I was doing some research. So the word fiber is a combination of the words, phone and snubber, and it's somebody who ignores the person they're with and kids attention to their cell phone. So I'm going to ask the question again. Are you a Farber? Do you ignore the person that you are with sometimes and give attention to your cell phone? I do. I admit it. I don't want to do this, but it comes from having some addiction to my cell phone. It's always on me. And I don't always give attention to the person in front of me. Sometimes I'm scrolling on my phone. The problem with that is the person that's being fatigued. Feels rejected. They feel excluded. They feel like they're not important. So when you do pay attention to the person. In front of you. That's a sign of gratitude. That's showing that person that you care about them, that you value what they have to say, that you care about your relationship with them. So my challenge to you today. Is to find some time in your day. To connect with somebody in person. But don't have your phone on you. I don't even want it in your pocket. I don't want it on you when you're physically detached from your phone. It's a little bit uncomfortable. But it will in the long run make you feel better and it will make you more connected to the. The people in front of you and that's what matters that human connection so hope you found value in this go out and connect with somebody leave that phone behind i'm scott colby with say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby. Thank you so much for being here. I want to tell you about a recording that I've been listening to every day for the last 13 days, I've listened to it 13 days in a row. And my plan is to listen to it every day in October. So that's 31 straight days. It's called the strangest secret by Earl Nightingale. You can find the recording, several different recordings. Um, on YouTube. Now, the message is a little bit outdated. However, the core idea behind the message is true to this day. And as core message is we become what we think about. We become what we think about. And I want to kind of share with you an analogy that he talks about on this recording. He says, suppose a farmer has some land. And it's good fertile land. The land gives the farmer a choice. He may plant in that land, whatever he chooses. The land doesn't care. It's up to the farmer to make the decision. Now he wants to compare the land to the human mind because. With the land, just like the mine doesn't care. What you plant in it. It will return what you plant, but it doesn't care what you plant. So he says, let's say the farmer has two seeds in his hand. One is a seed of corn. The other is night shade. A deadly poison. He digs two little holes in the earth and he plants both seeds, one corn and the other night shade. He covers up the holes, waters and takes care of the land and what will happen. And variably the land will return what was planted. So remember the land doesn't care, it will return poison in just as wonderful abundance as it will corn. So up comes two plants, one corn. One poison. He says the human mind is far more fertile, far more incredible and mysterious than the land, but it works the same way. It doesn't care. What we plant success or failure, a concrete worthwhile goal, or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety, and so on. But what we plant must return to us. So what he's saying, there is, again, we are what we think about. So if you're thinking. Negative things. If you have anxiety, if you're always complaining and just thinking about things that are going wrong in your life, that's what you will get more of. However, if you were grateful and optimistic and seeing the good in things and putting positive thoughts in your head, You will get more of that. So whatever we put in our heads, we will get more of whatever we plant in our minds. That's what will come to us. So hope you like this little tip. You can look up the complete audio, the strangest secret by Earl Nightingale. Again you can find different recordings on youtube i'm scott colby with say it with gratitude and this has been your daily gratitude minute cheers

357: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Hello? Hello. Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby. Thank you so much for being here. I want to give a suggestion to you. I talk a lot about unplugging and connecting with other people. And, uh, unfortunately we're in front of our screens most of the time, whether we're working on our computer or just, we've got our phone tied to us, right. Almost tethered. Uh, and we're often looking at her phone, even when we're in the company of other people. Uh, one thing that I love about my workout group, I work out with a group of guys on a Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 5 45, or excuse me at five 30. We work out outdoors and then Saturday morning at seven in the morning. We don't use our phones. Right. We're, we're committed to give it our best effort working out, but we're also having fellowship. So we're connecting with it with each other and it's like the one time. During my day that I don't use my phone. Um, and I completely present with what I'm doing. So I wish I didn't use my phone more. Um, um, admit that I'm addicted to it as are millions of people. But my suggestion to you find a time during your day and do this every day. If you can. To just leave your phone behind whether you just leave it at home or leave it in the car. Um, and just connect with at least one other person without your phone. Maybe you're having a meal together. Maybe you're doing a workout together. Maybe we're just having coffee and conversation. Leave that foam behind. So you're not even tempted to use it and you can be fully present and really connect with that other person. When you listen to the other person, when you're having a conversation, that's a sign of gratitude. It's a sign that you value them and you care about them. And that's what we want as human beings. So that's my message. I'm going to leave for you today. Hope that helps you connect more with somebody in your life and have a deeper friendship. Um i'm scott colby with sate with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

356: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby from St with the gratitude. And, you know, recently one of my friends and fitness clients purchased the grateful deck. So for those of you that aren't familiar, the grateful deck is a deck of cards that I produced in the summer of 2020. Each card has a question on it. And the questions are designed to start meaningful conversations, to help us remember the good in our lives. So it's really designed to help you connect with somebody else. And so she wrote to me, after she bought the deck with three teenage children. We often struggle to have positive conversations too often. All of the discussion is negative motivated, motivated by school drama, frustration between siblings and reminders from parents about the things the kids need to do. So she bought the grateful deck in order to start more positive, meaningful conversations. Which is amazing to me. I replied back and told her. Hey, this is exactly. Y I wanted to create the grateful deck to help start and cultivate. Family connections in conversation. So I'm excited to hear how it goes. For her and her family and hope it makes a difference. Um, so just to give you a sample, one of the questions in the grateful deck. Uh, one of my favorites is, um, What memory always makes you smile. What memory always makes you smile. So when you hear that question, you automatically are thinking of the good things in your life. Things that make you happy. A good follow-up question. After you name something that makes you smile, a memory, um, you can ask why, why does this memory make you smile? So. Just an example of, uh, the types of questions in the grateful deck. Uh, if you want a, um, free downloadable version of the grateful deck, so where you can see all 120 questions. You can go to gratitude, toolkit.com. And download. All 120 questions of the grateful deck and use them. However, you'd like. Um, hope this helps you have a more productive and meaningful conversations. With your loved ones i'm scott colby from Saint with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

355: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott. Thank you so much for joining me. You know, keeping a gratitude journal. First thing in the morning is a great way to start your day. But for many of us, we tend to just go through the motions. Our journal prompts us to answer the question. What are three things you're grateful for today? My spouse, my job and my cat. There I'm done. Well, it's not enough just to write down what you're grateful For your life to change and for you to be happier because you're living in a state of gratitude. You need to take things one step further. Answer the question. Why. Why are you grateful for your spouse? Why are you grateful for your job? Why are you grateful for your cat? So this week, take your gratitude deeper when you're writing in your journal. Answer the question. Why for each, what you put in your journal? And imagine what your life would look like without these things. Or these people in your life. Write this down. Once you start doing this. You'll really feel the gratitude. And you'll be living in gratitude. I'm scott colby for say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute Cheers.

354: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Hey, Scott Colby here back with another episode of the daily gratitude minute. Had a quick question for you. It might sound funny, but hear me out. Do you ever talk to yourself? You know, I talk often about having meaningful conversations with other people, so you can connect on a deeper level. But what about talking to yourself? I'm talking about reflecting in going deep within. So, if you're open to this, here are five questions that may prompt deeper self-reflection, which I think is very important to do, but often we don't take time to step back and consider these questions. Here they are. Number one. What are you looking forward to this week? Number two. What do you need to let go of, to feel happy? Number three, what are five things you love about yourself? Number four. What can you do to treat yourself this week? And number five. Where will you go to relax and recharge? Now these questions would be great. Journal prompts. You don't have to do them all at once. Consider just taking one of these questions. Sitting by yourself where it's quiet in answering them. Or this one question in a journal. I'm scott colby with say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

353: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Hey, Scott Colby here with another episode of the daily gratitude minute. When you're on an airplane, the flight attendant instructs you to put your oxygen mask on first, before helping others. This is an important rule for insurance survival, because if you've run out of oxygen, you can't help anyone else with their oxygen mask. It's a great metaphor for those of us who run around taking care of everything and everyone else except ourselves. It's a great reminder for everyone that if you don't take care of yourself, you can experience burnout, stress, fatigue, reduced mental effectiveness. Health problems, anxiety, frustration, inability to sleep and even death. We often feel selfish for putting ourselves first. Well, I'm here to tell you it's not selfish. Consider this permission for you to take care of yourself on a regular basis. So let go of the guilt you feel for meeting your needs. You've got this. I'm scott colby with say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

352: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott and you know, we've been having some beautiful sunny fall weather here in Knoxville, Tennessee. Uh, saw a beautiful sunrise in the smoky mountains on Wednesday morning. And, you know, I've been trying to get out as much as possible. Take advantage of the nice weather. And remind me of an article that I read recently. It was a research article and the subject to the heading of the article said, Stress. Take a 20 minute nature pill. You know, there are so many positive benefits of being in nature, backed by research. It's a little surprising that we don't Outside and immerse ourselves in nature even more than we already do. You know, it helps with things like reducing stress. Decreasing obesity, improving eyesight, increasing mood. Decreasing sadness, anxiety and depression, stimulating creativity, and thought and much more. So next time you need a shot of something good in your life. Find some greenery. Look for some trees and enjoy the sights sounds and smells of being in nature. I want you to definitely go outside and do this. Take this to heart. I'm Scott Colby with say it with gratitude. And this has been your daily gratitude minute. Cheers

351: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott. And, uh, today I was interviewed. For a podcast called the stay hungry podcast. And I was talking about getting out of your comfort zone. And how, when you do something. Uh, physically challenging You're a little Afraid of doing. And you complete that mission that can expand your mind of the possibilities of what else you can do. So you start to think about what else has been holding you back in life, and this can create a breakthrough. So I told a story, uh, several years ago on an adventure trip that I was on, that I put together. We were whitewater rafting and the guide took us to a bank and said, you know, we could get out of the RAF. He pointed up to a cliff and said, we have the opportunity to jump off the cliff into the freezing cold. Colorado river now, cliff jumping. Isn't really my thing. Free falling. Isn't my thing either. And that cliff was about 30 feet high. So I was definitely scared. Something that I didn't really want to do. But I actually did it and it helped me get me out of my comfort zone. But what I want to share with you is how gratitude can play a role in helping you. Overcome your fears. And a lot of times our fears or anxiety, right? We're we're anxious. We don't know what to expect. We sometimes think of the worst case scenario. So think about this, they say that you can't be grateful. And anxious at the same time. So for something like this, while I was waiting for my turn to jump off the cliff, instead of being anxious and worried. About things that I can't really control, I could turn that around and use gratitude to get me through this moment. So the thing that you could do is to start to say things like I get to. So how would I complete that sentence? I get to jump off the cliff. I'm healthy enough to jump off the cliff. I get to experience the exhilaration of being in the Colorado river. I get to swim back to the whitewater raft. I get to celebrate with the other people that were on that experience. That I N they did the cliff jump. I get to see what the future hold for me. After I jump off the cliff and achieve this personal breakthrough. And you can go through a number of, I get to and just fill in the blank. And that will lead you to start thinking like, Hey, this is actually an awesome opportunity that I get to do this, that I get to cliff jump that I get to do something that's exciting. So next time you're anxious about something. Of course it doesn't have to be cliff jumping or anything physically. Uh, uh, daunting. It could be anything that you're anxious about in life. Turn it around and start to say, I get to and see how many I get to you can come up with related to the thing that you're anxious about. See how the, your mood and mindset change. I Hope this helps you i'm scott colby with a daily gratitude minute and we will see you tomorrow

350: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Hey, it's Scott back with another episode of the daily gratitude minute. Thank you so much for joining me. Want to tell you a little story? Real brief. Uh, about my morning yesterday. So I set my alarm for 5:15 AM in the morning, got in my car at 5 45. And I drove to the smokey mountains in the dark. So I could see the sunrise at newfound gap, which is one of the prettiest spots to CA smokey mountain sunrise. And as you can imagine, it was a really joyful morning watching the sunrise, even though I had to get up at 5:15 AM, which I'm used to anyway. For my early morning workouts. Um, I drove for an hour and 20 minutes to see the sunrise and it was actually 31 degrees outside. So it felt a little bit like winter. But of course all those are part of the experience and none of them were any good reason not to watch the sunrise. But in life, we have a lot of decisions to make every single day. And sometimes it's hard to know what we say yes to. And what do we say no to. Often when we say yes to something we're saying no to something else. When you think about the decisions you make in life, I recommend filtering them through your values. So for me, I value adventure. I value the outdoors. I value nature, mountain views. So it was easy for me to say yes, Go watch the sunrise, even though I could have spent that time, you know, doing some work. But work can wait. Right? Perhaps though saying yes to something takes away from family time. And that's your top value? And that example, it should be easy to say no. So as you go through your weekend through the month of October, And want you to start filtering your decisions through your values, if they yes. Aligns with your values. And it's something that gives you joy, then go for it. But if a guest seems inauthentic to your values or takes away from another value, like family, turn that yes. Into a no. And don't make apologies for, I know sometimes we want to people please and say yes to everything and everybody. Don't make apologies your number one, make yourself a priority and only say yes. To those things important in your life i'm scott colby was say it with gratitude and this has been your daily gratitude minute cheers

349: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Hey, it's Scott here. Welcome to the daily gratitude minute. You know, I often talk about the importance of making myself a priority. First thing in the morning. I think you should as well. You know, by doing something for you, meditation, walking, yoga. Gratitude journaling, just to name a few examples. And I noticed I really started to take my morning routine seriously after reading the miracle morning by Hal Elrod. Which outlined how to set up your morning for success. If you haven't read the miracle morning. Definitely recommend it. Uh, and when I think about how it reminds me of another lesson, I learned from him, his five minute rule. How's five minute rule, helped him get through one of the toughest times of his life. When they got hit head on by a drunk driver, going 70 miles an And being in a coma for six days. Here's his five minute rule. When things go wrong. Give yourself five minutes to feel. Sorry for yourself. You can complain moan cry, punched the wall. Whatever you need to do. When the five minutes are up. Take a deep breath and say, can't change Three very powerful words. I can't change it. Therefore, I'm not going to feel bad about There's no value in dwelling on something in the past, whether it was five minutes in the past five months, five years or five decades ago, you've got to accept it. Be at peace with it and move on. And how applied that to his car accident. He couldn't change it. It happened. The best he could do was not dwell on it and make the very best of his situation, even if he could never walk again and was going to be in a wheelchair his entire life. Powerful. Talk about perspective and appreciating what you do have. This is the ultimate example of gratitude. Now, is there something in your past that's holding that you're holding onto that. You're still mad about. If so don't dwell on it. Let go. It's in the past. And if it's a person that made you mad, you could even send a card to them expressing your appreciation for them, even if they did you wrong. Try that cause there's nothing more powerful. I'm scott colby with say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

348: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby. I want to share. A quick story with you. So during my outdoor workout with the group of guys that I work out with last Thursday, we had to complete 40 pushups as part of our circuit, and then began to get a little challenging for me. After I completed 25 I had 15 left. And that's my message for you today. Most of us are going through a challenge in one fashion or another. We might be trying to achieve a life goal, might be working on a project for work, or even trying to complete 40 pushups. But often when things start to get tough. You're closer to the finish line. Then the start line, that realization makes it easier to push on through to the end. Knowing that I only had 15 pushups left when things started to get painful, allowed me to push through to the finish line. So this week, take a look at a challenge that you're having and see when it starts to get difficult. Make a mental note, how close to the finish line you You're often closer than you think. I'm scott colby was say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

347: The Daily Gratitude Minute - Quotes | Gratitude | Happiness

Hey, welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby from say it with gratitude. Hey, if you're looking to write more handwritten, thank you notes, which I'm a big believer in. But maybe sometimes you don't know what to write and you're staring at that blank card and no words come to you. I've got a few prompts that may help you get started. With your handwritten. Thank you note. So I'm a big believer in writing these notes, just because, uh, so instead of always writing a note because somebody got you a gift or they did something for you. Just do it. Because you want to tell the person how awesome they are. So here are a few prompts to get you started. You could start by saying, I remember the time when. And then share a memory that you and the other person had or an experience, or even think back to when you met the other person that way you're bringing them into, into a shared memory. You're getting those same feelings as well to good connection point. Another way you might start your handwritten note. What I appreciate most about you is. And then. Right out all the things that you like about this person, their personality, their characteristics. What do you appreciate? About the person that you're writing the note to. You could also use this pump without you. Without you and then just speak from the heart or right from the heart. What would your life look like without them? Maybe you wouldn't be the person you are today. Without their influence in your life. And then if you want to take a even deeper, you can think about this. If today was your last day. What would you want them to know if today was your last day? What would you want them to know? So these are a few good starting points for your handwritten note. Really? I'm wanting you to think about writing to connect. So you're going to be appreciating the person in the card that you're writing to, and also just connect from the heart and that'll be a great. Uh, way for you to feel a deeper bond between you and the person you're writing the note to. I'm Scott Colby. From say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute chairs

346: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby from say it with gratitude. Got a question to ask you, do you hit the snooze alarm several times and then run around frantically trying to get lunches made breakfast, eaten, showered, dressed, and off to work on time. Or do you wake up in plenty of time to practice some self-care such as meditation, reading, yoga or morning walk followed by a shower and a healthy breakfast. How we start our morning can set the tone for the entire day. When you take the time for some self care in the morning, you're setting yourself up to have a good day. I'll often in the morning, take a walk to downtown Knoxville. Get a cafe LA and bring my goal setting journal to write down what my goals are for the day or for the I'll sit by a little stream of water and a park downtown. And reflect on my goals and my life. It's a wonderful way to begin my day and it puts me in a good You have the opportunity to spend time on yourself each morning. It's just a matter of making yourself a priority. And even if the rest of your day proved to be challenging, at least you've done something good for you to start the day. So this coming week, I want you to make yourself a priority. First thing in the morning. By doing something that feels good. Feed your soul, something positive. I'm Scott Colby. With say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

345: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby with say it with gratitude and I am a member of a workout group. Uh, every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 AM. I do an outdoor workout with a group of guys for 45 minutes. Saturday, we meet at 7:00 AM for an hour. And it's been great getting pushed by these guys, which helps me give my best effort. And these outdoor workouts have really improved my mental and physical health over the past several months, I started in January, 2020. So right before the pandemic. And have been going consistently, ever since, except for when we were told to stay home. Um, But I wanted to mention, we take turns leading the workouts and I led the workout about a week ago. And at the end of the workout, the person that leads a workout gives an inspiring message or just something that's on their heart. So since I led the workout last Thursday, I gave the message. And what I talked about was the need to disconnect, to reconnect and to really be present. You know, in the technological world we live in, many of us are addicted to our phones. Unfortunately, my self included. We're often more worried about notifications and reading our messages or seeing who has liked. Our Facebook posts, then connecting with a person right in front of us. It's hurting our relationships. It's hurting our productivity. It's we're suffering in the workplace. We're getting less sleep or more stressed. And there's too much negativity getting into our brains. Like I mentioned, it's hurting us in the workplace. We're a lonely society. Fewer meaningful connections than ever before. And it's affecting our work. I actually talked about this in my keynote talk that I delivered on Tuesday in Spokane, Washington. So my message for you today is to disconnect, to reconnect. Get away from technology for a while, unplug and connect with the people in your life that matter to you most in a more meaningful way you got this. I am scott colby was say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute chairs

344: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby with say it with gratitude Over the past few weeks I've been putting together a keynote. That I'll be giving at a conference. Uh, in, well, one in late September and one in October. And. The keynote, the talk is about gratitude in the workplace, but it's also about connection in the workplace and the fact that many workers, in fact, most employees are lonely. And part of that reason is due to lack of meaningful connection, the worst Pikes, and really in humanity in general. We're pretty lonely society. And so been reading a book called connectable. They've got many great tips on how to create meaningful connection in their workplace. I don't want to give you two easy ones that you can start doing today. Number one. They say, be where your feet are. So wherever your feet are be present. So if you're at a meeting, I be at the meeting. Don't be checking email. If you're at lunch with a friend, be at lunch with your friend, don't be checking social media or your text messages. So that's the first tip to be more connectable is to be where your feet are. The second tip I wanted to give you. His trade in high tech for high touch. So most of the communication we have with people are high tech, right? We're emailing them. We're sending them text messages. We're D M in them. Trade one of those types of messages. For a high touch. Communication. So instead of emailing or texting call somebody, remember what that is. You actually using your phone for its intended purpose. Call somebody do a video chat with somebody, or even get together with somebody in person. So be more connectable this weekend and next weekend going. Towards the rest of your, um, of your year. See where you can be more connectable by being where your feet are and trading high-tech for high touch. I'm Scott Colby with say it with gratitude. And this has been the daily gratitude minute. Cheers.

343: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby with say it with gratitude and you know, over the past several weeks I've been updating my keynote talk as. I'll be headed to Spokane Washington in just a few days to deliver my first. In-person talk since COVID. Now I'm digging into the topic of loneliness in the workplace and stumbled upon some research from several decades ago that I actually hadn't heard of before. So there was a psychologist named Arthur Aron, who set out to find the question, the answer to the question. How might we in a laboratory setting? Find a way to create instant intimacy between strangers. Through his research, he was able to come up with a set of 36 questions, which were designed to be asked in a specific order. The question start more surface level, like given your choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as your dinner guests? But quickly the questions turn more deeper with questions like this. If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone. What would you most regret? Not having told somebody. And why haven't you told them yet? So Aaron brought in strangers. Into his laboratory, they paired up and took turns entering the 36 questions. And here's the interesting finding. 57% of the participants bonded enough to get together after the study on their own. And one pair even went on to get married in VR and invited all of the participants from the study to the wedding. According to this research, you can create intimacy by asking meaningful questions. Now in January of 2015, an article came out in the New York times written by mainly Lynn caldron titled. To fall in love with anyone do this, where she shared her story of going through the 36 questions with a man who wasn't a stranger. But was actually an acquaintance. And they did indeed fall in love and later got married. So the point of this, I want you to start to become more conscious of the interactions that you have. Get beyond small talk, ask meaningful questions, be an active listener. And use conversations as a tool for cultivating deeper connections with the people in your life. Or even strangers. I'm Scott Colby with say it with gratitude. And this has been the daily gratitude minute. Cheers.

342: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby from St. With gratitude. So I first want to share a quote with you. It's one of my favorite quotes. Author's unknown, but it says this, um, particularly rough days when I'm sure I can't possibly endure. I like to remind myself that my track record for getting through bad days so far is 100%. And that's pretty good. So we've all had rough days, right? Those days where it feels like you can't do anything And as the day passes your mood declines. And then just when it feels like the day can't get any worse, it does. The hardest part about these bad days is trying to turn your mood around. Just keep in mind that you've had bad, bad days in the past. Right. And what happened? You got through them. In fact, you have a perfect track record of getting through bad days, just like that quote says. So next time you having a rough day, take a step back and remember that you've gotten through them before and you'll get through this Okay. I've got three other things that may help you on rough days. Number one. In the morning, write down 10 things. You're grateful for. Number two. During the day unplug and get outside in nature. Really enjoy your time outside and be present. And number three. In the evening, write down all of your wins for the day. I'm scott colby with say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute Cheers

341: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby from say it with gratitude. It is Friday. That means it's time for some fun. So I want to hear from you. And want you to go to Instagram? Find me on there. My profile is Scott Colby. And send me a DM. Let me know. What's one fun thing you've got going on this weekend. You know, I was talking to my parents yesterday and I was just telling them that I started to do the daily gratitude minute. Once again. Uh, but I wasn't doing it quite every day. And I said, maybe I should change the name. To the daily ish. Gratitude minute. Um, I probably want to officially change it to that, but that's what it seems to have become not doing this every single day. So we can call this the daily ish gratitude minute. Okay. My message for the day. I want you to think about the fact that there are some things that are completely out of our control, right? Uh, natural disaster. A death in the family getting sick. But what we can control is our reaction to the things out of our control. Right. We can control how we respond. We get to choose how to respond to the things out of our control. We can choose to respond in a positive, productive way or a negative, stressful and anxious way. You know, this is much of a reminder to me as it is a message to you. But I hope you take it to heart. Have a fun weekend this is scott colby with say it with gratitude and this has been the daily ish gratitude minute cheers

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby with say it with gratitude. And as I record this on September six, it's a big day because. September 6th, 2016 is the day that I launched say it with gratitude. So we are celebrating. Six years of gratitude. With my brand say with gratitude. So it's a big Uh, when good reason to celebrate, uh, today, I want to talk about meaningful conversations and how you can talk to anyone. You know, meaningful conversations, help us feel closer to the people we care about. It's a really good way to connect with somebody. To have a meaningful conversation Sometimes it's tough to be a good listener though. I'm guilty of it. As you know, As much as anybody else. And I think it's happened to all of us. Sometimes we're just tired from a long day, we're distracted by kids or we're stressed about something in our own life, maybe something at work and. It could be a challenge to sit down and, and just be a present listener to the people who are important in our lives. But the good news is that conversations are skills that we can actively work on and bring us closer to the people we're having the conversation with. I always say that being a good listener is an act of gratitude. It's showing somebody, the person that's doing the talking. That you care about them. And so if you're looking for a way to show gratitude to somebody, just be a good listener. This week. I want you to be more conscious of the interactions that you have. Get beyond small talk, be an active listener and use conversations as a tool for cultivating deeper connections with the people in your life.

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby with say it with gratitude. And you know, I talk a lot about keeping a gratitude journal or writing. Thank you cards. But today I wanna switch things up a bit and share with you eight fun and somewhat different ways to express gratitude. Okay, let's get into it. Number one. Appreciate the simple things in life. Trying to figure out what you're grateful for can seem. Overwhelming. If you're only focusing on big things. What about the simple things in life? That cup of coffee in the morning. The bed you woke up in that beautiful butterfly you saw in your walk. What about your ability to walk? Not everybody has that capability. We tend to overlook the simple things in life and take other things for granted. Try not to do this. Okay. Number two, look up and smile. A lot of people don't smile these days and often you have to be the one that initiates it. But not only the smiling make you feel good, smiling at somebody will make their day too. Smile more and watch how your day can instantly turn around. While you're at it. Give compliments to. Be sincere. Find something about the person that you appreciate and let them know. Okay. Number three, volunteer. Think about giving back to your community. Whether you feed the homeless, build a playground for kids or volunteer at an animal shelter. Find something that will allow you to make a positive impact in the lives of others. This will make you feel great. Number four, create an impact video. Make a video for someone that has. Impacted your life and send it to them. Really make it heartfelt and tell the other person, not only that they have impacted you, but how. I guarantee they will love it. Number five practice, random acts of kindness. Through your generosity, you can positively affect another person's life and bring joy to yourself from having done. So. It could be given a care pass package to the homeless. Handing out roses to random strangers or buying someone in line. A cup of coffee. Number six, keep a gratitude jar. Keep a jar filled with notes on life's blessings, big and small in your home. And whenever you or your spouse or children feel down. Choose a note from the jar for an instant lift. Number seven post positive notes or quotes around your house. To help keep the feelings of gratefulness alive and part of your day, write little positive notes and post them around the house. So they are in plain sight as a steady reminder of all. That is good. At last but not least number eight. Share your gratitude around the dinner table. You can share one thing you were grateful for that day with your family and ask them to do the same. This also helps teach the practice of gratitude to, to children. Enriching their lives. And there you have a eight fun and different ways to express gratitude. I hope these help you i'm scott colby with say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute. Cheers.

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby from SAIT with gratitude. And, you know, one of the most powerful things you can do for somebody else and for yourself is to write a handwritten card, expressing your appreciation for somebody. It's even more powerful. If you don't have a specific reason for writing the card, you just write it. Just because. Imagine how surprised and delighted the recipient of the card will be when they see it in the mail, open it up and read it. But if you don't have a specific reason for writing the card, what you should you say in it? It's sometimes challenging to know what to write. My friend Yasmine told me how he writes his notes of appreciation. So I want to share his format with you. Hopefully this sparks some ideas on what to write. Here's his template as told by Yasmine. He says to start the card with, I remember the time of when. So now you're reconnecting with a moment that you and your card recipient shared something special. A magical moment or experience. And by doing that, now, it brings you into that moment and for the card recipient. And brings them into that moment. The next thing you can write in your card is what I appreciate most about you is. So it's not necessarily something that the card recipient did. It's not a gift that they gave you. But it's a quality about that person. Something that you appreciate about them. And then the final part of the note. This is the part we can just think to yourself. If today was your last day, what would you want that card recipient to know? And then you're going to really dig deep in terms of what you would want to share with the recipient. Now that is a powerful appreciation card template. Thank you for Yasmin for sharing that with me. And imagine if you got a heartfelt card like that in the mail, how would that make you feel? So I want you to go out. Be kind and write somebody a surprise heartfelt note of appreciation. I'm scott colby with say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby with say it with gratitude. You know, we sometimes forget that small, consistent steps can lead to big results. So today I'm here to remind Often we think we need to take big steps in order to make progress towards a goal, but that mindset usually leads to inaction and inconsistency. So instead focus on taking small steps on a consistent basis. Over time, you'll reach a large goal. So if you're building a house from bricks, you're laying them one at a time. Right? The structure doesn't go up overnight. It takes months sometimes more than a year to build that house brick by brick. Think of a goal you're working towards. What's a small action step. You can take towards it today. Now what's a small step you can take tomorrow. How about the next day? Just keep being consistent day after day build that foundation and before you know it you'll reach that goal i'm scott colby with say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude Cheers

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby was saved with the gratitude, wanted to share with you a tip from my book, the grateful entrepreneur, which is all about creating relationships in your business. Uh, tip in there that actually happened to me tonight is get together with your customers and clients while you're on the road or while they're on the road. So this evening, one of my clients that I've been coaching virtually for almost two years, She is vacationing in the smokey mountains, about 45 minutes from where I live in Knoxville. She's here with her husband and son. From New Jersey, she contacted me and said, Hey, can we get together for dinner? So I had a lovely dinner with her, her husband and her son. It was great to meet her in person finally. And that's one of the things that you can do to just grow your relationships with your customers and clients, especially ones that you just interact with virtually. And that is to get together in person with them. When the opportunity presents itself, it can grow your relationship. It can help them stay a client or customer of yours for a much longer period of time. Because now when you meet them in person, you have more of a personal relationship. So when you get the opportunity, meet your clients or customers on the road, we're just get together with them in person. If they're in your city. Now if you want a free digital copy of my book, the grateful entrepreneur, along with some other goodies. Go to gratitude, toolkit.com and you can download it for free. I'm scott colby was say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby. And had a question for you. Do you feel like there is a lack of appreciation in your workplace? You know, research shows that 79% of employees quit their job because they don't feel appreciated at work. And even if a company does have an employee recognition program, most are doing it wrong. You see, during an employee recognition program, a company recognizes an employee for a job. Well done. But as humans, we'd rather be appreciated for our heart. We'd rather be appreciated for who we are as a person. We don't want recognition to be tied to our performance all the time. The other things that most companies don't understand is that each individual employee likes to be appreciated in a specific way. So a company-wide employee recognition program where you might get a thank you and a certificate or a bonus for a job. Well done. Won't work very well. Now for some employees that might be fine for others that might not be meaningful to them. It's up to the leaders to find out how each individual team member likes to be appreciated. And then appreciate each team member in their preferred way consistently. I learned this in the book, the five languages of appreciation in the workplace. And I've been fortunate enough to interview one of the coauthors Dr. Paul White, about this very topic. When you appreciate each team member in their preferred appreciation language on a consistent basis, you'll have employees that perform their best and stick around for the longterm. Resulting in cost savings for the organization. I'm scott colby was say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby was say it with gratitude. Got an unusual idea. Wanted to run by you. You know, I was interviewed on a podcast recently and we were talking about gratitude and connection in the workplace. I think connection really starts with conversations, asking questions, and then creating a safe space that allows your team to open up and speak from the heart. I then talked about a way to take the connection. One step further, get outside in nature if possible, but at least somewhere where there is green. Having conversations by asking meaningful questions is great. But if you're doing it in a conference room or other place at work, you might get distracted or might not be as vulnerable. When you get outside in nature, it stimulates creative thinking, your critical thinking skills improve as well. You have more space to disconnect and breathe and the conversations will be taken to a new level. So even though this might be an unusual idea, it's one that's well worth exploring. I hope you're going to consider this for your workspace, getting outside in nature and having meaningful conversations. I would also love to hear what you think about this idea. So feel free to connect with me. You can email me@scottatscottcolby.com. I'm scott colby was say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby. And today I want to talk about how to turn a negative into a positive. You know, in any given day, we have lots of negative thoughts running through her head. They could be thoughts about us, other people or circumstances, things we don't have literally anything. Well, my recommendation for you this week is to challenge your thoughts. And if they are rooted in negativity, then consciously redirect them into something kind and positive. Here's an example. I hate washing the dishes versus I am thankful that I have food to eat and therefore dishes to clean. It's the same dishes and same you, but a shifted perspective, one negative where the dead end energy and one positive. With possibility for growth. Notice that the positive statement uses gratitude. The active appreciation is a great way to reframe a thought from negative to positive. If you're having negative thoughts, you can always turn to gratitude to change them to something more positive. You got this I am scott colby was say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby of say with the gratitude. And I want to talk about my friend Celine. She lives in Denver, or actually she used to live in Denver at the time of this recording. She just left her home in Colorado, yesterday and moved to Spain with her husband and four cats. Now what intrigues me about her journey is that she had built three businesses in Denver. A successful salon, a coffee shop and a cafe. And she gave them all up. Now she actually sold her coffee shop and cafe and kept the salon, which she's going to be running remotely while her team in Denver holds down the Fort. From the outside, looking in, it seemed like she had at all. So I was really curious as to why she made that decision. She was running three businesses successfully and even navigated them through the pandemic. She had a happy marriage and a home in Colorado. You know, but once the pandemic hit Felina and her husband really took the time to take a step back. And reflect on their lives. And they realized that their businesses were running their lives. They weren't living their lives the way that they wanted. You know, so they put together a two year plan to slowly get rid of everything. Of course not their forecast, but everything else and make that move to Spain. I admire their courage to just go for it. I mean, if it was me, that would be a tough decision. Growing three businesses and put in a lot of time and effort into those. And then just giving them up. So I really admire what Filene and her husband have done. It's making me take a step back and really think about what I want in my life. I do that a lot. Anyway. I'm always thinking about my goals and what the next steps are, but I'm reflecting even more now. Life is short and there's not much time. So I want to ask you, are you living the life that you want? And if not, what is one thing that you want differently in your life? If you're willing to share that with me, I would love to hear from you. You can email me@scottatscottcolby.com. I'm scott colby with say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby from say with gratitude today. I want to give you a tip from my book, the grateful entrepreneur, which will help you build relationships and grow your business. It's an easy tip. Say happy birthday. That's right. I want you to send out birthday cards to every team members and customers on their birthday. If you're connected to your customers on Facebook, the platform lets you know, when it's their birthday. Now it's somewhat a post happy birthday on their timeline. That's, you know, no arguing that, but hundreds of other people are doing the same thing. If you do this, your message. Won't stand out. Recently I read about a CEO named Sheldon Yellen, who handwrites 8,000 birthday cards a year for all of his employees with personalized comments, relevant to each person. In addition, when he hears about random acts of kindness in the workplace. He sends a thank you note to the individual, letting them know their efforts. Didn't go unnoticed. These gestures help Sheldon growing billion dollar disaster relief and property restoration company. In order to get so many cards written Yellen, keeps a stack with him as he travels. He'll knock out a few here and there and it's free time or during a long flight. Yellen reports that the gesture has had an influence on the atmosphere of the company over time. Because people feel appreciated. They're bringing more compassion into the workplace. As simple card can make a big impression. So this week coming in to find somebody on your team, a client, or even a friend, and forget about that Facebook happy birthday. That'll get lost in the sea of other happy birthdays and send them a happy birthday card in the mail instead. And if you want a free digital copy of my book, the grateful entrepreneur, I've got it for you. Just go to gratitude, toolkit.com. I'm Scott Colby with say it with gratitude. And this has been the daily gratitude minute. Cheers

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby. Say it with gratitude and you know, conversations, spark, meaningful connections with others. Can help us come up with fresh new ideas. It can even help us meet new people. However, sometimes we don't know how to start conversations. It's not always easy. Right? When we don't know what to ask, we usually default to small talk, asking questions such as how are you? All this does is to serve, to fill time and it doesn't allow you to really get to know someone. This week. I want you to seek to ask questions that will spark more meaningful conversations and connections. You never know where the conversations might lead you. If you're not sure what to ask, download my gratitude toolkit at gratitude, toolkit.com. I've got many dozens of questions that you can ask and spark, meaningful conversations. I'm scott colby was say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby from state with gratitude. You know, I was recently on one of my gratitude hikes. A couple of weeks ago with three best friends. And we were playing the grateful dead when we stopped first neck. And one of the questions was if you had the entire day off from work, what is one thing you do and why? And it was unanimous. They all said they would be doing what they were doing right in that moment, spending time in nature with friends. The also mentioned that one of the things they were most looking forward to on our hike was a reset and new beginnings to move forward with bigger things in their lives. You see, I think we often get stuck in the day-to-day routine and don't give ourselves space to grow when you're in your home, around the same people and the same technology day after day, week after week, things become routine and stale. You may want to make a change in your life. However, many of us may not give ourselves the space. To imagine what that may look like. On the other hand, getting out in nature, unplugged from technology and with a great friend or two, or even by yourself gives you the necessary space to think. To be creative to problem, solve, to imagine. To daydream. And to figure out exactly how to move forward at a time where you may be stuck. So this week, get outside, leave your phone behind and meet up with a friend and a park or on a hiking trail. It might just be what you need to create something new in your life. If you want some really great tips on gratitude on how to cultivate personal relationships and in your business to cultivate professional relationships, I've got a great gratitude toolkit. Just go to gratitude, toolkit.com and you can download it for free. This is scott colby with a daily gratitude minute i'll see you next time

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. This is Scott Colby with say it with gratitude. A few months ago, I did a virtual gratitude workshop for LinkedIn. And one of the activities I had them do was to take a few minutes and find the most surprising, weird or unique facts about gratitude. Here's just a personal list of what they came up with. Women are more grateful than men. People are less likely to express gratitude at work than anywhere else. Gratitude is good for your cholesterol. Grateful people spend more time. Exercising. Gratitude can improve your sleep. Gratitude can help you achieve your goals and you can overdo it. Now the second one is quite disheartening to learn. It seems hard to believe, but a national survey found that work as the last place. You're likely to hear gratitude. Only 10% of people say thank you to their colleagues on any given day. And 60% of people never express gratitude at work, even then appreciation in the workplace is much more than saying, thank you. It's more about getting to know someone on a personal level and letting them know how much you value them. Uh, not just for the work they do, but for being a human. Let them know a quality about them that you like. That will go a much longer way than saying a thank you for a job. Well done. Now if you want my best tips on how to cultivate gratitude at work in, in your personal life. I've got a gratitude toolkit for free and you can download it at gratitude. toolkit.com. I'm scott colby with say it with gratitude and this has been the daily gratitude minute cheers

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Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. And today I want to give you a tip from my book, the Grateful Entrepreneur, and this tip is going to help you build relationships and grow your business. But this is a tip you can do in your personal life as well. It's an easy one, but not many people are doing it. Pick up the phone and make gratitude phone calls. Remember when our phones were made for calling people. You know, nowadays it seems like they're used for everything, but calling people. So you're going to stand out by making these calls. And ever growing number of social media platforms make the internet a very crowded place. Sometimes it's difficult to make your voice heard above the crowd. That's why it's good to go old school sometimes with a phone call to your clients and customers. Now, not every phone call with your clients and customers need to be about business either. Remember your business is about building relationships and treating your customers like people, not dollar signs. That's right. Pick up the phone and call your customers just to check up on them, see how things are going in their life. Ask if there's anything you could do to help them. This one simple gesture of a personal phone call will go a long way to cultivating relationships in your business. And in your personal life. I remember my first mentor, Ryan Lee, he would call me out of the blue. This was in the days before Facebook and Instagram. And I remember being so excited and surprised when his name showed up on my cell phone. This little gesture is one of the things that has kept me loyal to learning from Ryan for over 20 years. Hope this helps. I'm Scott Colby with the daily gratitude minute and say it with gratitude. I'll see you tomorrow

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Welcome back to the daily gratitude minute. My name is Scott Colby and. My gratitude minute. Hasn't been so daily lately. I haven't done an episode since April 1st. My apologies took some time off, but we're back at it and today's tip. I want to talk to you about. What do you do? If you're struggling with gratitude, you know, let's face it. Sometimes we may find it difficult to practice gratitude. What if we're going through a rough patch in our lives, or how do we practice gratitude then? Or maybe we are practicing gratitude, but we still have a lot of struggles and negative thoughts. Rest assured these struggles and thoughts are normal. But today I'm going to give you three ways to help you practice gratitude. In a meaningful way, which may help you in your time of need. Okay. First tip gets specific in the beginning. We may be vague with our gratitude. I'm grateful for my cat. My family and my friends. However, to really expand on this, try getting a bit more specific each day. Express what or who you're grateful for. But then say why you are grateful. This helps us look outside of the more obvious gratitudes. Dig deep. Okay. Number two, turn it into a game. If you're struggling to find anything, to be grateful for, turn it into a game, challenge yourself, to find a positive in everything, no matter how small or silly you can also reframe situations that may initially seem negative into something positive in this way. For example. My friend canceled on me today, but I'm grateful. It meant I didn't need to get dressed. Okay. Third tip extend your gratitude to someone else. If you've put a particular person on your gratitude list, have you told them. If not, why not? Let your friend know how much you appreciate them. Even better, write them a letter and read it to them. I promise it will be the highlight of their week. And yours too. That's it for the daily gratitude minute. This has been Scott Colby. Thank you so much for tuning in and I'll see you tomorrow.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

248: The Daily Gratitude Minute | Quotes - Gratitude - Happiness

A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

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A positive quote, gratitude and tips on happiness, kindness and living a better life.

Please Do This First

It's so easy to put yourself last on the priority list, right? Whether you're a teacher, a parent or a business owner, we usually wake up and start pouring into others (or in the case of a business owners, we pour into the business). As our day goes along, we're super busy being of service to others, putting out fires and running around. Then, IF there is time at the end of the day, and IF you aren't too exhausted, you might do something to take are of yourself. I'm asking you...pleading with you...to flip this. I read a story this morning about a teacher who woke up one Sunday morning and couldn't move her arm. She had taken on so many responsibilities that she worked herself into exhaustion. Please don't let this happen to you. Whether you go for a walk, meditate, sit down to a nice breakfast, journal, listen to music, take a bubble bath, or just sit and do nothing, take some time at the beginning of your day to do something for YOU. You deserve it. As they say, you can't pour from an empty cup - meaning you can't be the best teacher, parent, business owner, or friend if you don't take care of yourself first. You're no doubt excellent at caring for others. Be excellent at caring for yourself as well. You've got this!

Why?

Keeping a gratitude journal first thing in the morning is a great way to start your day. But for many of us, we tend to just go through the motions. Our journal prompts us to answer the question: What are 3 things you're grateful for today?" My spouse, my job and my dog. Done! Well it's not enough to just write down what you're grateful for. For your life to change, and for you to be happier because you're living in a state of gratitude, you need to take things one steps further. Answer the question why. Why are you grateful for your spouse? Why are you grateful for your job? Why are you grateful for your dog. Take your gratitude deeper when you're writing in your journal this week. Answer the question "why" for each "what" you put in your journal. Imagine your life like without these things or these people in your life. Write those down. One you start doing this, you'll really feel the gratitude and will be living in gratitude.

Best Friends

It's Tuesday and it's time for some fun! Today's thought provoking question from the Friends and Family Edition of the Grateful Deck - "How would you spend six hours with your best friend?" For me, it would be doing something fun outside in nature. It could be a hike, riding bikes, hanging out by a river, kayaking on a lake, ziplining, whitewater rafting or anything else that's fun outdoors! Oh and I almost forgot - coffee. It would start with coffee with a beautiful view.

The 5 Minute Rule

Recently I talked about the importance of making yourself a priority first thing in the morning, by doing something for you - meditation, walking, yoga, gratitude journaling - to name a few examples. I really started to take my morning routine seriously after reading The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod, which outlines how to set up your mornings for success. And when I think about Hal, it reminds me of another lesson I learned from him - his 5 Minute Rule. Hal's 5 Minute Rule helped him get through one of the toughest times of his life - getting hit head on by a drunk driver going 70 mph, and being in a coma for 6 days. Here it is... When things go wrong, give yourself 5 minutes to feel sorry for yourself - complain, moan, cry, punch the wall, whatever you need to do. When the 5 minutes are up, take a deep breath and say, "can't change it." 3 VERY powerful words. I can't change it, therefore I'm not going to feel bad about it. There is no value dwelling on something in the past whether it was 5 minutes in the past, 5 months, 5 years or 5 decades ago, you got to accept it, be at peace with it, and move on. And Hal applied that to the car accident. He couldn't change it. It happened. The best he could do was to not dwell on it and make the very best of his situation, even if he could never walk again and was going to be in a wheelchair his entire life. Powerful! Talk about perspective, and appreciating what you DO have. This is the ultimate example of gratitude. Is there something in your past that you're holding on to that still makes you mad about? Don't dwell on it. Let it go. It's in the past. If it's a person that's made you mad, you could even send a card to them expressing your appreciation for them, even if they did you wrong. Try it! It's powerful!

Do This Tomorrow Morning

How we start our morning can set the tone for the entire day. Do you hit the snooze alarm several times, and then run around frantically trying to get lunches made, breakfast eaten, showered, dressed and off to work on time? Or do you wake up in plenty of time to practice some self-care, such as meditation, reading, yoga or a morning walk, followed by a shower and a healthy breakfast? When you take the time for some self care in the morning, you're setting yourself up to have a good day. Sunday morning, I took a walk to downtown Knoxville, got my cafe au lait and brought my goal setting journal. I sat by a little stream of water in a park downtown and reflected on my goals and my life. It was a wonderful way to begin my day and put me in a good mood. The picture above was my setting. You have the opportunity to spend time on yourself each morning. It's just a matter of making yourself a priority. And even if the rest of your day proves to be challenging, at least you've done something good for you to start your day. So this week, make yourself a priority first thing each morning by doing something that feels good. Feed your soul something positive.

What Would You Do?

This is one of my favorite questions from The Grateful Deck: "If you could spend an entire day doing whatever you want, what would you do?" What's your answer? What would you do? Feel free to reply back and let me know. Here's my answer: My day would be spent outside kayaking on a lake with friends, hiking by a river, having good conversation. I'd also start it with coffee in the mountains, and end it eating dinner on a patio with friends and live music. If there was time, the day could also include ziplining or whitewater rafting or biking. Any of those, and I would be happy. Get out this weekend and do something that makes you happy.

Why You Shouldn't Write In A Gratitude Journal

Recently I was on a Zoom call with my friend Holly Rigsby, and some of her members, and I remembered something very very important. We were talking about a couple of the most common ways to express gratitude - writing in a gratitude journal and writing thank you cards. And that's when I remembered - not everyone likes to do those things. It's important to find what works for you. If you don't like writing in a gratitude journal or writing thank you cards, don't do it. It's OK! Look, I believe everyone should practice gratitude, but there are so many ways to do so, that you should choose a way that feels good to you. A way that you'll stick with and create a habit around. Remember, when you have more gratitude in your life, you'll have more happiness in your life. Here are 5 other ways to make gratitude a part of your life, besides journaling and thank you cards. 1) Live In The Now: It’s easy to dwell on the negatives of the past or worry about the future. If you can live in the moment and take in everything as they happen, you’ll discover joys that are often overlooked. There are joys of watching your child play, the smell of coffee at the local coffeehouse, the conversation with your friend across the table (instead of checking Facebook) and the smell of rain. Relish and embrace these moments. 2) Flash A Smile: A lot of people don’t smile these days, and often you have to be the one that initiates it. But not only does smiling make you feel good, smiling at someone will make their day too. Smile more and watch how your day can instantly turn around. While you’re at it, give compliments too. Be sincere - find something about the person that you appreciate and let them know. 3) Volunteer: Give back to your community. Whether you feed the homeless, build a playground for kids or volunteer at an animal shelter, find something that will allow you to make a positive impact in the lives of others. This will make you feel great! 4) Create An Impact Video: Make a video for someone that has impacted your life and send it to them. Really make it heartfelt and tell the other person not only that they have impacted you, but how. They will love it. 5) Practice Random Acts of Kindness: Through your generosity, you can positively affect another person’s life and bring joy to yourself from having done so. It can be giving a care package to the homeless, handing out roses to random strangers or buying someone in line a cup of coffee. Put one or more of these into practice and you will live with more happiness, joy and optimism!

Smile

There are many different ways to express gratitude. One of my favorites (as you might have guessed from the picture above) is to smile! A lot of people don't smile these days, and often you have to be the one that initiates it. But not only does smiling make you feel good, smiling at someone will make their day too. Smile more and watch how your day can instantly turn around. It can be as simple as smiling at the barista that takes your coffee order, or a stranger that you pass on the street. While you're at it, give compliments too. Be sincere - find something about a person that you appreciate and let them know.

7 Ways To Spark Conversations

Are you ever at a party or team meeting, or even at the dinner table and it's hard to get past the small talk? Most conversations are centered around "how's it going?" or "What's new?" and a lot of times these conversations don't go anywhere. This is where our Grateful Decks can help! With 2 decks to choose from (Friends And Family Edition, Student Edition, each deck contains 120 questions to start conversations that matter. So the days of not knowing what to talk about will be a thing of the past. Here are 7 ideas of how you can use the decks. If you have other ideas, please reply back and let us know. 1) Dinner Table - Put your phones away (you should do this anyway), and keep the Friends And Family Deck at the center of the table. Go around the dinner table and have each person pick a card from the deck and answer it. 2) Start A Meeting - what a way to start a meeting. Draw one card and have everyone answer it. It will be a great way to build those connections at work and to get to know each other better on a personal level. 3) Road Trip - Take a deck with you in the car and use it to get the kids off their phones or to break the silence. I've used them for long car rides and they make the drive go faster. 4) BBQ - If your friends and family are getting together for a party or BBQ, take a few cards with you to deepen the conversation. 5) At School - If you're a teacher, set aside a few minutes each day to draw a card from the Student Deck and have your students take turns answering. It's a great way to get your students to open up more. (TIP: Great unique gift to give teachers at the beginning or end of the school year.) 6) Date Night - Break out the Friends and Family Deck and turn date night into a fun way to get to know your significant other better. 7) Virtually From A Distance - Lots of workplaces and schools are going virtually these days. Start up a conversation using one of the prompts from the Friends and Family or Student Decks to connect better from a distance.

3 Things To Get Through A Rough Day

"On particularly rough days, when I’m sure I can’t possibly endure, I like to remind myself that my track record for getting through bad days so far is 100%, and that’s pretty good." - Author Unknown We've all had rough days, right? Those days where it feels like you can't do anything right, and as the day passes, your mood declines. And then, just when it feels like the day can't get any worse, it does. The hardest part about these bad days is trying to turn your mood around. Just keep in mind that you've had bad days in the past, right? And what happened? You got through them. In fact, you have a perfect track record of getting through bad days. So next time you're having a rough day, take a step back and remember that you've gotten through them before, and you'll get through this one. Three other things that may help you on rough days: 1) In the morning, write down 10 things you're grateful for. 2) During the day, unplug and getting outside in nature. Really enjoy your time outside. 3) In the evening write down all of your wins for the day. You've got this!

Did You Do This As A Kid?

I know it's been a challenging time for all of us during this pandemic, but sometimes you have to look at the bright side of things. For me, that's been getting outside in nature, and doing fun things like hiking, kayaking, or just thinking about life. In fact, although I've enjoyed the outdoors for years now, I feel like I've been outside over the past 5 months more than ever. It sure beats the alternative of sitting at home! :) To me, getting outside in nature is one of the best things you can do for your mind and soul. And speaking of being outside in nature, I just read an article yesterday that said a new study found that for kids to bond with nature, they need to participate in solitary activities outdoors, such as fishing, or just exploring the outdoors. Activities like these encourage children to both enjoy being outside and to feel comfortable there. And when kids get outside more, they enjoy both the physical and mental benefits that come with it. I remember growing up, we lived in a house where there were woods and a creek in the back, and I would spend hours exploring and having fun. Some great memories. What about you? Did you spend time outdoors as a kid? I'd love to know, so feel free to reply and we can both reminiscence. :) One last thing - if kids connected with nature more AND connected with other humans in a deep, meaningful way - man I think that's a recipe for healthy, well balanced kids growing up. I hope to help make this happen.

Be A Good Person

There's a company out of Denver where I used to live called Be A Good Person, and they shared a message on Instagram that really resonated with what we what we believe in here at Say It With Gratitude. They shared: It's a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack. Trust the wait. Embrace the uncertainty. Enjoy the beauty of becoming. With a little courage, anything within you is possible. This is so true. Gratitude has a way of doing that to you. When you really appreciate what you do have, and focus on that, you tend to forget what you don't have. So this evening, before you go to bed, take out a journal or a piece of paper, and write down at least 10 things you are grateful for. Then I want you to sit with it, and imagine that you didn't. have those 10 things, and think about what your life would look like without them. This allows you to truly feel the gratitude.

How To Connect With Students In A More Meaningful Way

Meet The Grateful Deck - Student Edition! That's right! I've poured a lot of time into this to get it ready for the school year, and I'm pleased to launch it a month earlier than anticipated! Here's the reason why putting together a student edition of The Grateful Deck was so important to me: The best educators know that strong relationships are critical for student learning and development. But in order to build meaningful connections with students, we need to understand how they think and feel and why they make the decisions they do. How do we get to know our students’ innermost thoughts and feelings? How do we get them comfortable enough to open up and be heard? The key to building meaningful connections is by asking insightful questions. Asking the right questions can give students the opportunity to open up and help us explore their thinking and better understand their main motivational drivers. The Student Edition of the grateful deck contains 120 questions and prompts to spark thoughtful, fun, and positive conversations between teachers and students and to serve as a reminder of all that we have to be grateful for. Here are some sample questions: What would life look like without teachers? You have one week to raise $1000 to help feed hungry kids. How would you do it? You see a classmate getting bullied. What would you do? Those are just a few thought provoking questions in the Grateful Deck - Student Edition. There are 120 in all. If you're an educator, or know of an educator, this will make a great addition to the classroom this school year, whether in person or online!

I'm Not Sure What To Say

"Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change." - Bob Kerrey One of the most powerful things you can do for someone else, and for yourself, is to write a handwritten card expressing your appreciation for somebody. It's even more powerful if you don't have a specific reason for writing the card. You write it, just because. Imagine how surprised and delighted the recipient of the card will be when they see it in the mail, open it up, and read it. But if you don't have a specific reason for writing the card, what should you say in it? It's sometimes challenging to know what to write. My friend Yasmin told me about how he writes his notes of appreciation, so I want to share his format with you. Hopefully this sparks some ideas on what to write. Here's his template (as told by Yasmin) Dear Name, Start the card with: "I remember the time when..." So now I'm reconnecting with a moment that we shared. Something special. A magical moment or experience. And by doing that now it brings me into that moment. And for the card recipient, it brings them into that moment. The next thing you write: “What I appreciate most about you is..” So it's not necessarily something that you did as a reciprocal or to thank you, but it's about a quality about yourself, something about you that I appreciate most. And then the final part of the note is the part where I just think to myself, if today was my last day, what would I want you to know? And I'm going really deep in terms of what would I want to share with the recipient ----- Wow! Powerful stuff, right? Thanks for sharing that, Yasmin! Imagine getting a heartfelt card like that!! How would it make you feel? So go out, be kind, and write someone a surprise, heartfelt note of appreciation.

How To Talk To Anyone

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” ― Stephen R. Covey Meaningful conversations help us feel closer to the people we care about. But sometimes, it's tough to be a good listener, isn't it? It's happened to all of us - whether we're tired from a long day, distracted by kids or stressed about something at work, it can be a challenge to sit down and be a present listener to the people who are important in our lives. The good news is that conversations are skills that we can actively work on and bring us closer to the people we're having the conversation with. So this week, be more conscious of the interactions you have. Get beyond small talk, be an active listener, and use conversations as a tool for cultivating deeper connections with the people in your life. You've got this!

How To Find The Good During A Pandemic

The Daily Gratitude Minute is a year old. And it's Thanksgiving in the United States. Today we chat about the question: What are you grateful for today that you didn't have until this year?"

Gratitude And Connection

One of my favorite things to talk about, besides gratitude, is connection. Real, genuine connection between human beings. Not your Facebook friends that you don't know, mind you. But people you actually know, or want to get to know. And I've learned one powerful way to have deeper connections with someone is through meaningful conversations. One way to have a more meaningful conversation is to ask good questions. "How are you?" doesn't really lead to a deep conversation. It usually leads to "fine, how are you?" Asking good open ended questions, ones that spark a lot of thought, can really allow you to get to know someone better. And that was my goal with the grateful? game - to ask questions that start conversations that matter, while helping you remember the good in your life. Here are 3 of my favorites from the game: -What basic needs do you always have met, and don't have to worry about, that not everyone has? - How does it make you feel to know that some kids go hungry? What can you do about it? - If you could put an end to one problem in this world, what would it be and why? So next time you're wanting to have a deeper connection with someone, really think about the questions you ask them. Or you can just play the grateful? game!

Gratitude Pictionary

After dinner, you probably need something new to do besides watching Wheel of Fortune, right? (No offense to Pat and Vanna). How about a rousing game of Pictionary, with a twist! Instead of drawing movie titles and the traditional Pictionary fare, each person draws something they are grateful for! All the same rules apply (no words, letters, or numbers, 60 second time limit, once a word is guessed play goes to the other team, etc.) You can use the board game that comes in a regular Pictionary set, or just enjoy drawing and guessing.

Some Good News

Select someone to be a ‘reporter’ and someone else to be ‘cameraman’ (or, note-taker if there is no video camera available). The reporter’s task is to find out from guests what they are most thankful for. The reporter can be as creative as they like with their questions! If it is possible, you can even actually video-record the ‘interview’ and play it to the group later. Or, alternatively, the reporter(s) and scribe can give a “live” report of what they found

Gratitude Drawing

Create a picture of the people and things that you are most grateful for. Display it, such as put it on the fridge, which will help you recall what you’re grateful for and be encouraged to continue practicing gratitude.

Track 3 Good Things

Every day, note down three good things about the day. As the week comes to an end, look at your list to remember that you have a lot to be thankful for.

Ungrateful Thoughts

Notice one ungrateful thought each day to choose to transform into a grateful one…e.g. “what a rotten day at work, so stressful! I hate my job” could be transformed to “I am tired at the end of this day but I feel lucky to have my job that pays the bills”.

Appreciation Chair

Choose one chair to be the ‘appreciation chair’. In turn, each person sits in the appreciation chair and everyone tells that person why they appreciate them and to express gratitude – for example, for kindness the person in the appreciation chair has showed, or help that they have given.

Grateful For Nature

I am grateful for NATURE. Period. I love being in the city but nothing grounds me and sets me at peace more than being out amongst the trees, the mountains, and the waters with the sights, sounds and smells of nature.

Going Around The Table

This activity is great for group/family dinners. Set the table, and put an index card and pen at each place setting. Then, each person writes the name of the person sitting to their left at the top of the card, and then writes something about that person for which they are thankful. Then, the card is passed to the right and that person can then continue the list on the index card. Every card will eventually get back to the person that the list was for. After the activity, read the ‘thank yous’ aloud.

356 Thank YouNotes

This activity is not for the faint-hearted! It involves setting about to write one thank you note for each day of the year. You will need to be on the lookout for people you can thank…your child’s preschool teacher, the cashier at your local grocer, the post-man…

Gratitude 100

Write a list of 100 things that you are grateful for. If you wish, you can distinguish between different categories – assets, people, experiences, for example.

Gratitude Lookout

Choose a particular day on which you’re actively going to notice people you can thank. Keep an eye out for things that others do on that day that are kind, helpful, or considerate…don’t be afraid to use ‘thank you’!

Four Gratitude Questions

In order to reflect on the things that you’re grateful for, ask yourself these questions at the end of the day: What touched me today? Who, or what, inspired me today? What made me smile today? What’s the best thing that happened today?

Gratitude For Objects And Tools

Spend some time considering all the various gadgets, devices and appliances you have that make life easier and more enjoyable. Take a moment to appreciate these things in your home and feel grateful for all the people who made it possible to have these things that make life so much more convenient.

Through The Eyes Of Another

Occasionally, we begin taking the good things in our life for granted. Choose to try and see things, people, and places that you love in the way that another person would see them. Look at the ordinary aspects of your life through the eyes of another, and re-discover your appreciation for these things.

Gratitude Immersion

This is an exercise about noticing positive feelings. Look around you, and find something that pleases you. Then, focus your attention on the object, and think about its’ positive qualities. The more you think about it, the more that positive feelings will increase. Then, notice that shift in your feelings and appreciate it. Once you begin to really experience the good feeling, choose another pleasing object in your environment to pay attention to.

Gratitude Partner

Spend time with another person sharing what both of you are grateful for – you can both feed off each other’s ideas, and if you know one another well you can even remind each other of things that you may have forgotten! You can even play the Gratitude Alphabet Game with each other.

Gratitude Triggers

Use an object that can serve as a reminder to feel grateful when you see it – for example, you could put a small sign next to your desk that says “thank you”, or perhaps you can put a ‘welcome’ doormat at the front-door to remind you to be thankful of your home.

Things You Take For Granted

This exercise involves picturing what it would be like to lose some of the things that you take for granted – such as your senses, your home, and so on. Then, imagine that you get these things back and think about how grateful you would be for each of these things.

Morning Coffee Gratitude

Begin the day thinking of all the things you are grateful for. If you think you won’t find the time, or that you will simply forget, perhaps you can tie your gratitude practice with your first cup of coffee in the morning. To develop a sense of gratitude, begin by reflecting on what you’re thankful for in regards to your coffee routine. Notice and appreciate: The warmth and texture of the cup The smell of the coffee Tasting the first sip of coffee Embracing the beautiful morning Celebrate a new day Take pleasure in the peace and quiet before the day officially begins.

Writing Gratitude Cards

Taking the time to write a card of thanks or appreciation can benefit both the writer and the recipient. While it is lovely to write and receive gratitude letters, what is even more special is to write a card. You can take the time to make a special card, using your favorite paper-craft materials or perhaps utilizing a template that can be found online. Decorate the card – enjoy the creative process! If you really are too busy to make a card, there are many commercially available thank-you cards that are lovely too. Write a simple but meaningful message in the card. It need not be lengthy or wordy, keep it to the point. Then, either send the card via the post or, even better, hand-deliver it. The recipient of the gratitude card will be so touched that you not only took the time to express your appreciation, but that you went to the effort to make a card.

Keeping A Gratitude Box

Something as simple as a box can help in the practice of gratitude. Choose a box, and make it appealing by decorating it or adding other personal touches. If a box really isn’t your ‘thing’ perhaps you can write a list…use special paper. The idea is to make the box or list special. Keep the box or list somewhere where you can see it so that you can use it easily and also so you don’t forget about it when life gets busy! (Thornton, 2016). Put a pen and paper close by, too, so you’re all set up to make entries. Perhaps you could even put a special pen in the box itself. Then, record the good things that happen on small pieces of paper and either put the paper in your box, or write the good thing that has happened on your special paper (Thornton, 2016). Spend time regularly reflecting on whoever, or whatever, makes you feel appreciative and grateful (Thornton, 2016). Record the date on the piece of paper, and write about what you are grateful for that day – for example, perhaps you have had a pleasant surprise such as a gift, or maybe you accomplished one of your goals. It doesn’t have to be something significant – you may simply record a fun or memorable moment (Thornton, 2016). Then, choose a special day (such as New Year’s Eve, or your next birthday). Open your box, or sit down with your list, and read over all the great things that have happened over the year that you are truly grateful for (Thornton, 2016). This is an easy and fun activity that helps you to reflect on happy memories.

Sunny Side Up Studio

On Monday I mentioned that I spent the day in the mountains of Colorado - Frisco to be exact. While I was there, I spent some time in my friend Ash's art studio called The Sunny Side Up Studio. They have drop in workshops and scheduled art classes for toddlers, kids and adults. It's just a great place to be creative, and Ash even sells a lot of her handmade art there, which is pretty fantastic. The fact that I can call Ash a friend is also fantastic, especially since I only met her a handful of times. In fact, the first time I wandered into her store, Ash instantly welcomed me and treated me like a friend. She took the time to get to know me, and learned about Say It with Gratitude. She was so warm and welcoming and full of positivity. My type of person! :) It's the way you should feel when you enter someone's store. Have you ever walked into a business and felt like the people that worked there didn't care about you? No hello. No warm greeting. This is the exact opposite of what you'll feel when you walk into The Sunny Side Up Studio. You'll feel like you've walked into an old friend's house. And that's how you should be making your customers feel. Like an old friend. And guess what? I'm a sucker for art with positive sayings. But usually when I leave a place that sells this type of art, I leave without buying anything. Well I've been in Ash's studio a few times and have bought 3 pieces of her art and a gift card. That should tell you something. It's all about the way she has made me feel. Now go out and make someone smile today! :)

Happy Birthday Nomar

Gratitude Wall

A gratitude wall is an effective way to express appreciation, either at home or in the workplace, by displaying your gratitude visually. To make a gratitude wall, write down the things that you are grateful for on sticky notes. Then, stick the notes to a designated area either on a wall, or a door, or a mirror to provide visual reminders of all the good things that you have in your life. You could even use a bulletin board on which to create a visual representation of the things you are thankful for. You can also include brief notes, such as simple words, like Lake and Mom to remind you of the things and people who you are grateful for.

Gratitude Rocks

Gratitude rocks (or stones) act as reminders to be thankful. For example, one use of a gratitude rock is to keep it in your pocket to remind yourself to be grateful. Melody Beattie (n.d.) explained that this idea was portrayed in the movie called ‘The Secret’ – Lee Bower describes that every time he touched the small rock, he would identify something, or someone, he was grateful for. In the morning when he places the rock in his pocket, he thinks about what he is thankful for, and then in the evening when he empties his pocket and takes out the rock, he reflects on those things that he is grateful for once again. Alternatively, you could place the gratitude rock around the area in which you work and, every time you notice it, take the time to pick up the rock and think of one thing in your life that you are grateful for

Hug Your Customers!

Hug Your Customers! Maybe not literally, especially if you have an online business. That would be hard. But Hug Your Customers is the name of a book I'm reading, and I'm recommending it to you. The book is written by Jack Mitchell, the Chairman of Mitchell Stores, a three-generation family business that operates men’s and women’s specialty stores in Connecticut, New York, California, Washington and Oregon that are nationally renowned for their personal service touches and strong relationships. (let me share with you the description of the book from Amazon, since I just started reading it) Mitchell, whose father started the business, shares the secret of his success in this unoriginal but cheerful guide to keeping customers happy. Hugging your customers, he says, has nothing to do with being touchy-feely around them and everything to do with offering them over-the-top service. For Mitchell, that means literally offering a customer the coat off your back, if that's the only one left in the store in the customer's size and preferred style and color. It means going to customers' homes to tie their bow ties for big events. It means serving coffee and bagels in the store and giving away hot dogs in the parking lot on summer Saturdays. Some might view this as fawning, but for Mitchell, it's the best way to keep customers coming back. I love the message in the book. For one, it aligns with much of what I talk about in The Grateful Entrepreneur. But it also can be summarized into this simple concept: be kind to others and make them happy. Which is the foundation of a successful business.

How To Go Beyond The Handwritten Note

OK you know by now how much I love handwritten notes, and I believe everyone should send them, both personally and professionally. I mean, wouldn't that make the world a better place? But if you're a business owner, and you've been sending handwritten notes for awhile now, what can you do to go beyond that? What can you do to keep your clients and customers surprised and delighted? Include package inserts! Adding something small to an order that’s heading out the door is a great way to say thank you. You’ve already paid for the shipping and the box, so this is one of the most cost-effective ways to give customers a little extra delight. Packaging inserts are all about exceeding customer expectations. Unboxing is an experience in itself, and customers look forward to the moment they get to hold their new product in their hands. You can surprise and delight them with just a little extra effort. For some of the card orders I ship out, I've been putting a fun sticker in with the shipment. People love putting stickers on laptop cases and it's just fun to get a little something extra with your order. Sticker Mule is a cool business where you can have custom stickers, magnets and coasters made, and it's who I've been using for my stickers. Don't have a business where you're shipping anything out? No worries. How about creating a personal video for your customer? Or surprising them by mailing them a favorite book? The ways to surprise and delight your clients and customers are endless. You just have to sometimes be creative. And that's the fun part!

The Easiest Way To Thank Your Customers

I stumbled upon this quote the other day and it really resonated with me. "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." Mother Teresa Sometimes, we can forget how easy it is to make someone’s day. A simple thank you, smile or personal note can have a lasting and meaningful impact on a customer, and help create an emotional connection they won’t soon forget. Heck you should be doing this to all people...all humans. Not just your customers. But let's focus on your customers for the purposes of this message. You should really be thanking your customers and clients all year round, not just when they purchase something or in December around the holidays. But what's the real reason behind this? 1) Your customers want to feel valued. I speak about this all the time in my gratitude talks around the country. We're human. We all want a feeling of acknowledgement, belonging and connection. That means we want to feel valued. No one likes being in a one-way relationship - the kind where you’re the only one committing any time or attention to keeping it going. When you’re always giving and never receiving, it’s easy to feel unappreciated and undervalued. 60% of businesses have lost a customer because they feel the business is indifferent to them. Clearly customers expect a little gratitude in return for their business. In order to avoid losing them, the simplest thing you can do to make a customer feel valued is to continually thank them for being part of your community. Through social messages, personal videos and handwritten notes, you can remind customers that you are aware of their business and appreciate it. 2) Thanking customers and clients have financial benefits. Studies have shown that 38% of customers attribute a good customer experience to personalization, and a good customer experience is what will keep delighting your customers. When your customers are happy, they’re bound to come back to your brand, join your community, and make more purchases as a result! In fact, it turns out that 86% of shoppers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience. If we put those two points together, we can see that customers want a personal, emotionally driven customer experience. As a result, building a personalized experience leads to a better customer experience which customers are willing to pay more for. If you want to increase profitability, start getting personal! When you acknowledge each of your customers individually for being engaged members of your brand community, you demonstrate a desire to get to know them and continue building that relationship. So what's the easiest way to start thanking your customers? Handwritten thank you notes. You can start by sending a thank you note anytime a customer places an order with you. This is by far one of the easiest and most effective strategies to start implementing. Writing a genuine handwritten note will go such a long way. You can brighten their day by acknowledging their business every time they place a new order. But don't just send notes each time they place an order. You want to show gratitude for them all year round. Remember, your customers want to feel valued. In a world driven by texts, Snapchat and Instagram, there are few things as exciting as receiving a handwritten card. There’s something special about knowing that someone took the time to sit down and address them personally that makes it immediately more valuable. This goes a long way in a world that has become obsessed with automation, and will help you further distinguish yourself from your competition. Need some cool cards that give back to kids in need? Check these out.

Grateful Fur Friends

I often think how much joy and happiness animals can bring us. We can be having a really bad day, and we come home, and our animals love on us. I know that’s how I feel about my cat Mia. She makes me smile all day long! They can instantly change our mood, and they are such an important part of our lives. I know there are dogs now that are helping military vets and patients in hospitals. Last year during our Gratitude Adventure, we spent a day at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah, and believe me, it was a treat to love on the animals over there. Do you have any pets? I'd love to see a picture if you do! Shoot me an email at scott@scottcolby.com

How To Make The Most Out Of A Bad Situation

I’ve talked a lot about creating a gratitude habit, and different ways to express gratitude. Once you’ve established a daily gratitude habit, be sure to fuel the habit. How do you do that? Well, we’re going to have bad days or bad situations from time to time. That’s unavoidable. So how can you use gratitude to help out during the times where you’re feeling a little down? My friend Yasmin Nguyen likes the concept of a kick-ass jar as a way to fuel some positive into a bad day. Have you ever struggled with self-doubt or just felt stuck in a rut? Of course you have. We all have. Life is such a roller coaster ride. One day you’re on top, with everything going your way. And the very next day, it can all come crashing down. Anxiety about life sets in and you’re riddled with worry, depression, and self-doubt. It’s awful. That’s where the kick-ass jar comes in, which is really just an empty jar with a fancy name. Take a little tablet of sticky notes and carry it with you every day. When something positive happens, write it down, and put it in the kick-ass jar. It can be anything— having an inspiring conversation, feeling inspired by the scenery on a hike, finishing a project at work or receiving or writing a thank you card. Record every win from your day, no matter how big or small. Then when you’re having a rough day—and you WILL have rough days—take out a few of the sticky notes from the kick-ass jar and read them. This will provide an instant boost in confidence and self-esteem. In no time, you’ll feel your kick-ass attitude returning. What about those situations that pop up each day, such as being stuck in traffic? Believe me, there is a ton of traffic in Denver, so even I need a strategy for this. ;) My friend Kevin Clayson talks about flipping the gratitude switch - finding the awesome in bad situations. How do you find the awesome in being stuck in traffic on your way to work? Well at least you have a car. Some people don’t, and have to rely on the bus or walking everywhere. Be grateful that you have a car. At least you have a job to go to. Some people don’t have a job and struggle to put food on their plate. Or are homeless. Be grateful that you have a job and enough money to live. When you put things in perspective, it’s easy to find the gratitude in bad situations, right? Use these strategies to fuel your gratitude habit and you’ll be living with a grateful heart all day long!

Why Kids Need Gratitude

A couple years ago, I got to speak at Humanex Academy in Denver about the power of gratitude. Humanex is not a typical school. Many of these young adults had not been successful at other schools. I loved having the opportunity to speak there!! I'm seeing more schools bring in speakers like me to talk about gratitude and kindness and I love it. I think kids should learn about gratitude at an early age. With all of the bullying, violence, anger, anxiety, depression and complaining in this world, gratitude can help lessen all of these. It must be tough to be a kid these days. The world is a lot different place than when I was a kid, and there is a lot happening that I don't like to see. I believe gratitude can give kids a different perspective on life, and will help them have a more positive outlook while being kind to others. My trip to Guatemala showed me how bad some kids really do have it. Gratitude can shift your perspective on things. If you have kids in your life that you love, I challenge you to bring a daily practice of gratitude into their lives. If you need any ideas, let me know. I'd be more than happy to help out. And...if you're a teacher at a school, or work for a company and are interested in having me come in to speak about gratitude, please send me an email to scott@scottcolby.com

Good Morning

Saturday morning, I walked into a breakfast place here in Denver, and said "good morning" to the hostess at the front. She asked, "What?" I said..."I wished you a good morning," and smiled. She was a bit taken aback and slightly surprised saying that nobody ever says that. "Customers always come in and just instantly say how many are in their party," she explained to me. She said my "good morning" was nice to hear. Have we really lost that human to human connection that much? I hope not, but in this technological age, I think it's getting worse. However, not all hope is lost. On Sunday, I read a heartwarming story: An 18 year old server at a Waffle House took the time to cut an elderly customer's ham because he couldn't do it. Despite the reataurant being very busy, she took the time to do it. Someone snapped a picture, and it went viral. From that kind act, she won a college scholarship and had a day named after her in the town. All from doing what's right...which is so rare these days. Aahhh, good 'ole human to human connection. I love it! My wish for you - say "good morning" to someone. You never know when you'll make someone's day!

My 3-1-3 System For Gratitude

I wanted to give you my 3-1-3 system for gratitude. If you follow this daily, I truly believe it has the power to change your life. 3 - when you wake up in the morning, take out a journal and write down 3 things or people you're grateful for. Don't just say what they are, add WHY you're grateful for these 3 things. Really feel it, believe it and live it. 1 - In the evening, maybe when you've put away your work for the day, think of one person that impacted you during the day that you're grateful for. This can be the co-worker that helped with a project, the spouse that you woke up to in the morning, the barista at the coffee shop who smiled at you and was kind...anyone. Take this a step further, and tell that person that you are grateful for them and why. Even better, send them a handwritten thank you card. 3 - Before you go to bed, list 3 wins for your day, big or small. We often beat ourselves up for failures or things we didn't do. I want you to go to bed in a celebratory mood. So write down your 3 wins daily before heading to bed. That will put you in a good mood when you shut the lights off. And that's it! Pretty simple stuff, but this needs to be done each day to have the maximal optimal effect on you. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

How Rich Are You?

How rich are you? I'm not talking about money. I'm talking about how rich is your life? Rich with friends, rich with experiences, rich with nature, rich with fun, rich with adventure... We often forget about these things, don't we? Or take them for granted. I know I do. A few years ago, when I was living in Denver, I escaped to Salida, a little mountain town about 2 1/2 hours from Denver to celebrate my birthday I got to experience the peace and quiet and the beauty all around me. I felt truly rich. And while my business has it's ups and downs, and its challenges that I sometime struggle to get through... This weekend was a great reminder that I am rich. And for that, I am grateful.

Would You Like Cream With Your Coffee?

OK, I'm really impressed with Mary Kay Ash, who founded Mary Kay Cosmetics. She was known for saying, “Customer focus is truly the key. It’s the real test of service, and service is the real heart of our business.” She also was known for writing 3 thank you cards each evening before bed, which helped grow her business to what it is now... She hit the nail on the head. As a small business or entrepreneur, if you treat your customers like a genuine relationship, they’ll want to do business with you again. If you treat them like a transaction, that doesn’t feel good to your customer. The likelihood of them coming back is diminished. When I lived in Denver, my favorite coffee shop was Fluid Coffee Bar. Yes they make the best cafe au lait with almond milk, but the real reason I come back day after day are their baristas. They’re friendly. They’re engaging. They know my name. They smile and talk to me. They know I run Say It With Gratitude and love Virginia basketball and that I’ve traveled to Guatemala. They give me a simple hello and ask me how I’m doing. They treat me like a human. Imagine that! Conversely, when I lived in another part of Denver, there was a coffee shop I went to probably at least 20 times. Even though I loved the atmosphere and location, not once did any of the baristas ask me how I was, got to know my name, or said, “have a good day.” I started to resent going to that place. It felt like a transaction. You want to have a relational business, not a transactional one. Make your customers feel acknowledged, like they belong and give them a sense of connection. Do this, and you’ll have a successful business for a long time.

Oprah’s Doing This

Guess what Oprah, Richard Branson and Taylor Swift have in common? They all write personal handwritten notes on a regular basis. The late George H.W. Bush did too! I think in this digital age, we could all use a little more snail mail in the world right now. Don't you? And I'm not talking about more ads and bills. Believe me, we've got plenty of those. Did you know that not including holiday cards and invitations, the average American household receives just 10 pieces of personalized mail in a year? In this day in age of email, text, Snapchat and Facebook messaging, good old snail mail is almost non existent. But we can save it! You can send a handwritten note for any reason...to say thank you, to congratulate someone or just because you were invited to a friend's for dinner. It stands out and means a lot more to the recipient vs. if you just shot off a text or an email. If you're a business sending out notes, you'll REALLY stand out, which means more business for you. Writing a note by hand feels good and makes you more creative. With the number of hours we spend in front of a screen, we need to get away from screens and let our creative juices flow. Handwritten notes feel good and make you happy. Think of the last time you received a handwritten note in the mail. Didn't it make you smile? Plus handwritten notes linger. A lot of us are trying to clear out our email inbox. Handwritten notes stick around for awhile on desks or stuck to a fridge. Getting started is easy. Purchase some blank cards like these. Cards that are hand-drawn or give back to charity have special meaning. Get some stamps and a nice pen, and put everything in a box. Now you're ready to go! So the next time you want to say thank you to someone. Don't get on your computer. Get our your cards and pen instead. You'll make someone's day. And that's what the world needs more of right now.

3 Surprising Benefits Of Gratitude You Didn't Know About

I was reading an article recently from the Happier Human blog and the topic was about all the benefits of gratitude. And some, I didn't even know about. You've heard me talk about how gratitude can increase your happiness and optimism, while reducing stress and complaining. But check out these 3 unusual benefits of gratitude: 1) Gratitude increases your productivity. Those who are insecure have difficulty focusing because many of their mental resources are tied up with their worries. On the other hand, those who are highly confident are able to be more productive, because they can direct more of their focus towards their work. This operates at both a conscious and subconscious level – we may be getting mentally distracted by our worries, or more commonly, parts of our subconscious mind are expending energy to suppress negative information and concerns. As gratitude has been shown to increase self-esteem and reduce insecurity, this means that it can help us focus and improve our productivity. 2) Gratitude improves your sleep. Gratitude increases sleep quality, reduces the time required to fall asleep, and increases sleep duration. That means gratitude helps with insomnia! The key is what’s on our minds as we’re trying to fall asleep. If it’s worries about the kids, or anxiety about work, the level of stress in our body will increase, reducing sleep quality, keeping us awake, and cutting our sleep short. The next time you have trouble sleeping, play the gratitude alphabet game. Start with the letter A and think of one thing you're grateful for beginning with that letter. Then do the same thing for B, C and all the way to Z. So much better than counting sheep. :) 3) Gratitude increases your energy levels. Research shows that gratitude and vitality are strongly correlated – the grateful are much more likely to report physical and mental vigor. If you weren't a believer in gratitude before reading this, I bet you are now! :) And if you aren't making gratitude a daily practice, I encourage you to start today.

You Matter

A couple years ago, I had a call with the founder of Choose2Matter, and I love her message. Choose2Matter is a global movement that challenges us to make "mattering" a way of life. When people accept they matter and know their actions count - learning, lives and worlds change. I feel like Say It With Gratitude is on a similar mission; that is to make everyone feel appreciated. This reminds me of the interview I did with Orly Wahba, author of Kindness Boomerang, for the Happy Life Summit. When she was in high school, she and her family went through a really tough time, and Orly had to miss several weeks of school. In that time, no one from her school checked on her, and Orly felt like she didn't matter. From that point on, she made it her mission to make everyone she encountered feel seen. To feel like they matter. I think this is such an important thing to think about. How can we make others feel like they matter? We all want that feeling, right? To be valued, and validated and appreciated.

Where Can I Mail You A Gratitude Card?

Hi, it's Scott, the Founder of The Daily Gratitude Minute For the past couple of weeks on Facebook, I've been doing Pay It Forward Friday, where I offer to send out a gratitude card in the mail to anyone who wants one. I mean, afterall, you know how much I love to send handwritten thank you notes. And I know how much people like you love getting cards in the mail. :) So I want to make you the same offer. Just email me at scott@scottcolby.com with your mailing address, and in a few days, you'll have a card from me to you waiting in your mailbox. I'm big on relationships and connection and this is one way that I can connect with you more.

What 3 Things Are You Grateful For

This morning I was doing gratitude during my meditation session using background music from the app Calm. Meditation and gratitude are 2 of my morning rituals and today I decided to combine the 2. Many times when I express gratitude, I focus on the "things" that I have. But today, I thought of something new and I am going to take this approach moving forward. I focused on these 3 things during my gratitude session: Self Gratitude Gratitude for someone and why Gratitude for anything you want to be grateful for 1) Self Gratitude - what is something about yourself that you're grateful for. This is important as we often are critical of ourselves and don't take the time to appreciate a characteristic or trait about ourselves. So this morning, I expressed gratitude for my humor and my ability to make people laugh. 2) Gratitude for someone and why - it's easy to express gratitude for someone, but take it deeper and really think about WHY you're grateful for that person. Make it even more meaningful and send them a handwritten card. Today I expressed gratitude for my dad and his desire to learn more about what I'm doing with my business. 3) Gratitude for anything you want to be grateful for - this is pretty self-explanatory and it's often how we think of gratitude. Today, I expressed gratitude for my apartment. It's getting cold here in Denver and there are lots of people without homes. I'm so grateful I have a warm place to go each day. I'd love to hear what you think of this new gratitude approach. You can even reply to this email and let me know what you're grateful for today using the above formula.

Gratitude In Schools

If you're a teacher or other educator, here is a cool gratitude activity to try with your classroom. Or if you are a parent of kids in school, you can suggest this: Gratitude Cards for the Community. Write cards of gratitude and deliver them to people in the greater school community, e.g., janitor, food staff, school administration, teachers, school nurses, etc. Expand this exercise to include the local community, such as police, fire station, bank, grocery store, hospital, electricians, etc. Among other benefits, gratitude helps kids feel better about school and makes educators feel less emotionally exhausted. Try it out!!

The Gratitude Jar

Have you ever heard of a Gratitude Jar? The concept is quite simple: You jot down things that you and your family are grateful for throughout the year on small slips of paper and put them in the jar. Anyone can grab a scrap of paper and add it to the jar. This is a great way to instill gratitude in your children and learn to appreciate the little things in life, that we might take for granted. TIP: Make your gratitude more powerful by adding a statement of WHY you're grateful for whatever you're writing down for your gratitude. Then, at the end of the year, you and your family can sit down together, pour out all the slips of paper and share all of the grateful memories. You can start your gratitude jar any time of the year, but many people like to start on January 1. I've heard of a gratitude jar before, but my sister recently sent me an email that Oprah just came out with her Favorite Things list this year, and included a Gratitude Jar! So what do you think? Have you ever used a Gratitude Jar? Do you think you'll start using one? Write me back and let me know! I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

I'm Grateful For You Because

I am grateful for you because... How powerful are those 6 words? Extremely! However, I feel like these 6 words aren't used often enough. More and more people are adopting a gratitude practice, which I love! But I feel like many people are just going through the motions: I'm grateful for my house, my bed and my dog Fido. I want to challenge you to take your gratitude deeper and express not only WHAT you're grateful for, but WHY you're grateful for that thing or person. It will make things much more powerful. For example, I'm grateful for my dog Fido because he loves me unconditionally. Everytime I come home, even if I'm down or had a bad day, he puts a smile on my face. He licks me and let's me give him belly rubs and then we have fun playing fetch. That's so much more powerful than just saying, I'm grateful for my dog. Especially when you're telling another human being that you're grateful for them. Take it one step further and tell them WHY. Whether you are telling them in person or in a card, it's going to be so powerful for them and you. And you might see some tears. Believe me. :) Have a grateful day!

Grateful For Failures

In October of 2000, I packed my 1992 Honda Accord as full as I could and took off to Phoenix, Arizona. 2 weeks prior, I had quit my well paying research job at a children's hospital in Dallas, Texas to start a new life in Arizona. I was pursuing my dream of working in the fitness industry and living wherever I wanted to. By Christmas my dreams had landed with a thud. I was fired from the fitness job I was working in, and didn't have anywhere to turn. I hadn't made many contacts in the 2 months I was there. I was out of a job and almost out of money. My nights were filled with tossing and turning in bed and lots of tears. What had I done? I had left a well paying, stable job in Dallas. I had turned my relationship with my girlfriend at the time to a long distance one, which wasn't easy. And just 2 months later, I had nothing to show for it. So in April on 2001, I packed up my bags and moved back to Dallas. I felt defeated, like a failure. Fast forward to 2005 and I was running a very successful women's only bootcamp that lasted 5 1/2 years. Fast forward 5 years after that and my entire business was online, allowing me the freedom to move to the beautiful state of Colorado, where I'm surrounded by mountains and all the outdoor fun you could ever want. More recently I took another risk, and launched Say It With Gratitude in 2016 So what did that experience in Arizona teach me? Taking a risk and "failing" taught me a lot. It taught me to stare fear in the face and confront it head on. It taught that the "worst case scenario" isn't as bad as I thought, and I was able to survive. It taught me the importance of my family and friends during one of the low points of my life. It taught me that to achieve my goals and dreams, that I have to get uncomfortable and step out of my comfort zone. But most of all, it taught me the joys of running my own small business where I get to help others on a daily basis. And even though running a small business has it's ups and downs, I wouldn't trade it for the world. :) We don't have long on this Earth, so go out and pursue your dreams. Don't wait! And be grateful for your "failures." :)

Hello

I don't think we say hello enough. I really noticed this when I took a trip to Guatemala in July 2014 to help build schools for some kids in communities that didn't have much. What stood out was how friendly everyone was to each other. In the morning, I'd be walking to breakfast with the other volunteers and everyone I passed on the street would say "buenos dias" which means "good morning." And they would look at you in the eye and smile while saying this. I couldn't help but smile and say "buenos dias" right back at them. When I returned to Denver, I noticed that we rarely do this. Most of the people I pass on the street do not say hello, or look at you. Even in the hallways of my apartment complex, almost everyone I pass is either looking down on their phone, or looking straight ahead, trying NOT to make eye contact. And they usually aren't smiling either. :( From someone who has spent some time in Guatemala where everyone seems friendly, one little hello can go a long way. Believe me. If someone says hello to you and smiles, it will instantly make you feel good. If you do it to someone else, you will instantly make them feel good. But don't wait until someone else says hello to you. Take the lead, and start to say hello to everyone you pass. I can guarantee your day will be better because of it.

Gratitude Cookies Turn Into $25,000

When is the last time you got a thank you card from a business when you were the customer? I'm talking about a handwritten thank you note that you received in the mailbox. If it's been awhile, you might not even know the answer. Now, let's turn the tables. When's the last time YOU sent a thank you card to one of your customers? Or a co-worker? Or a vendor? Or to anyone for that matter? It it's been more than 30 days, it's been too long. Acts of gratitude can be the differentiating factor in business. Even though it's so simple, relatively few businesses use appreciation as a way to stand out from the competition. Clients and customers want to feel appreciated. Like they matter. And sending handwritten thank you notes to your customers will do that. I recently read an article about a business owner who had a meeting with a prospective client. After the meeting, he sent the prospect a Signature Box of Gratitude Cookies to say thank you for the meeting. That investment turned into a $25,000 contract. Pretty awesome return for saying "thank you" in a unique way. So think about who you can send a thank you card to today.

Gratitude Gifts

I'm a member of a few fitness groups on Facebook and a common question I've seen a few fitness owners ask recently is what gift should they give their clients to show appreciation. People have been suggesting yoga mats, gloves, jump ropes, t-shirts, water bottles with the business logo on them, journals, towels with the business logo on them and gift cards. I don’t think any of these are great ideas. First of all, if you give your clients a gift with your business logo on it, it smells of self-promotion, NOT true appreciation. Secondly, if you get every client the same gift, it shows that you didn't put much thought into truly appreciating them. If you get everyone a Starbucks gift card, guess what? Not everyone drinks coffee (or likes Starbucks). If you get everyone a bottle of wine, guess what? Not everyone likes wine. Or they might be a recovering alcoholic. Many of these clients have been with you for a year or longer. And they've spent hundreds, if not thousands of dollars with your business. Spend a little extra time and money to personalize the gift to each individual. This goes for any business owner, or anyone that wants to show appreciation in the workplace. If you truly care and love your clients (which I know you do or you wouldn't have a business without them) take a little extra time and spend a little extra money to make the gift personal. That little extra effort will go a long way. There is a great book that I just finished reading called Giftology. It's all about the art of appreciating clients with gifts. The book suggests you make the gift one that the spouse can enjoy too. One of the suggested gifts is an engraved carving knife (engraved with the client's name, not your logo). :) Then, anytime the recipient or spouse uses the knife, your name will come front and center in their mind, And if you don't have the money for gifts, no worries. A well thought out handwritten thank you note showing true appreciation for your client will be a winner! Much better than a towel with your logo on it, don't you think? :)

5 Weird Ways To Show Gratitude

Normally when talking about ways to express gratitude, I talk about keeping a gratitude journal, or writing handwritten thank you cards. Today, I want to talk about 5 lesser known ways to show gratitude: 1) Flash A Smile: A lot of people don't smile these days, and often you have to be the one that initiates it. But not only does smiling make you feel good, smiling at someone will make their day too. Smile more and watch how your day can instantly turn around. While you're at it, give compliments too. Be sincere - find something about the person that you appreciate and let them know. 2) Do Something Unexpected For Someone: It's a great feeling to have someone bring home flowers unexpectedly, have dinner ready on the table, or give a hug out of nowhere. Surprise someone for no reason and brighten her or his day. 3) Go Complaint Free For 21 Days: Do you think you could stop complaining for 21 days straight? Complaining feels good because it gets out our negative feelings. However, if it becomes a habit, it can bring us down. Switching from complaints to all of life's goodness will enhance our lives. 4) Celebrate Your Wins: Be thankful for your successes. Write down all that you've accomplished this past year, which you may not even realize how many there are, and then savor these successes rather than thinking about what you didn't accomplish. Wanna start small? Start a wins journal and write down all your wins from yesterday, big or small. And then celebrate! :) 5) Share A Positive Review: We often only write reviews when we have something negative to say. Share a positive review about a place you stayed or a service you received on a website like Yelp or Trip Advisor to help support a business.

Grateful For Your Business

Today, I want to invite you to a new Facebook group I've put together called The Grateful Entrepreneur I think in most businesses, gratitude is lacking. Most often than not, businesses don't send thank you cards to their customers and clients and show them true appreciation. And most often than not, employees don't feel appreciated in the workplace. I think these need to change, and I'm on a mission to help businesses create a gratitude culture as part of their business. So if you're an entrepreneur or business owner, looking to grow your business with gratitude, and show your clients and customers how much you appreciate them... ...and even if you work for a company and want some ideas how your entire office or company can have a culture of gratitude. Then join our Facebook group, The Grateful Entrepreneur at https://www.facebook.com/groups/thegratefulentrepreneur/

Spreading Thanks

I've got a book recommendation for you today. It's called Spread Thanks by Elena Anguita. A few years ago, Elena started writing one handwritten thank you note each morning. After awhile, little miracles kept popping up in her life. In her book, she shares her story of spreading gratitude with these handwritten notes and talks about the miracles that have happened to her as a result of sending out these notes. I got a copy when it first came out and it’s wonderful. You can grab a copy of it on Amazon.

Praise At Work

A couple years ago I was doing some research about happiness in the workplace, and I came across this startling statistic: 70% of employees say they receive no praise or recognition at work. I was shocked. I guess I shouldn't be. I’ve had jobs where I didn’t feel appreciated at work. I recall one specific job where I vividly remember being told when I did something wrong. But never praised when I did something right. One day I had my 90 day performance review and I was so stressed out about it. I went into my boss’s office and he proceeded to tell me everything I was doing wrong. There were no positive works from the meeting. For awhile, I thought not feeling appreciated at work was something that just I was experiencing. That it wasn't very common. But with 70% of workers feeling this way, I guess not! It turns out, there are a lot of great ways to appreciate someone at work! Similar to the 5 Love Languages (you may know the book), there are 5 Languages of Appreciation at Work. Words of Affirmation (I could have used this). Quality Time Acts of Service Tangible Gifts Physical Touch The key is to find out what the primary appreciation language is for each individual person at work, and then tailor your appreciation for them. We're all human, right? We have different needs and desires. It's time to start treating our co-workers, staff, bosses and employees as humans, with kindness. Do that, and you'll have a much happier workplace. One other quick note: I offer trainings on appreciation in the workplace so we can dive into this concept deeper. If you're wanting a happier workplace with more a productive staff and less turnover, let me know. I might be able to help! We can even do the training virtually. Shoot me an email if you want to discuss at scott@scottcolby.com

Grateful For The Mountains

If there's one thing I love, it's the mountains. For 9 years I lived in Colorado - the heart of the Rocky Mountains. And now that I live in Knoxville TN, I’m close to the Smoky Mountains. Sometimes I’ll drive over an hour to the mountains just so I can drink my coffee in the mountains. I love having coffee in the morning with a view, and to me, the best views are mountains with a river. I always feel grateful that I live in such a beautiful state with so much beauty around me. I often have to remind myself that life is short, and I need to leave the city more and enjoy as much nature as possible. I'm truly Grateful For The Mountains. What about you? Is there somewhere in nature that you’re grateful for? Drop me an email at scott@scottcolby.com and let me know.

We Need Gratitude More Than Ever

Now's the time we need gratitude more than ever, so we can focus on the good and all that we still have. There's a lot of negativity in the news and social media these days, so I will do my best to keep things light, fun and positive. One thing you can start doing besides practicing daily gratitude is to unplug. Believe me, you don't need to be reading stories and opinions on the coronavirus every hour. If there's something major you need to know, you'll find out about it. Focus on the good and on what you can control. Have a virtual happy hour with friends over video, take a hot bath with candles and jazz music, do some art or guided meditation, or go for a walk in nature. I believe that after all of this, we will have deeper connections to our loved ones and come out of this for the better. I'm here with you!

Businesses Doing Good During Coronavirus Outbreak - Part 2

The company Sweetgreen has announced it will start dedicating Outpost operations and teams to support “those on the front lines” (meaning hospital workers and medical personnel) by delivering free salads and bowls to hospitals in the cities it serves. Starbucks has extended its mental health benefits. In partnership with Lyra Health, Starbucks is offering its partners personalized, confidential mental health care, 20 free in-person or video sessions every year for partners and each of their eligible family members, online scheduling with most providers available within two weeks, and access to a provider network of mental health therapists and coaches. Disney has closed its parks and cruises in response to coronavirus. They have promised to continue paying their employees during the closure, and will give refunds to all those who had planned on visiting. There are many many more businesses doing good during this crisis. Amazing! I love it when we all come together for the greater good.

Businesses Doing Good During Coronavirus Outbreak - Part 1

Mr. Rogers once said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mom would say to me ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” And that can be no truer than now. Businesses large and small continue to do things that will better their employees, customers and the community at large, until this difficult time passes. We’ve even seen famous musicians like John Legend, Keith Urban and Pink play free concerts for people isolated at home. Here are a few businesses doing good: Loom, a video recording and sharing service has made Loom Pro free for teachers and students at K-12 schools, universities, and educational institutions. They have also removed the recording limit on free plans and have cut the price for Loom Pro in half. LinkedIn: The social networking website is opening up 16 of its learning courses for free. Courses that provide tips on how to stay productive, build relationships when you’re not face-to-face, use virtual meeting tools and balance family and work dynamics in a healthy way. Chef José Andrés of LA set up shop in California earlier this month to feed cruise ship guests quarantined from the outbreak. Andrés announced this week he will transform eight of his New York and Washington, DC, restaurants into community kitchens for those struggling during the pandemic. I’ll be back tomorrow with more businesses doing good.

Grateful For Doctors, Nurses And Teachers

Today I want to acknowledge and appreciate all of the doctors, nurses and other caretakers as well as teachers and all of those in education. You know, these professions are underappreciated to begin with. But our doctors and nurses are working tirelessly during the coronavirus outbreak to get us well and save lives. And as schools all across the country and globally are closing, teachers are setting up virtual classrooms online so they can continue to lead and educate our children during this challenging time. If you know of any doctors, nurses or teachers, please make sure you appreciate them for all they do.

Russell Wilson And Feeding America

Seattle Seahawks star quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife Ciara teamed up with a local food bank Tuesday in order to help struggling families during the coronavirus outbreak. Wilson and Ciara partnered with Feeding America to donate one million meals to needy Seattle families as the COVID-19 virus spreads across the country. "This coronavirus is changing the world minute by minute, second by second," Wilson said. "People are losing loved ones -- the elderly and the young and people in between. People are losing jobs. What we've decided to do is partner up with our local food bank in Seattle." Feeding America distributes 4.3 billion meals each year through food pantries and meal programs throughout the United States, leading the nation to engage in the fight against hunger. You can go to feedingamerica.org to help out.

Harkins Theaters And Gratitude

Today I want to acknowledge Harkins movie theaters. My friend Emily’s son is a manager there. A few days ago, Harkins put out a statement that they will have to temporarily close their doors during the coronavirus pandemic, but that they will continue to pay their staff. That’s amazing. Here’s what Emily had to say: What a tremendous company my son Kegan Potter works for Harkins Theatres. What an outstanding act of grace and an example of giving back. My son was so pleasantly surprised and relieved. My husband and I will remain loyal customers. Plus Harkins has the best popcorn and customer service ever! Thank you Harkins we are so very grateful - my heart is full. Thank you Mike Bowers what a class act! Mike is the President and CEO of Harkins. Way to go Harkins Theaters!

Grateful For Pat Rigsby And Alicia Streger

My friends and all around awesome people, Pat Rigsby and Alicia Streger have been doing an amazing job over the past week. They both work with gym owners to help them grow their business. And as you can imagine, as we’re currently in the middle of the corona virus pandemic, many (if not all) gyms have had to temporarily shut their doors. Pat and Alicia and both stepped up as leaders, helping gym owners navigate this challenging time. They have been posting multiple times a day on their Facebook group pages, offering advice, suggestions and encouragement. They are getting on the phone with gym owners, doing webinars answering questions, offering strategies on setting up a virtual gym so that the gym owners can train their clients from home, and much much more. They are helping these gym owners feel connected and are reassuring them in this difficult time. Amazing job to Pat and Alicia. You can follow Pat on his website patrigsby.com and Alicia over at fitproessentials.com

Grateful For These Fitness Apps

I’m recording this audio on March 18, 2020, and we are in the middle of the corona virus epidemic. And while many (or all of us) are anxious and scared, there are a lot of people and businesses pulling together, and doing what they can to help their tribe. Over the next few days, I want to highlight some of these. Today I want to talk about fitness. Gyms all over the country are temporarily having to suspend operations due to the corona virus. However, it’s important to exercise to keep your immunity system strong. Fortunately, A handful of useful applications and services are going free for the coming weeks in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. These include at-home fitness applications, among others. Here are 3: Downdog: Down Dog makes a handful of popular fitness services including apps for Yoga, HIIT, and more. To help people stay active and engaged during the coronavirus outbreak, Down Dog is making all of its apps — Yoga, Yoga for Beginners, HIIT, Barre, and 7 Minute Workout — free.. The apps will be free until April 1. Planet Fitness Planet Fitness is encouraging people to remain active at home during the coronavirus pandemic through a series of live workouts. The classes will be streamed live on Facebook every day starting today at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET. They’ll be free for everyone: Exercise can reduce stress, help you stay healthy, and keep you feeling great. So, we’re offering FREE in-home workouts, live-streamed daily, for all Planet Fitness members and non-members alike. Workouts will be led by our trainers and surprise celebrity guests. The Planet Fitness app also offers hundreds of workouts that can be done from anywhere. These workouts are free for members and non-members. Peloton - Peloton is offering an extended 90-day free trial to its at-home workouts app during the coronavirus outbreak. The in-app workouts don’t require you own any Peloton equipment, and include yoga, HIIT, stretching, bootcamp and other categories. There are plenty of options to exercise and stay fit while at home.

Gratitude Is The Foundation For All abundance.

Eckhart Tolle has a quote” “Gratitude is the foundation for all abundance.” That doesn’t just mean abundance in finances. It means abundance in our emotions, in our health, in our relationships. IN our joy. As we begin to notice the things that we do have, we expand that consciousness outwards and we see more of that in our life.

Writing Cards To Connect

I love the way Yasmin Nguyen thinks about writing thank you cards. Yasmin is the founder of The Joyful Living Project, and I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to him about gratitude. First of all, he calls thank you cards “appreciation cards,” which I love! He likes to create a deeper connection through his cards, allowing himself to be vulnerable. Yasmin starts his cards by writing something like: “Dear Scott. I remember the time when …” The purpose of starting the cards like this is to reconnect to a memorable moment. It should call to mind something special in the recipient. He continues by saying something like, “What I appreciate most about you is …” So it’s not necessarily something the person did; it’s about a quality they possess, something about them that Yasmin appreciates. The final part of the card is where Yasmin thinks to himself, If today were my last day, what would I want this person to know? This allows him to go really deep in terms of what he wants to share with the recipient. This process creates an element of vulnerability. It’s an approach designed to help you put yourself in a happy place and fuel your writing. Writing and sending heartfelt cards like this has opened so many doors for Yasmin. He’s witnessed new connections and growth in his business. Think about it: How often do you receive a card from someone simply to reconnect with you and tell you of an attribute they cherish in you? What would you be willing to do for that?

How Mary Kay Ash And Her Beauty Consultants Use Gratitude

The following best practices are a few examples of how consultants make their customers feel extra special after buying a product. You can easily adapt some of these to your industry. • It’s important for your customers to receive their product as soon as you can deliver it. Having product on hand makes a really big difference, and it’s an investment that will definitely boost your sales. Not only will your customers know they can count on you when they run out of something and need it “now,” they will be more likely to refer you to their friends. • Add a postcard with maybe your family picture to the order as a thank you with a few fun things you offer to your clients, like the Preferred Customer Program, etc. … • If you are delivering to your customer at her office, tie an inexpensive pink helium balloon to their bag when making the delivery. Others in the office will see the service your customers are getting. • If you are sending anything through the mail, make the products look important. Wrap everything in tissue or elegant printed paper. Using white sparkly tissue paper is a nice touch. Spray a little bit of any fragrance inside the box so when your customer opens it, it smells great! • Always write “Thank You!” and then sign your name in your handwriting with a smiley face on every invoice. • In their order, place some chocolate! They will LOVE this! Think about purchasing the DOVE Chocolates because they have inspirational sayings and quotes inside of the wrapper. • Always write a thank you “snail mail” card that may say something like this after a party: Hi ____! May this find you having an incredible and richly blessed day! It was so nice to meet you at ____’s Mary Kay party! Thank you for the opportunity to pamper you! I had so much fun! (or it was such a treat!) Thank you for your Mary Kay purchase too! I hope you are having fun with your new beauty goodies and always know that everything, even if you have used it, is 100% guaranteed! I will call you in a few days to follow up and answer any questions you may have. Thank you for the opportunity to be your Mary Kay Beauty Consultant and thank you for your business. Sincerely, (Your name) You may want to send a “Thank you Letter” explaining the benefits of being your customer and the fun things you do throughout the year! For example: Mary Kay Money (for every $10 they spend throughout the year, they earn a $1 to spend at your annual open house!), Birthday Month Discount, etc. To date, Mary Kay Cosmetics has grown to a 2-billion-dollar industry, and a big reason is because of the way they treat their customers like people instead of a transaction.

Mary Kay Ash And The 3 Handwritten Notes

When Mary Kay Ash was starting out her cosmetics business, she set herself a simple task: she handwrote three thank you notes at the end of each day. She attributed part of her success in business to taking the time to let the people around her know they were appreciated. As a result, Mary Kay Beauty Consultants were taught the same thing—to send lots of thank you notes. After each Mary Kay party a consultant hosts, she sends thank you notes to every participant! Here is the company’s philosophy: Thank the hostess before the party and after the party. Thank the guests who purchased products, and thank the guests who didn’t purchase anything but tried the products! Thank those who listened to the Mary Kay Opportunity. Thank your guests for coming to the success meetings. Thank people you do business with. Thank sister consultants. And thank directors. What you give out comes back to you tenfold.

Leading With Gratitude: Fluid Coffee

My favorite coffee shop is Fluid Coffee. Yes, they make the best café au lait with almond milk, but the real reason I come back day after day is their baristas. They’re friendly. They’re engaging. They know my name. They smile and talk to me. They know I run a business called Say It With Gratitude, that I love Virginia basketball, and that I’ve traveled to Guatemala. They give me a simple hello and ask me how I’m doing. They treat me like a human. Imagine that! Conversely, when I lived in another part of Denver, there was a closer coffee shop I went to probably at least a dozen times. Even though I loved the atmosphere and location, I felt no connection to it. Not once did any of the baristas ask me how I was, get to know my name, or say, “Have a good day.” I started to resent going to that place. It felt like a transaction. You want to have a relational business, not a transactional one.

An Attitude Of Gratitude

[HOW TO CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE WITH GRATITUDE] There's nothing that I know of that can change your mindset quicker than adopting a gratitude mindset. For something to change in your life, one of two things has to happen: your life changes, or you do. Waiting for life to change takes too long and it may never happen. When you’re stuck in a problem mentality you miss out on all the opportunities for solutions that are knocking on your door every day, simply because you don’t even hear them or see them. Open your eyes to a gratitude practice and all of a sudden things start to fall into place for you. We also have a lot of negativity surrounding us and sometimes it's difficult to keep inner peace with all of the negative energy around us. So what can you do? Use a tool called The Power Lead which I learned from Jill Coleman of JillFit Physiques. If there is someone in your life that brings negative energy, you come in with positivity first. You take the lead and interact in a positive way. This helps them meet your energy.

A Different Way To Think About Gratitude And Your Business

Another more indirect way gratitude can help your business... We all know that running a business and being an entrepreneur can have its ups and its downs, right? And we've all probably had days where we didn't feel like getting out of bed, much less put effort into our business. That's just the nature of the beast. That's where gratitude comes in! Even if you aren't sending cards to your customers, expressing gratitude can improve your mood, make your more optimistic, and just all around increasing your happiness. All of these things can give you a boost in your motivation levels and your performance in your business. So make sure you express gratitude each morning and watch your mood (and business) improve!

Gratitude Case Study: Dan Cathy And Chick-fil-A

For Dan Cathy, expressing gratitude to others – in notes, emails, texts or in person – is simply a way of life he learned from his father, who founded the Chick-fil-A company. “I saw my dad express thankfulness and gratitude to our customers as a child when he would load up lemon pies and deliver them to people who had issues or challenges or struggles,” Cathy recalled. “He would use that to affirm them or express appreciation for their friendship.” Cathy likes to say that he has spent his entire life at the company his father, S. Truett Cathy, built on the premise that the business is as much about people as it is chicken. And in the 50 years since Cathy’s father started the business, the company has grown quite a bit – to more than 2,000 restaurants. Cathy often tells people that regardless of his title, he really works in customer service, an attitude that reflects the family’s value of providing a great dining experience for every customer. “An ‘attitude of gratitude’ fits with anything you are wearing no matter who you are or where you are,” Cathy said with a smile. “Saying thank you is part of a bigger focus on etiquette and civility.” Cathy often sends handwritten notes – “the most preferred method and the most personal way to express appreciation in written form” – to restaurant Operators, team members and staff who have done something special or noteworthy while at work or in the community. “I confess that more frequently it’s a text or even email,” he said. “But I do think that any time we can express appreciation, even verbally, or do small acts of kindness, then that is another form of thank you.” Gratitude is a core value at Chick-fil-A, Cathy says. “I want to carry the lessons my parents taught me about gratitude and appreciation through to everything we do at Chick-fil-A,” Cathy said. “We have been blessed with great restaurant owners, team members, staff and customers, and saying ‘Thank you’ to them is simply the right thing to do. It makes everyone feel good.”

Gratitude Case Study: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

In order to care for the more than half a million patients each year, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) employs 10,000 people. And while thanking each one of them in person for the selfless work they do is nearly impossible, CEO Donna Hyland does what she can. “Our people work very hard in often challenging circumstances with sick children and their families. They need to be lifted up and told that someone appreciates what they do,” she said. “I can’t possibly know all of them, so writing notes to people is a way to connect personally.” Hyland manages the process by categorizing the recipients: Significant employee anniversaries, special celebrations, CHOA award winners and anyone who leaves Children’s after 15 or more years of service. “I want them to know that I knew they were here and wished them the very best as they move on.” She writes to doctors and nurses when they perform an exceptional service. There is no block of time in her schedule set aside for notes; instead, she writes a few at a time when she can and says the most meaningful notes originate with letters she receives from parents of the hospital’s young patients. “I get letters from parents thanking me for what our people have done for their children – it’s one of the advantages of being the CEO,” she said. “I always write a note to the doctors, nurses and staff that they mention so they know that I heard good things about them. Their stories are so inspiring to me – I get far more out of this than I give.”

Set Reminders

Today’s tip for you is Set Reminders: In an age where we’re with our phones practically 24/7, use it to your advantage. Set reminders on your phone to pause and think of someone or something that you’re grateful for at that moment. Take it a step further and think about WHY you are grateful.

Gratitude And Oprah Winfrey

I love this quote. It comes from Oprah Winfrey: "Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." And that’s so true. We’re often complaining about what we don’t have. Well we’ll never have everything, right? Do you really want to complain your entire life? Instead focus on what you do have and all that’s good in your life. It’s the best way to live.

Read Gratitude Books

My tip of the day for you is this: Read books about gratitude and other inspiration. This will help you understand more the powerful effect that thankfulness can have on your life. A good one to start with is Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier by Robert Emmons, Ph.D., the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude. Read the book and discover how the practice of gratitude can increase your happiness by 25%. Of course, I’d love it if you checked out my book, The Grateful Entrepreneur. You can find it on Amazon.

4 Tips To Responding To Bad Reviews

Yesterday my gratitude tip for you was to leave a positive review for a business. But what if you’re a business and you get a bad review? How can you respond with gratitude and kindness? Well first let me ask the business owners out there a question... Do you respond to reviews that your business gets? A lot of companies don't, however you should respond to all reviews, the good and the bad. If you don't respond, it's the same as being in the same room as someone, having them tell you something about your company, and you don't say anything. If you get a great review, that's awesome. Thank your customer who took the time to review your business and say nice things. If you get a bad review, it's easy to get defensive, or want to go somewhere to hide. But potential customers LOVE seeing that a business took the time to respond to a bad review and try to make it right. Here are 4 tips to responding to a negative review: 1) Reply to a negative review as soon as you see it. Reputation management software for small businesses can help you monitor and manage reviews. 2) Express empathy for the customer’s unhappiness. 3) Ask the customer to contact you privately to discuss their concerns. It’s best to talk by phone or in person, as texts and emails are subject to misinterpretation. 4) Once you resolve the matter, ask the customer if they’d be willing to add an update to their original review.

Leave A Positive Review

Today’s tip: Share a positive review for a business. You know, we often only write reviews when we have something negative to say. Well, share a positive review on a website like Yelp or TripAdvisor or even Google to help support a business. The business can be a restaurant, hotel, vet, mechanic..any type of business you want. Believe me, as a business owner myself, you’ll make their day.

I Appreciate You

Today is episode 100. And I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you. We started on Thanksgiving last year, and have been doing The Daily Gratitude Minute for 100 episodes now. It really means a lot to me that you take time out of your day to listen to these quick bites of gratitude inspiration. I so appreciate you, and I want to acknowledge you for bettering yourself by listening to The Daily Gratitude Minute. I want to leave you with one of my favorite gratitude quotes: "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them." John F. Kennedy

Start Your Meetings With Gratitude

We know that starting your day with gratitude can set the tone for a positive mindset and day. The same thing is true for meetings. If you have team meetings (in which what’s not working is often discussed), start your meetings off by going around the room and having each person share 1 thing they’re grateful for.

Spread Gratitude

You probably know a lot about gratitude by now, and know it’s impact on happiness, optimism and a healthier life. Share the practice of gratitude with others. Is someone you know coping with a stress or trauma? Suggest that they ease worries and suffering by redirecting their attention on feelings of gratefulness. Imagine the impact you can make on others by spreading gratitude

How To Make More Time For Gratitude - Part 5

Today is part 5 in a 5 part series on how to make more time for gratitude. So far We’ve talked about breaking down your work time into intervals, strategically unplugging, scheduling in your email and social media time and Creating a morning routine. Today is about creating a “not to do list.” That’s right! We often go about our days with a long to do list, crossing off things as we do them. Well the to do list is neverending, right? Instead Create a NOT to-do list. Write out everything that is not contributing to your well-being. This will help you eliminate the busy tasks distracting you from being more productive. It will take some practice but you’ll learn how to start saying no to things. So there you have it - 5 ways to make more time for gratitude. Put one or more of these into practice and I know you’ll have more time to write in your gratitude journal and to get your thank you notes written and mailed!

How To Make More Time For Gratitude Part 4

Today is part 4 in a 5 part series on how to make more time for gratitude. So far We’ve talked about breaking down your work time into intervals, strategically unplugging, and scheduling in your email and social media time. Today, it’s about Creating a morning routine. Get up at 5 am, or a little earlier than you already are and spend the first hour of your day on you. It doesn’t have to be an entire hour. It can be 30 minutes, 15 minutes, or whatever works for you. The point is, this is your ME time. This is the perfect time to exercise, meditate, write gratitude and eat breakfast. Instead of hitting the snooze button a few times, and then rushing around to get ready for work and get the kids off to school, wake up a little bit earlier and have a more stress free morning doing things for you. Check out the book The Miracle Morning to help establish your morning routine. Tomorrow in part 5 we’ll talk about something that I guarantee almost no one is doing.

How To Make More Time For Gratitude Part 3

Today is part 3 in a 5 part series on how to make more time for gratitude. We’ve talked about breaking down your work time into intervals, and strategically unplugging. Today is all about your schedule: Schedule email and social media time: Don't check it every 5 minutes. That’s what we often do, right? We do a little work, and then hop on over to email or Facebook - and we feel the need to respond to things right away. So we spend our entire day reacting to things, which wastes a lot of time. Instead, schedule your email and social media time into your daily planner like you to everything else - meetings, workouts, etc. Same thing with phone calls. If someone calls you and it’s not scheduled - don’t answer it. You have to protect your time. Tomorrow in part 4 we’ll talk about creating a morning routine.

How To Make More Time For Gratitude Part 2

Today is part 2 in a 5 part series on how to make more time for gratitude. Yesterday we talked about following the pomodoro technique and breaking down your work time into intervals. Today is all about avoiding distractions. And believe me - we all have many distractions throughout the day. So here’s what I want you to do: Unplug: That’s right - Set your phone on airplane mode from 8 pm to 8 am so you're not tempted to jump on social media as soon as you wake up and you’re not using your phone right before you go to bed. Instead, as soon as you wake up, it’s the perfect time to write in your gratitude journal or write a thank you note. Also during the day set your phone on airplane mode during your focused blocks of work time to avoid distractions of incoming text messages and other notifications. This will allow you to get a lot more done during your day, leaving more time for gratitude. Tomorrow in part 3, we’ll talk about your schedule.

How To Make More Time For Gratitude - Part 1

Today begins a 5 part series on how to make more time for gratitude. As I talk about having more gratitude in your life, and writing handwritten cards, you may be thinking to yourself that you don't have time for this. It's a bit like those that I encourage to workout. Having come from a fitness background, I've heard all of the excuses...and not having enough time is #1. Well as my friend and business coach Pat Rigsby has told me..."you make time for what's important to you." This is true! But I also want to give you some practical ways to make more time for writing thank you cards or writing in a gratitude journal. These tips won't just help you make more time for gratitude, they'll allow you to get more done in your day so you have more free time to spend with your kids, your significant other or having fun. Today's tip - Follow the Pomodoro Technique: Use a timer to break down work into intervals. For example, give yourself a block of 50 minutes to do focused work. Then take a 10 minute break. Do this several times a day, and you'll find yourself being super productive. It’s almost like a race against the clock. How much work can you get done before the timer goes off. OK that’s tip #1. Tomorrow, I’ll be talking about how to avoid distractions.

Post Positive Notes

To help keep the feelings of gratefulness alive and part of your day, write little positive notes and post around the house so they are in plain sight as a steady reminder of all that is good.

The Gratitude Alphabet Game

Go through the alphabet and think about 1 thing you’re grateful for that begins with each letter of the alphabet, beginning with the letter A, and continuing all the way through Z. Doing this when you lay down to go to sleep is a great way to end your day with gratitude.

Forgive Someone And Be Thankful

We can forgive for a better life by focusing on what we can be thankful for in a situation where a person has harmed us. This is tough, especially when the harm was life altering. However, if we can look for the good that came out of the situation, it can help us to forgive and heal.

Humble At The Top: Frank Blake: Former CEO, The Home Depot

I found this article on the website TheChickenWire.com. It was called Humble at the Top: Why These CEOs Still Write Thank You Notes One of the people they profiled was Frank Blake: Former CEO, The Home Depot Frank Blake learned the art of writing notes from one of America’s masters of the practice, President George H.W. Bush. He served as Deputy Counsel when Bush was Vice President. “Vice President Bush started every day by typing notes to people,” Blake said. “You knew they were typed by him because some of the letters were off line and there could be misspellings. I saw the power of taking the time to write a nice word to someone.” When Blake became CEO of The Home Depot in 2007, he established a process for writing notes: regional and district managers sent him recommendations of store associates whose work or service deserved recognition. Blake spent a half-day or more each weekend writing notes by hand – and was inspired by what he learned. “Our people did amazingly generous things for others,” he said. “It was a great way for me to end the week.” It is important, he added, to be specific in the notes. And they don’t have to be long – most of his are two or three sentences and usually cover only the front of a monogrammed card. “In an age of email and texts, there is something personal and special about a handwritten note,” Blake said. “I have saved every meaningful note I have ever received.” Pretty awesome!

Team Bonding At Work

Last week, I profiled a company called Wufoo where the team gets together each week to write handwritten notes to some of their customers. Well not only are they making their customers feel special which has led to 50% higher retention rates, but the card writing serves as a team bonding experience. That’s right - as the team comes together each Thursday to write cards, they are getting to know one another on a more personal, intimate level. It serves as a time where they get to know each others’ hobbies, families and other interests. What a great way to feel more connected as a team at work.

Create Gratitude Affirmations

This tip follows along nicely with yesterday’s tip of realizing that you are enough. Today I want you to Create Gratitude Affirmations: Saying affirmations helps us to replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts. We have beliefs about ourselves that, if we changed then, we would take more risks, overcome our self-imposed limitations and enjoy life more. So write down positive affirmations about yourself, really believe them and be grateful for them.

You Are Enough

A couple days ago, my tip was to encourage you to realize that you have enough. You have all you need in life. Today, I want to encourage you to realize that you ARE enough. Many of us talk about ourselves in a negative way. Challenge your inner critic with thoughts of thankfulness, which will immediately turn your negative thoughts into positive ones. The other way you can think about this is when you’re writing down your gratitude each morning, make it about you. What’s a quality about yourself that you love? Write that down. And do this every single day.

The Power Of A Handwritten Note

This was an awesome email I received from one of my gratitude newsletter readers. Her name is Ally and she works as a housekeeper. She said... “You may recall, I work as a housekeeper at a major resort here in Seaside, Oregon. I wanted to share with you a bright moment from my day. A guest had left a tip upon departing. More important than the money was a handwritten note: "Housekeeping - thanks for all you do!" The $$ will buy me a latte, but the note will warm me for a long time to come. Proof that Gratitude is such a powerful tool in our world.”

You Have Enough

You Have Enough. Remember: There is nothing lacking. Our minds tend to lean towards what we are lacking in life instead of all the abundance that exists around us. We always have the choice to think about what is scarce or what is abundant in life. What’s key is to recognize this choice and the value this shift in mindset brings.

Brag About Someone

Brag About Someone - Acknowledge them. Be their biggest fan and brag about their talents or characteristic traits in front of other people. You’ll make them feel so good.

Using Gratitude To Retain Customers

Yesterday, I talked about how to use gratitude to grow your business. Well here’s an example of a company that does: Wufoo. Many of you use Wufoo for online surveys and applications. Well check this out...Wufoo is known for sending thank-you cards to customers — every week, the team takes time to draft, decorate and mail personalized cards, a tradition that dates back to Wufoo’s early days. And get this: According to Customer Ops team lead Renee Morris, “out of the roughly 800 customers who received handwritten cards from us last year, 50% fewer folks left our product than those who did not receive cards.” Think about that: retention rates are a full 50% better among customers who receive a thank-you note.

Gratitude To Grow Your Business

How do you use gratitude to grow your business? When you run your business on a foundation of gratitude, you make your customers feel acknowledged, like they belong, and connected. This means doing things like sending handwritten notes, calling them up to see how they’re doing? Celebrating them on social media. Making a video for them telling them how awesome they are. Making your business more personal and human this way builds trust and loyalty with your customers. This creates more sales, more impact and lifelong customers, because they will want to continue to purchase from you and refer their friends to you.

Make Gratitude Cards

You can have fun (and quality bonding time) by making gratitude cards with your kids. They can hand them out to classmates, teachers, cafeteria workers, family members or anyone they want to express gratitude towards.

Valentine's Day Gratitude

Today is Valentine’s Day! So today’s topic, appropriately enough, is 4 Ways To Use Gratitude To Grow Closer To Your Significant Other Do one of these and I can bet you will grow closer to them. Write a love letter. In this digital world, writing a love letter is a bit of a lost art. Much of our communication is done through social media or text. And with lots of emojis. Write your spouse a meaningful heartfelt love letter and tell them what you really love about them, and how much they mean to you. Make a gratitude video. a video is much different than a text. I mean afterall, when’s the last time you’ve created a video for your spouse? This is a special type of video. Think of it as a video love letter. Get creative and tell your spouse not only what you like about them, but how they’ve impacted your life. They will love it. Write notes. In his book Napkin Notes, Garth Callaghan, who is battling cancer, commits to writing a handwritten note on a napkin everyday to his daughter Emma, and put it inside her lunchbox until she graduates from high school. Now your spouse may not carry a lunchbox to work, but try writing them little love notes, and put them on the bathroom mirror, in their purse or briefcase, or even in their suitcase while traveling. Know thy love language. I’m sure you’re familiar with the book The 5 Love Languages which outlines 5 ways to express and experience love between romantic partners. These are “love languages” and include words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, tangible gifts and physical touch. Each of us has a primary love language; that is, a language that we prefer to receive love. It’s your job to find out your spouse’s primary love language, and then shower them with love in that language. If your spouse loves to receive gifts, purchase a random gift for them without any prompting or occasion. Perhaps their love language is quality time and they love romantic movies. Watch The Notebook with them, even if it isn’t your thing. Take some time to truly value your relationship and choose to express gratitude for your significant other. Choosing gratitude in your relationship will turn your heart towards your significant other to bring you closer together.

Practical Steps to Writing Thank You Cards (Part 5)

Part 5. Magnetize referrals. One of the best ways to keep people’s mind on you is to thank them for a referral—even if the referral ends up not buying your product or service. That’s how you magnetize business. You immediately reward the referring person no matter what happens. This is called “random reinforcement.” When you reinforce people’s behavior, they will continue that behavior. Every time someone sends you the name and phone number of a potential customer, you should send them a thank you note to reinforce that behavior. The note can say something like: “Thank you for your kind referral of Scott Colby. I look forward to taking great care of his financing options, and I will follow up with you as we progress.” Now they know that you got the referral, they feel good that they gave you a referral, and they want that feeling again. They’re going to want to send you more referrals, and your business will multiply.

Practical Steps to Writing Thank You Cards (Part 4)

Part 4 -Sending cards for all occasions. There are so many occasions to send someone a card in the mail. You can always thank somebody when you’ve first met them. You can thank someone for doing a good job. You can thank someone for getting on the phone with you to talk about business. You can also send a card just to congratulate somebody on a special event, an anniversary, or a promotion. You can send a card for sympathy if somebody loses a loved one, or a “get well” note if they’re in the hospital recovering from an injury or surgery. The business of gratitude is being grateful for people in a caring way. Connect with someone when they’re going through a difficult time. You can say: “I understand you’re going through a tough time. I just want you to know that you’re in my thoughts, my heart, my prayers. If you need someone to reach out to, I’m here for you.” One of the most powerful notes Stephen writes is the “regret.” He shares an example from his industry. In the mortgage business, not everybody’s approved for their loan. Even when you approve someone for a loan, they sometimes get their loans somewhere else. So Stephen will send a note, even on that occasion: “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with you. I regret that I wasn’t able to serve your needs at this time. In today’s business world, things change. So if anything changes in your world, feel free to contact me.” Writing this note keeps the door open. Stephen says it got him more business because people would send him referrals, or they’d come back to him when their credit got fixed or their job became more stable.

Practical Steps to Writing Thank You Cards (Part 3)

Practical Steps to Writing Thank You Cards (Part 3 ) Write to connect. Have you ever been at an event, where you meet somebody and you hit it off? Sometimes you just meet people that you instantly get along with, and you say, “We’ve got to stay in touch.” But then time gets away from you and you never get in touch again. That’s happened to all of us! Start to develop this habit of writing to connect. When you meet somebody for the first time and you’re at an event and they’ve met 45 other people, how do you remind them who you are and where you met them? You follow up with them by sending a handwritten card in the mail. And make a connection. Here’s an example: “Dear Scott, Thank you. It was a pleasure meeting you at the Rockies game. I really appreciate it. [Write one thing you talked about, such as: I appreciated you sharing your ideas on fitness with me]. I would really like to follow up and continue that conversation. Feel free to give me a call or email me a good time to connect.” So it’s a very simple way to remind them of how you met and of the conversation you had. In a nonthreatening way, it opens the door for them to reach get back out to you.

Practical Steps to Writing Thank You Cards (Part 2)

Practical Steps to Writing Thank You Cards (Part 2 ) - Get organized. Getting organized to send out thank you cards involves 4 things: You need an envelope, a thank you card, a pen, and a stamp to mail the card. Stephen suggests an optional 5th item —your business card. I don’t recommend you put your business card in a thank you card. If you’re sending thank you cards, it’s about thanking those people, and showing them that you care. You’re deepening the relationship and building trust, not soliciting a transaction. This is a way to say thank you in an honorable way and be truly appreciative.

Practical Steps to Writing Thank You Cards (Part 1)

You might be wondering if there’s a process for writing thank you cards. Great news! There actually is. I sat down with Steven Littlefield, author of The Business of Gratitude, for an interview as part of my Grateful Entrepreneur Summit, and he outlined his 5-step process for writing thank you cards. We’re mainly talking about thank you cards in terms of using them for your business. But you can use some of these tips for your personal thank you cards. I’ll share these 5 steps over the next 5 days. The first step is... 1) Forge a gratitude mind-set. First, understand that what you focus on expands. The gratitude mind-set starts with being present and focusing on what is available to you today to be grateful for. If you’re reading this, you’re still breathing. You have your eyesight. Start with being grateful for the things you might take for granted. So the gratitude mind-set is focusing on everything that you can be grateful for. Then start focusing on people to be thankful for. Think about the people that who are important in your life. When is the last time you expressed gratitude for them with a thank you note? Make a list of people to write and mail cards to. And so that’s the gratitude mind-set: focus on who you can thank today.

Look For The Good In Bad

Do you look for the good in bad? You know, so many times in life, unpleasant things happen to us and then, in time, something good comes out of that experience, like a better job or relationship. Try to open up to any opportunity that might be there in difficult situations and use this new insight to find greater hope and strength.

Take Nothing For Granted

You know, it’s easy to lose sight of all that we actually have, which is OK. We’re human afterall. My trips to Guatemala taught me that you can still be grateful and happy even if you have very little. It’s all about making the decision to focus on the good. So it’s important to stop and think about what and who you might be taking for granted. This will help you remember the many blessings that you have in life.

Gratitude Yoga

Do you practice yoga? I admit, I’ve only done it a handful of times, although I have taken 2 yoga classes this month so I’m pretty proud of myself! Yoga is great though. Besides helping you become more flexible, which is something I definitely need, Yoga allows you to learn to appreciate yourself through physical movement and exploration of the body. You’ll learn to savor your body’s health, intelligence, grace, and beauty. If you think about it, yoga is the union of mind, body, and soul and you can be thankful everyday that you can participate in such a practice.

Thanks A Thousand

When you go to a coffee shop and buy a cup of coffee, do you thank the barista? Have you ever thought about taking your gratitude a little deeper, and think about all the people that contributed to your morning cup of coffee? This is something New York Times bestselling author A.J. Jacobs decided to find out when he went on a quest to thank every single person involved in producing his morning cup of coffee. There’s a lot of people who deserve a thank you when you think about everything that goes into making your morning cup of coffee. From the lid designer, to the coffee bean farmer, to the people that pave the roads so your coffee can get to you in the first place, the number of people can seem endless. This gratitude journey took AJ across the globe revealed to him how gratitude can make us all happier, more generous, and more connected. Check out the book Thanks a Thousand on Amazon and read more about his amazing journey.

The Gratitude Challenge

A week ago, My friend Stephanie Jones launched her second book, The Gratitude Challenge. I met Stephanie in an online group a couple of years ago and she's one of the most thoughtful, giving people you'll ever meet. Inside this book, you’ll find: ???? short, heartwarming stories from Stephanie and a few of her friends, including me! ❤️ daily gratitude challenges; ???? journal space to write your thoughts and what you are thankful for; and ???? ideas of whose day you can easily brighten and how. We need gratitude and genuine connection more than ever! So if you want a little more positivity in your day Purchase Today at (Author’s Website for Signed Copies) https://givinggal.com/shop/ Or find it on Amazon.

Spend Time With Loved Ones

Spend Time With Loved Ones: If you’re struggling with feeling the gratitude in the moment, go spend time with your friends and family. Of course it will help you grow closer to them and strengthen your relationship, but it will also give you a chance to practice your acts of gratitude on people that you care about. If you’re having trouble finding ways to support your friends and family, you can start small. For instance, why don’t you make sure you’re listening intently the next time someone shares a story with you instead of waiting for your own chance to speak? Or start a conversation with a difficult member of the family by complimenting their new shoes or hair-cut. Those small little gestures can make a big difference in someone’s life and will help you feel closer to them. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Gratitude For Personal Growth

I've talked about a lot of ways to use gratitude to grow your business, such as sending out handwritten thank you cards. Don't forget the importance of gratitude to help your personal growth. I recommend each morning listing or saying things or people you're grateful for, to get you in the right mindset. If we walk around all day thinking negative thoughts, and focusing on what we don't have in life or in our businesses, that will hurt your business growth. Flip those thoughts have focus on all that you do have and the direction you want your business to go in. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Gratitude Marketing

Michael Sciortino wrote a book called Gratitude Marketing. Here's how he describes gratitude marketing and how you can use gratitude to grow your business (excerpt from RMA Connect): "While traditional marketing speaks at people, Gratitude Marketing engages and connects with people. Gratitude Marketing helps you connect on a deeper and more meaningful level with the clients you are committed to for the long term. Gratitude motivates positive reciprocal behavior. It also combines both emotion and behavior. There is a feeling of appreciation and an expression of that appreciation through some kind of action. Gratitude, therefore, can serve as the basis of a relationship beyond the transaction. If a client believes that an advisor has his or her best interests at heart, that client is more inclined to develop a long-term relationship with the advisor." Here are 3 ideas that can be implemented immediately: 1) Recognize your client’s big days (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.)- Sure you may have heard of this, but how many of you are doing it? 2) Set aside time each day to call three clients, just to say hi and check in and be fully present in that conversation. As Zig Ziglar stressed that “you never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life.” 3) The birthday lunch idea – This is an extension of the first idea above. Call up your client who is celebrating their birthday in the upcoming months and invite them to lunch. Encourage them to bring three of their friends along. What client would not respond to such warmth and gratitude? At the lunch, do not talk about business. But instead really focus on the people you’re eating lunch with. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Practice Mindfulness

Practice Mindfulness: I talk a lot about writing down what you’re grateful for. But I want you to start practicing mindfulness and think about it too! Here’s what you do: Sit down daily and think through five to ten things you are grateful for. The trick is that you need to picture it in your mind and sit with that feeling of gratitude in your body. Doing this every day will rewire your brain to be naturally more grateful, and you’ll start feeling happier after every session. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Raising Happier Kids

This tip is about Raising Happier Kids: Now I don’t have kids myself, however, children are open books for learning and absorb things without judgment. Teach a child to be grateful by helping him or her send thank you notes for gifts received, say thank you more often, give teachers and others gifts, volunteer and I bet you’ll have happier kids as a result! I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Gratitude For Gratitude

Gratitude for Gratitude... Have you ever got a thank you gift for saying thank you? LOL Recently individual who works in construction was interested in having us act as his Gratitude Team and handwrite cards to his prospects. He recently informed me that he was going to have to hold off doing business with me. Was I disappointed? Yes. But I still wanted to help him. So when I recently came across a book about the power of handwritten thank you notes, I sent it to him out of the blue. For no other reason than wanting to help him. And having businesses spread gratitude through thank you cards is one of our big missions. Well, this weekend I received a card in the mail with a heartfelt note from him saying the book came at the perfect time (they often do). Enclosed in the card was a Starbucks gift card. A thank you from him to me for my gratitude. When you spread gratitude, it tends to multiply and come back to you. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

The Grateful Entrepreneur

If you’re an entrepreneur or business owner, when we talk about gratitude helping your business, we need to look at personal gratitude, too, and not just expressing gratitude for your clients and customers.We know that gratitude can lead to more happiness, joy and optimism. The research has shown this.But you are sad, depressed and complaining, it will be harder to give your clients and customers the service that they deserve, right?When you add gratitude to your personal life, you'll be happier, and you'll take care of your clients better! So focus on YOU first and your happiness. Add gratitude to your daily routine, make it a habit, then spread it to all of your clients, customers and team members.I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Win The Morning

Do you have a morning routine that includes gratitude?===========I've been big on practicing a morning routine ever since reading The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod 5 years ago.That's when I first learned (and had it really sink in) about the importance of doing things for yourself first thing in the morning, before getting on technology and before doing things for others.My morning routine changes every couple of months, but usually consists of some variation of the following: Waking up at 5:00 am, having some water and going for a workout.After that, I take a shower, and at the end of the shower, I turn the water on cold and think of 3 things I'm grateful for.I then make my bed (easy early win) and make a protein smoothie.After that, I meditate using an app (either Calm or Insight Timer) and visualize what I want my day and life to look like.I spend a few minutes reading a book usually related to personal development or business, but sometimes a memoir.And then finally, I take out 3 of my Say It With Gratitude cards and write words of gratitude to 3 people.Only after all of that do I dive into my work, usually at around 8:00 or 8:30 am.I can't tell you how much energy I have to tackle the day and how good I feel after doing that morning routine.Especially the gratitude part.There is something about expressing gratitude in the morning and really focusing on the things you have and the people that are in your life that you're grateful for.If you're hearing this message, you're blessed.You have an Alexa device, a computer, tablet or smartphone and an internet connection.You have ears and hearing that allow you to listen to this message.A lot of people don't have what we take for granted.So tomorrow morning, I'm going to challenge you to think of 3 things or people you're grateful for.Really feel it, and don't just go through the motions.And then let me know what those 3 things or who those people were by sending me an email to scott@scottcolby.com. I’d love to hear from you.I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Thank You For

If you run a business and want to express gratitude, Add The Word “For” After Your “Thank You”: Whether you are expressing gratitude for a team member, or a customer, add the word “for” after your “thanks” or “thank you.” “Thank you for” is a more genuine and meaningful expression of gratitude. You are telling the other person WHY you are grateful. The will strengthen the worker relationship and customer experience. You can do this for all of your personal gratitudes as well I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Leave Encouraging Words For Someone

Leave Encouraging Words For Someone: Next time you are at a restaurant, at the grocery store, in a mall or even in the workplace, leave a positive note or quote with the intention of cheering someone up. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Tell Me Something Good

Tell Me Something Good: Say thanks before dinner to help express appreciation for the food that nourishes your body and the experience of enjoying a meal together with others. You can even go around the table and have everyone say one thing that they’re grateful for. Bert and John Jacobs, the Founders of Life is Good, started doing this when they were kids. No matter what hardships they faced as a family, no matter what was happening, their mother Joan made one request every night at the dinner table: “Tell me something good today.” What a great way to practice gratitude on a daily basis.

Unplug And Play

Unplug And Play: Technology can consume us – ipads, ipods, TV, e-mail and more. Take time away from the electronics to embrace, enjoy and appreciate the beauty of nature, which is great for the soul. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Call Your Friends And Parents

Call your friends and parents more often: Yes, we’re in an era where it’s easier to send a quick text, email or Facebook message, however a phone call is more meaningful and you can have a deeper conversation (and connection). I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

charitygiftcertificates.org

We just finished the holiday season which is a time that I love - everyone is in the spirit of giving! A gift I've given to my niece and nephew for 3 years in a row including this Christmas is I made donations in their names using charitygiftcertificates.org They get to choose what charity the money goes towards. My niece Cassandra picked St. Jude’s Hospital. My nephew and niece have a lot of stuff so this helps them learn about helping others and giving back. So think about doing something like this next holiday season or even on birthdays of your friends and family members. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Human To Human

Most people talk about running a company that's B2B (business to business) or B2C business to consumer. How about just H2H - human to human. We're human and the people that we're working with are human. That's the way you want to run your business - with humanity I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Why You Shouldn't Fake A Handwritten Note

I saw a business article recently with the title: Fake a Handwritten Note with these 4 online services. Now call me old fashioned, but I think Handwritten notes should be just that...handwritten. Yes there are computer software programs that can generate notes with a handwritten font. And other companies that use a mechanical pen to write the notes. But those aren't genuine and your customers and clients can sniff that out a mile away. As my mentor Pat Rigsby likes to remind us...should you really be building relationships around faking out your clients and trying to make them believe something that's really not (like sending them a computer generated card)? No! Cards should always be handwritten. Take the extra time to care about your clients enough to write them a card. After all, if it wasn't for them, you wouldn't have a business.

Celebrate Employee Milestones With Gratitude

There’s a platform called Tribute that helps employees celebrate their co-workers with a video montage of their peers telling them why their awesome. When the recipient of the video watches it, you can be sure there will be tears!

Recognize Each Day As A Gift

Each new day is a “gift” to us and the only appropriate response for this gift is gratefulness, says Brother David Steindl-Rast, a monk. Every breath is a miracle. The text of Brother David’s A Good Day… You think that this is just another day in your life… It’s not just another day. It’s the one day that is given to you – today… It’s given to you. It’s a gift. It’s the only gift that you have right now… …and the only appropriate response is gratefulness.

Donate To A Charity

Find a charity you believe in and make a monetary contribution to show your appreciation for the transformative work they do in your community, or nationally. Or roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. One of my most life changing experiences was building schools in Guatemala. I also had a lot of fun helping to build a playground for abused kids when I lived in Denver. Find a charity that has meaning to you and then support them in whatever way feels good to you.

Refer Customers To Your Customers

We all want our customers to help us out by referring business to us. Well some of your customers have their own businesses. Help them out by sending business to your customers. What a way to show them gratitude! You can even promote events they are having, articles they’ve written or anything else you think your audience will like of theirs.

Appreciate Employees

Most people in the workplace don’t feel appreciated or valued, thus don’t feel grateful for their job or their boss. This impacts the customer experience, team spirit and organizational effectiveness. Appreciate your employees regularly. Similar to the 5 love languages, there are 5 appreciation languages in the workplace: Words of affirmation, Quality Time, Acts of Service, Tangible Gifts and Physical Touch. Find out the primary language of each of your team members and appreciate them in that language. Your employees will also stay longer, saving you money!

Offer an Unannounced Bonus

Surprising and delighting your customers is a surefire way to have raving fans, and customers for life. Regularly give your customers an announced bonus. A T-shirt, an extra session, or even an upgrade of some sort into a more valuable package of services.

Give Away Cookies

Give Away Cookies: Bring cookies (or coffee) to firefighters and police officers and thank them for their protection and service.

Celebrate Your Wins

Celebrate Your Wins: Be thankful for your successes. Write down all that you have accomplished this past year, which you may not even realize how many there are and then savor these successes rather than thinking about what you didn’t accomplish.

Hug Someone

Hug someone to show how grateful you are to have him or her in your life. A simple hug could be just what a person needs to feel loved and appreciated.

Spotlight Customers on Social Media

Call out customers via Facebook or Instagram to let them know how much they mean to you. Make it personal, be sincere and leave them smiling. Another way to profess your love: feature customers on your website. This makes customers feel valued and gives them a sense of pride in doing business with you.

Get Together With Your Customers On The Road

If you have customers that don’t live near you, make it a point to meet them when you’re traveling. If you’re going to a conference or traveling for pleasure, let your customers know where you’ll be. If anyone lives in the town you’ll be in, take them out to breakfast or coffee. Nothing beats meeting your customers in person.

Keep A Gratitude Jar

Keep a jar filled with notes on life’s blessings (small and big) in your home and whenever you, your spouse or children feel down choose a note from the jar for an instant lift.

Take A Gratitude Walk

Whether it’s right around your neighborhood or a hike in the woods. Immerse yourself in good thoughts while you look at the trees, flowers, snow – all the beauty and abundance of nature.

Do Something Unexpected For Someone:

It’s a great feeling to have someone bring home flowers unexpectedly, have dinner ready on the table, or give a hug out of nowhere. Surprise someone for no reason and brighten his or her day.

Give A Book

Give a Book: There are so many great business and personal development books out there. Give one as a gift to customers. This shows that you’re interested in the well-being and personal growth of your customers. One of my favorite books to give away is The Miracle Morning which teaches you how to set up a morning routine for success. Make sure to write a personalized note inside the book so your customer knows this is a thank you meant just for them!

Have Customer Appreciation Parties

Have Customer Appreciation Parties: If you have a brick and mortar, local business, throw a customer appreciation party. You could team up with another local business. Let’s say you own a gym. Partner up with a hair salon or fitness apparel store. They can host the party and provide food and wine, as well as provide a discount to your clients. Your clients are happy because they feel appreciated, get free food and wine and get a good deal on products. The other business is happy because they are getting new customers and making sales. Win Win!

Say Thank You

Say Thank You: There is a lot of power in these 2 words. When someone does something nice, acknowledge them. Tell them “thank you.” Flash your smile with those words too. Not only will it make you feel better, but it will make their day too. Whether it’s the checkout person at the grocery store or a stranger holding the door open for you, always say “thank you.” I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Write Someone A Thank You Note

Happy New Year! Write someone a Handwritten Thank You Note: The note could be for anything. An expression of love, help, thanks, support or just for being there for you. A handwritten note is one of the post impactful ways to express gratitude. It’s a lost art, but when someone receives your thank you card, it will make their day.

Flash A Smile

Flash A Smile: A lot of people don’t smile these days, and often you have to be the one that initiates it. But not only does smiling make you feel good, smiling at someone will make their day too. Smile more and watch how your day can instantly turn around. While you’re at it, give compliments too. Be sincere - find something about the person that you appreciate and let them know. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Don't Compare

Don’t Compare: It’s easy to compare ourselves to others and want what they have. When you do that, you’re not embracing your own unique journey. We’re all on a different life path. Embrace the path you’re own. Embrace your beauty and your uniqueness. As Dr. Seuss said: you were born to stand out. Feel gratitude for who you are and what you have. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Keep A Gratitude Journal

Keep a Gratitude Journal: Keep it simple and each day write 1-3 things you are grateful for in the morning and in the evening. It will allow you to see more joy and beauty in your days. A lot of people focus on what they don’t have, or complain all day. When you focus on the positive, no matter how small, you attract more positive. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Gratitude Dinners

Here’s a fun gratitude tip -Host a Gratitude Dinner - Invite your friends to a dinner party and show your appreciation to them. It’s a great way to honor your friends and tell them how much they mean to you. You can even give each person a blank card and encourage them to write a note of appreciation to someone in their life. Another good idea - keep the dinner stress free by making it a potluck. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

A Complaint Free World

Go Complaint Free For 21 Days. Do you think you could stop complaining for 21 days straight? Complaining feels good because it gets out our negative feelings. However, if it becomes a habit, it can bring us down. Switching from our complaints to all life’s goodness will enhance our lives. There’s a book called A Complaint Free World by Will Bowen that talks about going complaint free for 21 days. Check it out! I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Create Personal Gratitude Videos

Most businesses have email autoresponders thanking their customers for a purchase. It's the same email that goes out to everyone. Set yourself apart by taking 60 seconds and creating a personalized video thanking your customers for purchasing your product or service. That short amount of time will make a world of difference setting yourself apart. Personal note: Once when I was shopping for a new virtual CFO, I was interviewing a Profit First Professional, Joanne. Mike Michalowicz, author of Profit First, recorded a personal video for me, just to say he hoped I worked with Joanne, and that he would be available for any of my questions as well. Now this wasn't a thank you video, but it was quite the thrill to get that personal video and such an added touch. It made such an impression on me, that I did hire Joanne to be my virtual CFO! I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Personal Gifts

It's fun to send unexpected gifts to others. It doesn't have to be something big, flashy or expensive. It's the thought that counts. And it is so much fun when it is least expected. Make it personal - something that has meaning to your customer. Even better, make it a gift that their spouse or whole family can enjoy. If you've read the book Giftology, by John Ruhlin, you know what I'm talking about. Personal note: Here's a great example. My friend and business coach, Pat Rigsby, loves Disney. I mean loves it! He loves the company, the experience they provide and taking his family there...several times a year. During the Christmas holiday of 2017, I got clued in that he was going to be there for a few days, checking into the Wilderness Lodge in Disney late on December 26. Wanting to do something nice for Pat, for having been a business coach of mine for a number of years, I decided to order Pat and his family a Disney tote bag with a bunch of treats in it, to arrive at their hotel the same day they arrived. And it worked like a charm - they were completely surprised, and I'm guessing, the kids were probably even happier to see the bag of treats that showed up at their hotel room. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Gratitude Calls

Make Gratitude Calls. Spend some time calling clients, past clients, colleagues who refer business to you and anyone else who has impacted your business over the past year. These calls shouldn't be sales calls, they're gratitude calls. Your intention is to thank those that have positively impacted your business' growth as well as your own personal happiness. Personal note: I remember when my mentor Ryan Lee used to call me out of the blue. I was so excited and surprised when his name showed up on my phone. This little gesture is one of the things that has kept me loyal to Ryan for over 15 years. Surprise and delight your customers. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Appreciate Your Parents

Appreciate Your Parents - Write them a heartfelt letter of appreciation for all of the love and support they’ve given you over the years. Many times, we don’t show our appreciation to our parents often enough. A letter is something they’ll cherish for the rest of their lives. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Business Giving

here is a cool company out there called B1G1 (b1G1.com) They help companies bring purpose and meaning to their business by embedding giving right at the core of what you do (example if you are a coffee shop owner, for every cup of coffee sold you can provide a month of clean water to a community in Africa) One of the things they provide their business members is something called Gratitude Certificates. Businesses can use these gratitude certificates to thank their clients for doing business with them, by giving to a charitable project on their behalf. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Business For Good

A new business in North Smithfield, Rhode Island is spreading awareness on the importance of hiring people with disabilities.The coffee shop Red, White & Brew is run by Michael Coyne, who has autism. He started the business after he struggled to find a job. "After I turned 21 I applied to multiple places. None of them would hire me," said Coyne. So he decided to take matters into his own hands. He enrolled in business classes through the state's Developmental Disabilities Council. He was then ready to open his coffee shop. “We’ve been very busy," said Coyne. “It’s been fun.” The business has been open less than two weeks and has already become a haven for other families who have children with disabilities. "We've had parents come in with tears in their eyes with the hope that their young children will eventually be accepted into the community," said Coyne's mother. Down the line, Coyne said he wants to hire others with special needs to spread the message that people with disabilities are hard workers too. Pretty awesome! I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Gratitude Video

Make a video for someone that has impacted your life and send it to them. Really make it heartfelt and tell the other person not only that they have impacted you, but how. They will love it. Tribute makes it easy to create a collaborative video montage that you can give as a gift on any important occasion. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Give Back To Your Community

Give back to your community. Whether you feed the homeless, build a playground for kids or volunteer at an animal shelter, find something that will allow you to make a positive impact in the lives of others. This will make you feel great! I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Live In The Now

Live In The Now: It’s easy to dwell on the negatives of the past or worry about the future. If you can live in the moment and take in everything as they happen, you’ll discover joys that are often overlooked. There are joys of watching your child play, the smell of coffee at the local coffeehouse, the conversation with your friend across the table (instead of checking Facebook) and the smell of rain. Relish and embrace these moments. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Birthday Lunch

Call up your client who is celebrating their birthday in the upcoming months and invite them to lunch. Encourage them to bring three of their friends along. What client would not respond to such warmth and gratitude? At the lunch, do not talk about business. And do not check your phone. Focus on the people in front of you I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Send Out Cards On Weird Holidays

Here’s a gratitude tip for businesses: Send Cards on Weird Holidays: A lot of businesses send out holiday cards at Christmas. You can stand apart and do something different by sending cards on different, and more unique holidays, such as Groundhogs Day, St. Patrick’s Day or the 4th of July! Thanksgiving is a good one too, since it’s a holiday specifically to express gratitude. Read the New Years card template I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Service As A Marketing Tool

Service as a Marketing Tool Has a business ever treated you so well that you just couldn’t help but rave about it? Did the results they delivered exceed your expectations so much that you had to share with friends? Let me give you an example: My best friend Jeff & I took our families on a recent vacation to Hawaii. While we were there, our wives Holly & Lara took part in a couple of yoga classes. They came back speaking fondly of the classes and raving about the instructor. A couple of days later Jeff & I were on the beach doing a workout of our own when the yoga instructor stopped to say hello. But she didn’t just say ‘hi’. She knew that we only had one day remaining on our stay and talked about how much she enjoyed our wives in class. She then mentioned that she had a couple of openings in a class later that morning if they wanted to participate. All in all, it was pretty impressive. We’d never actually been introduced to the instructor, but she’d seen us after class with Holly & Lara and had paid enough attention to not only speak to us, but remember details about our trip. Knowing that there are hundreds of new guests at the resort that she interacts with every month made it all the more thoughtful… So how can you put this into practice? Notice the details. Treat people with courtesy, respect and kindness. Remember people’s birthdays, anniversaries and other moments of importance in their lives. Learn not only their names, but the names of their family members. Do a bit of homework and learn about their outside interests. Ask questions and be genuinely interested in their response. Then, with each piece of information you discover, add it to their file or notes that allow you to retain and use what you learn to strengthen your relationship with your clients. So what’s the takeaway? There are businesses in every category that generate massive ‘word-of-mouth marketing’ by over delivering to the people they currently serve, resulting in substantial business growth. What can you do that will cause the people you serve to rave about their experience? I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Gratitude Cookies

Can you imagine your customers opening up a package from you, only to find a sweet treat, such as some homemade cookies or brownies. You’ll be a hero! There’s also companies like Edible Arrangements where you can send sweet treats like chocolate dipped strawberries. Smitten Sweets in Idaho offers such a service. I recently had a phone call with one of their owners Caleb Smith. From their website: We work with our members to create custom cookie presentations to impress and amaze your intended recipients. We provide the cookies and the packages and combine them with your company branding (i.e. stationary, labels, etc.) to create a personalized experience! The ways to personalize your recipients’ experience are endless. Check them out at SmittenSweetsIdaho.com I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Gratitude Hikes

Flip The Gratitude Switch

Flipping the Gratitude Switch One of the ways you can live in gratitude is to flip the gratitude switch….This is actually the name of a book by Kevin Clayson. In his book, Kevin talks about finding the awesome in things. For example, suppose you’re stuck in traffic and are going to be late for work. Our first reaction is to be stressed, angry, worried..and this can set the tone for the day. But if we can allow ourselves to pause and flip the gratitude switch, we can turn our mood around. You might be wondering, what’s awesome about being stuck in traffic? There’s nothing good about it. But think deeper. You have a car You have a job to go to You might have beautifl scenery to look at You can listen to a personal development podcast Have a conversation. So the next time you have a negative mindset about something, flip the gratitude switch and find the awesome in the situation. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

How To Make Gratitude A Habit

1. Start small. Start small and practice the habit of writing one thing down that you’re grateful for. Once that becomes a habit, you can build on my 3-1-3 system for personal gratitude. 2. Get your materials ready. Writing gratitude involves a journal, or piece of paper and a pen. Have all of these out the evening before so you’re ready to go the next day! 3. Figure out what time you’ll write down your gratitude. I love journaling gratitude as part of my morning routine. Expressing gratitude first thing in the morning improves my odds of getting it done. As the day goes by, and other “stuff” gets in the way, writing in my gratitude journal becomes more difficult. 4. Practice habit stacking. When creating this new habit, you’ll have a better chance of sticking with it if you stack it on an existing habit. Perhaps you make coffee first thing each morning. Making coffee can be the trigger to write in your gratitude journal. While you’re sitting down enjoying that freshly brewed cup of coffee, put pen to paper and express gratitude. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Happy Birthday

Say Happy Birthday! Send out birthday cards to every team member and customer on their birthday! If you’re connected to your customers on Facebook, the platform lets you know when it’s their birthday. It’s a cinch to post “Happy Birthday” on their timeline. But hundreds of other people are doing the same thing. Too bad your message won’t stand out. Recently, I read about a CEO named Sheldon Yellen who handwrites 8,000 birthday cards a year for all his employees—with personalized comments relevant to each person! In addition, when he hears about random acts of kindness in the workplace, he sends a thank you note to the individual letting them know their efforts didn’t go unnoticed. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Send Flowers To Surprise Your Customers

Send flowers or balloons to your best customers at their workplace—just because. You don’t need a specific reason. It will brighten their day, and all of their coworkers will want to know where they came from. Make it a true celebration. Capital One customer and Pittsburgh resident Christina Grady, who was going through a difficult time after a breakup, phoned Capital One’s call center last year after her credit card was shut down due to suspicious activity. Tonya, the customer service agent, did more than just reactivate the card. She gave Grady miles to use on a vacation and sent flowers. Grady posted her story on Facebook, and it went viral on social media. Tonya and Grady met for the first time as guests on Ellen DeGeneres’ show. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Giving Back

One way to give back is to have a 1: 1 giving model. TOMS shoes does this really well. For every pair of shoes sold, they give a pair of shoes to kids in need. Using this model, they’ve given away over 75 million pairs of shoes. Bombas, a sock company, donates a pair of socks for every pair sold. They started by learning that socks are the most requested item in homeless shelters. They thought it would take them 10 years to donate a million pairs of socks. But using the evolved enterprise principles accelerated their growth, and it took them only two and half years to donate a million pairs! So if you have a business, think about what you can to do to add a giving component to it. Just make sure it aligns with your company values and you can tell a story around it. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Southwest Airlines Makes It Fun

Recently, a Southwest Airlines flight from Orlando to Washington, D.C., was delayed. Passengers sat at the gate for an hour. Then two. Naturally, they grew frustrated.But then a gate agent stepped in and started playing games with the waiting passengers. One game? A contest for the worst driver's license picture. Other games included a paper airplane contest.The winners received Southwest gear and $25 vouchers.But the prizes weren't the point.One of the passengers said: "I was really irritated that the flight kept getting delayed because I was going for a quick weekend trip to D.C. to visit friends," "Once he started playing games, I was laughing and having a great time and didn't even mind that the flight was delayed."When the flight boarded after a three-hour delay, passengers applauded the gate agents. It was a great example of how Southwest encourages their employees to have fun with customers. The gate agents couldn’t control the delay but they could control what he and the other gate agents do during the delay. So if you have a business, think about different ways you can have fun with your customers and make them feel special. You can download my book The Grateful Entrepreneur over at sayitwithgratitude.comI’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Write A Letter

From the Cleveland Clinic email newsletter: Do you ever shy away from expressing your thanks for something you appreciated? It’s time to break that habit. Not only does it feel fantastic to the person on the receiving end, it feels good to focus on what you’re grateful for. There’s loads of research on the health benefits of gratitude (greater life satisfaction, better sleep, even improved physical health) and researchers recently set out to determine why people are sometimes reluctant to express their appreciation directly to another person. Participants were asked to send someone in their life a letter of gratitude and to predict how the recipient would react. After the letter was sent, the researchers compared these predictions to the recipients’ actual reactions. Researchers found that the senders overestimated how awkward the recipient would feel and underestimated how happy they’d be to get the letter. The senders also worried needlessly that the recipients would judge their writing harshly; in fact, what mattered to the recipients was the warmth of the note. Clearly, when you express thanks, whether in a letter, by phone, or in person, everyone wins. Who will you express gratitude to today? I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

The Simple Things In Life

Trying to figure out what you’re grateful for can seem overwhelming if you’re only focusing on big things. What about the simple things in life? That cup of coffee this morning. The bed you woke up in. That beautiful butterfly you saw on your walk. What about your ability to walk? Not everyone has that capability. We tend to overlook the simple things in life and take other things for granted. Don’t! For 47 tips on how to make gratitude a part of your day, go to...sayitwithgratitude.com I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Chewy

Today I want to highlight a business called Chewy. If you have a pet, you’ve probably heard of Chewy. They are an online retailer of pet food and other pet related products. And they’re known for their amazing customer service. There are numerous stories of amazing customer service from Chewy. My friend Eva posted on on Facebook recently. Here’s what Eva had to say: The bottom line for all the business owners and entrepreneurs out there - business is personal. Your customers want to feel valued and listened to and treated like a person. Make your customers feel good and you’ll be on your way to having a successful business. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

The World's Greatest Salesman

This is a gratitude tip for businesses - Joe Girard knows how to sell cars. In fact, he is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “World’s Greatest Salesman.” Let’s check out some of his impressive statistics from his 14 year car-selling career, at a Chevrolet dealership right outside of Detroit, Michigan: In total, he sold 13,001 cars. That’s more than 6 per day. On his best day, he sold 18 vehicles. His best month was 174 vehicles sold. In his best year, he sold 1,425 cars. By himself, Joe Girard sold more cars than 95% of all dealers in North America. How did he do this? Every month, year after year, Girard would send a handwritten greeting card to every customer on his list. Inside would be a simple message. He knew they’d need a new car one day, and he wanted to keep himself top of mind. Girard’s dedication to keeping in touch with his customers instilled in them a psychological obligation to do business with him. His customers would never dream of buying a car from somewhere else. So for the businesses out there who aren’t sending handwritten notes - start doing so today. Not only is it being a good human, by thanking your customers and clients, it’s also a tool to get more referrals and to retain your customers longer. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Gratitude Re-wires Your Brain To Be Happier

Gratitude Neuroscientists have found that if you really feel it when you say it, you’ll be happier and healthier. The regular practice of expressing gratitude is not a New Age fad; it’s a facet of the human condition that reaps true benefits to those who mean it. Psychologists Dr. Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis and Dr. Michael McCullough of the University of Miami published a study in 2015 that looked at the physical outcomes of practicing gratitude. One third of the subjects in the study were asked to keep a daily journal of things that happened during the week for which they were grateful. Another third was asked to write down daily irritations or events that had displeased them. The last third of the group was asked to write down daily situations and events with no emphasis on either positive or negative emotional attachment. At the end of the 10-week study, each group was asked to record how they felt physically and generally about life. The gratitude group reported feeling more optimistic and positive about their lives than the other groups. In addition, the gratitude group was more physically active and reported fewer visits to a doctor than those who wrote only about their negative experiences. (1) They found that gratitude literally re-wires your brain to be happier: In times of hardship or stress it might seem difficult to be grateful. But if you really think about it, we all have something to be grateful for. . Here are three easy ways to put yourself in the mindfulness of gratitude. Keep a daily journal of things you are grateful for—list at least three. The best times for writing in your journal are in the morning as your day begins or at night before sleep. Make it a point to tell people in your life what you appreciate about them on a daily basis. When you look in the mirror, give yourself a moment to think about a quality you like about yourself or something you have recently accomplished. For 47 tips on how to make gratitude a part of your day, go to...sayitwithgratitude.com I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Get To

Today, I want to tell you about 2 magical words that you're going to want to start saying everyday. I learned this in the Life Is Good book. Life is Good is one of my favorite companies, spreading optimism with their apparel. OK Ready for these 2 words? "Get to" Pretty simple, huh? Let me explain... Most of us use the words, "have to." I have to go to work. I have to get groceries. I have to pay the bills. Replace "have to" with get to" and see what happens. I get to go to work. I get to get groceries. I get to pay the bills. When you use the words, "get to" it reminds you to be grateful for everything. You get to pick up groceries because you have 2 legs to walk on, and 2 eyes to read the labels on the packages, and live in a country where there is an abundance of available food. You get to pay the bills because you have a phone to communicate with other people and electricity to light up your home and provide warmth in the winter. Are you getting the idea? When you say "get to" instead of "have to," it transforms your mindset from pessimism to optimism. Try it, and let me know how it goes. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Small Business Saturday

Situated between the long lines of Black Friday and the minute by minute online deals of Cyber Monday, is a relatively new holiday which glorifies the value of American small businesses: Small Business Saturday. Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which have now become household names that are even recognized as holidays in some states, always have hysterical shoppers in a frenzie looking for colossal bargains. However, many people don’t know that in between these two days of discountinsanity exists another very important shopping day – Small Business Saturday. This national holiday, which was first celebrated in 2010, calls to attention the importance of shopping at the small businesses that serve as the backbone of the American economy and our local communities. Each year, Small Business Saturday draws crowds to main streets across the country with great deals on unique products and services, events that encourage shopping locally, and unique experiences that introduce you to commonly valued neighbors. Small businesses are integral to a healthy and thriving economy. Everyone should make an effort to support small businesses in their local communities. As we all know, small businesses bring communities together, help keep local money local, provide more jobs and pay higher salaries than larger retailers, and can even increase the value of nearby homes. By shopping a small business, you are helping to build a thriving community in your own area. So today on Small Business Saturday, find a local business to show your gratitude for and shop local. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Black Friday

Today the day after Thanksgiving and is known as Black Friday here in the United States. Black Friday has been regarded as the beginning of America's Christmas shopping season. And it’s a day where many stores offer highly promoted sales and open very early, such as at midnight, or may even start their sales at some time on Thanksgiving. And the day has been known for customers waiting in long lines for stores to open, hoping to get the best deals, and even a time where there’s a lot of pushing and shoving, especially if there is a limited number of a sale item, like a flat screen TV. It’s definitely not a day where people seem grateful for what they already have. In fact there’s a pretty funny, but true quote I’ve seen going around that says: Black Friday - because only in America people trample others for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have. It’s funny, but it’s true. Now a big retailer that’s taken a stand against Black Friday is REI. Five years ago, REI's chief customer officer Ben Steele joined colleagues at a table, brainstorming Black Friday campaign ideas, when a novel idea arose: What if they just closed up shop altogether? As Steele put it, "People thought we were crazy and retailers were saying, 'Why the heck would you give up one of the busiest shopping days of the year?' To be really transparent, we didn't know if it would work. We really focused on our employees." Ultimately the risk paid off, and the REI team found that much to their surprise, the massive anti-shopping effort seemed to resonate for both consumers and retail workers who had grown weary of Black Friday. What had initially been intended as a "galvanizing moment" for REI employees had evolved into a larger cultural movement, Steele said. REI uses the hashtag OptOutside, encouraging people to Forego long lines and big box department stores on Black Friday—and head outdoors instead. I want to encourage you to do the same - head outside today and get out into nature. Use it as a time to get some peace and quiet. A time to spend with the people you love. And a time to really reflect and think about all that you have and all that you’re grateful for. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hi this is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude and welcome to the The Daily Gratitude Minute. Today is the very first episode, and it just happens to be Thanksgiving in the United States. It’s a great day for me because It's my first time I'll be celebrating Thanksgiving with my family in Virginia in the past 20 years. You see, in the last 20 years, I've lived in Dallas (11 years) and Denver (9 years). Since Christmas is so close to Thanksgiving and I didn't want to pay for 2 plane tickets, I always chose to visit my family at Christmas, and to stay put at Thanksgiving. Yes, being an entrepreneur, I sometimes need to watch my money. But in September of this year, I moved to Knoxville, Tennessee and now that I live in Knoxville, which is only a 4 1/2 hour drive to my parents house in Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, I was able to drive home to be with them. I’ll be coming back for Christmas too! This was one of the big reasons I moved back East - to be able to spend more time with my family. So as you sit down to your big meal, think about all that you have to be grateful for. And really think about your values in life and whether you’re living by them. For me, family is one of my top core values, and that made it an easier decision for me to move back East.a I’m truly grateful for my family. What are you grateful today? Think about that and have a Happy Thanksgiving. I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.