Thanksgiving 2014 – Family & Friends

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

This week I am celebrating a tradition in our house.  Our family Thanksgiving tradition includes tracing our hand prints onto a white tablecloth.  In each of our fingers, we write down something for which we are thankful.  This week, I’m taking time to share something I’ll be writing on the tablecloth this year.  I’m hoping you’ll contribute to the conversation by leaving something for which you are thankful for each day.

Here is the fourth thing I’ll be writing down this year:

Family & Friends

I am so blessed to have a wonderful family and some great friends.  I’m especially thankful for my wife, Leanne, and for our two teenagers.  It’s been a busy year, but we have enjoyed growing together.  Leanne has ventured into life coaching this year, and the kids are busy with running, youth group, band, and scouts.  I’m extremely blessed.

I am also thankful for my extended family.  This year, we said goodbye to my Grandma Stolpe, and it gave us the opportunity to spend time with parts of my family I haven’t seen in years.

Family is not an important thing. It’s everything.
Michael J. Fox

I have so many friends for whom I am thankful.  There are way too many to list here.  I’m thankful for those who have cheered me on, listened to me, and just hung out with me.

The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it.
Hubert H. Humphrey

What is one thing you would put on your thankful list this year?  Why?

Thanksgiving 2014 – My Job

This week I am celebrating a tradition in our house.  Our family Thanksgiving tradition includes tracing our hand prints onto a white tablecloth.  In each of our fingers, we write down something for which we are thankful.  This week, I’m taking time to share something I’ll be writing on the tablecloth this year.  I’m hoping you’ll contribute to the conversation by leaving something for which you are thankful for each day.

Here is the third thing I’ll be writing down this year:

My Job

In January 2014, I celebrated 18 years with my company.  I work for the leading building automation company in the Philadelphia area.  I came in as a project engineer back in 1996.  I moved through the project management ranks, and I have been an operations manager with the company for the past seven plus years.

I’ll confess that I don’t enjoy every single aspect of my job, but for the most part, I do like my job.  I really appreciate the people who I get to work with day after day.  I like the unique aspect of our projects and the demand for excellence from our valued customer base.  I especially love the fact that I get to help people succeed.

My job has given me the opportunity to see things, go places, and meet people I would have missed out on without this job.  And I’m grateful for the support I and my family have received from my workplace.

I am off from work this week (another reason to be thankful), but I am certainly looking forward to returning back on Monday to conquer the challenges that wait for me.

What is one thing you would put on your thankful list this year?  Why?

Thanksgiving 2014 – On Track

As I mentioned yesterday, our family Thanksgiving tradition includes tracing our hand prints onto a white tablecloth.  In each of our fingers, we write down something for which we are thankful.  This week, I’m taking time to share something I’ll be writing on the tablecloth this year.  I’m hoping you’ll contribute to the conversation by leaving something for which you are thankful for each day.

Here is the second thing I’ll be writing down this year:

On Track

On Track: Life Lessons from the Track & Field is the name of the book I self-published in April this year.  The book was a project in that it helped me learn more about the writing and self-publishing process, but it was more than just a project or experiment.  It truly became something for which I am very proud.

I’m thankful for the many people who contributed to my project.  There are too many to list here, but there are a few that deserve special mention.  I’m thankful for John Noonan who graciously lent his design talent to create a book cover that captures the essence of my book.  I’m thankful for Anita Comfort who utilized her English experience to edit my book.  I’m thankful for Matt McWilliams, Rob Shepherd, Diane Karchner,  Dan Erickson, and Mark Sieverkropp who read my book ahead of time and offered generous endorsements.  I’m thankful for the people who reviewed the book on Amazon.  These people (and many others) contributed to making the book release process as enjoyable as possible.

I’m thankful for the many people who have purchased the book or given it away for others to read.  I wrote this book for me, but I also wrote it for other people.  And I’m honored that people would take time to read my book.

I’m thankful for writing in general.  As I indicated in the introduction to the book, I haven’t always enjoyed writing, but it has become a part of me through the book, through my blog, and through the writing community I have joined in the past several years.  I’m thankful for the opportunity to stretch and express myself in ways I would not typically explore.

I’m thankful for the hope this book project represents for future personal writing dreams.

What is one thing you would put on your thankful list this year?  Why?

Thanksgiving 2014 – Guatemala

Our family Thanksgiving tradition includes tracing our hand prints onto a white tablecloth.  In each of our fingers, we write down something for which we are thankful.  This week, I’ll take time to share something I’ll be writing on the tablecloth this year.  I’m hoping you’ll contribute to the conversation by leaving something for which you are thankful for each day.

Here is the first thing I’ll be writing down this year:

Guatemala

This one word captures a lot of my focus this year (again).  I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve in the village of Xenacoj for the third summer in a row.  It’s not just about building houses or traveling to someplace far away.  It’s about building relationships.  It’s about transforming lives in Guatemala, in the United States, and in our own home.  And it’s definitely about having a mission mindset.

This year, I’m thankful for Betty, Marcos, Wendy, Fernando, Jose, Rosita, and El Abuelo.  We may have helped their family by building a house for them, but they deeply impacted our family.  This is the same for Angela and her family.  These two families touched us in ways that words cannot fully describe.

This year, I’m thankful for German, Suzie, and their family.  They hosted us in Xenacoj, and they made sure we felt welcome.  Because of German’s family, we know we will always have a home in Xenacoj.

This year, I’m thankful for Dave Sgro of Go! Ministries.  Dave demonstrated a man after God’s heart.  He is a man whose heart breaks for the things that break the heart of God.  Our family came home inspired thanks to Dave’s honest sharing throughout our time in Xenacoj.

This year, I’m thankful for the generosity of those here in the United States who helped to make this trip possible.  It’s takes a team to pull of this kind of trip, and many of you were part of this trip through your donations and prayers.

This year, I’m thankful for the folks from Liberty University Medical School.  They were part of our experience at the end of our trip this year.  They came scouting possible locations for medical students to serve and learn.  They showed our family the power of vision.  In the coming year, they will have the opportunity to provide medical support to communities in Guatemala who will benefit in a major way.  On top of this, we met some great lifetime friends through a couple of days together.

I could go on and on.  Guatemala once again left a huge impression on me this year!

What is one thing you would put on your thankful list this year?  Why?

5 Ways To Enhance Your Thanksgiving Celebration

Do you want to make this Thanksgiving special?

November is the month for thanksgiving thanks to the holiday happening next week.  While I’d love to see thanksgiving be better represented the rest of the year, I confess that our family probably concentrates more on giving thanks during this month than the other months in the year.

If you want to make kick up your Thanksgiving celebration an extra notch this year, I have a few ideas for you.  Here is a list of several ways to enhance your Thanksgiving experience.

1. Run or walk at a Turkey Trot.  A few years ago, I did the Thanksgiving Marathon in NYC which might be considered a little overboard by many.  Why not get out and run or walk a community 5K?  Many towns across the country have started their own Turkey Trot.  My wife and kids have run one in Latrobe, PA several times.  The races are always fun, and it makes the turkey taste so much better later that day.  This year, we’re planning something a little different.  If the weather works out, we are planning to meet at the bicycle shop in our town for a community bike ride on our nearby trail.  It’s more like a Turkey Trail Ride as opposed to a Turkey Trot, but I think it will be just the way to get us ready for the Thanksgiving festivities.
2. Invite someone over for dinner.  My guess is that you live near someone who is missing out on family.  They are lonely, and they may not have to means to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving meal.  Why not invite them over to your house?  Usually, there are more than enough leftovers to go around after the Thanksgiving feast, and we can always put an extra chair around the table.  This year, we are looking forward to hosting another family for Thanksgiving.  It will be fun to spend time together over the Thanksgiving meal.
3. Go out and serve.  There are hundreds of opportunities around your community.  The church in my hometown of Mt. Holly, NJ used to hold a Community Thanksgiving Day meal where our family served a couple of times.  This was a great way for my parents to demonstrate that Thanksgiving was so much more than turkey and football.  We had the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those in need.  Why not find a place to serve with your family this Thanksgiving season?  (If you’re in the Perkiomen Valley area, consider joining our H.O.P.E. group.  We gather together twice a month to serve others in our community.  You can find out more about the group by going to our Facebook page (HOPEontheway).
4. Start a Thanksgiving tradition.  For nearly fifteen ten years, our family has been using the same tablecloth for our Thanksgiving dinner.  The tablecloth is white.  Each year, those in attendance trace their hand onto the tablecloth using different colored fabric markers.  Then in each of the five fingers, we write down something for which we’re thankful along with our name and the year.  The tablecloth is now filled with names of grandparents who are no longer with us and with years of thanksgiving.  As we look at the table each year, we have opportunity to reflect on how God has blessed us even through years of challenge.  Why not start a new tradition this year in your home?  Go buy a tablecloth and some fabric markers today!
5. Make it Thank You Thursday every week.  Matt McWilliams is a friend of mine from the blogging community.  A couple of years ago, Matt wrote about starting a Thank You Thursday Revolution.  In his post, he encouraged readers to write a handwritten Thank You note each Thursday.  Since his post, I’ve been writing a note every week to put into the mailbox of a co-worker.  It’s been remarkable to see the reaction.  We don’t need to be thankful one Thursday of the year.  Why not join the Thank You Thursday Revolution today?  It will change your world and the world of those around you!

This is a start!

What other ideas can you add to the list?  How do you celebrate Thanksgiving?  How can do you plan to transform your holiday?

Encouraging Children To Write Thank You Notes

While I’m away in Guatemala, several people have stepped up to share their stretching stories with The Stretched Community.  Today, I have the honor and privilege of presenting Heidi Bender. Heidi blogs regularly at Tons of Thanks.  Please check out Heidi’s post and leave an answer to her question.  Afterwards, go check out her blog.  Her contact information along with a short bio can be found at the end of the post.  Thanks!

Encouraging children to write thank you notes

I discovered Jon’s blog mid-way through the 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge.  One of my favorite posts during the challenge was when Jon shared the thank you note that his son wrote when his braces were removed. I do not have any children of my own. However, I feel happy and appreciated whenever I receive a thank you note from my nieces and nephews.

Recently, two of my 13-year-old nieces went to summer camp for a week. They went on different weeks. I sent them each $5 when they were there to spend at the camp store. A couple of weeks later I received a nice hand written thank you note from them.

My nieces are twins, so they each wrote on a side of the same note card. Their notes were short and simple and conveyed their appreciation in two sentences. And the note made my day!

Would you like your kids to be known as the kids that write thank you notes? There are people who remember which kids send notes and which do not (my grandma, for example). I’ve come up with a several suggestions to help your kids stretch by writing thank you notes. Help them appreciate the value of expressing gratitude.

7 ways to encourage children to write thank you notes:

1. Set a good example when writing thank you notes of your own. Your child will likely pick up on your attitude towards them. If you feel that they are a chore, then they will also feel that way when it is their turn to write a note. If you complain, they will complain.
2. Let them know the reason why we write thank you notes. Hopefully, you are writing them because you are grateful for what you have received. Help them understand we are not entitled to the gifts that we receive from others.
3. Let them see you writing them. Do not save this a task to be completed after they are in bed. If they see you writing maybe they will ask questions and take an interest. If they have never seen you write one or talk about thank you notes, they may be very surprised when they graduate high school and are expected to write a lot of them for graduation gifts.
4. Show them how to write one. Explain that it is not a complicated process. If you are not sure how to write a thank you note, check out these 5 easy steps.
5. Send your child a thank you note for something they have done. They will learn first-hand how good it feels to be thanked! Recognition goes a long way. You could hand deliver it or put it on their pillow. It may have a greater impact if they receive it the mail. This could be thanking them for cleaning their room or taking the garbage out when asked or for a gift they gave you.
6. If they are not old enough to write yet, have them draw a picture. I have enjoyed all the hand drawn pictures I have received from my nieces and nephews when they were younger. I proudly displayed them on my refrigerator.
7. Help them make it a habit. Whenever they receive a gift, get in the routine of having them writing a thank you note within a few days or a week. The longer it is put off the more likely it is for it to be forgotten or to feel like it is too late to send it.

Do your children write thank you notes? What tips would you add to the list? What impact do you think teaching your kids to write thank you notes now will have on their life as they grow up and into adulthood?

About the Author

Heidi Bender is on a mission to help others write thank you notes. She lives in southeast Michigan with her husband and their 3 cats. She also enjoys bike riding, reading, spending time with family, and playing the organ. She also blogs about her adventure of learning how to play the organ as an adult at http://www.organistheidi.com.

You can found her thank you note writing tips, stories, and how to guides at http://www.tonsofthanks.com and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/tonsofthanks.

The 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge Comes to a Close

Each Thursday for the last three months, we’ve talked about thank you notes.  On January 2nd of this year, we officially kicked off the 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge.  If you look back at your calendar, you’ll see that the challenge comes to a close today.

I’d love to hear your stories.

Did you take the challenge?  How did the challenge go for you?  How many thank you notes did you write the last three months?  What impact have you seen for yourself and others as a result of taking the challenge?

Leave your feedback in the comments below.

Here’s my final challenge:  Don’t stop!  Keep writing thank you notes to deserving people in your life.  Spread the gratitude. 

Spread the Thank You Revolution!

Thank You Thursday – Writing Your Acknowledgements Page

As I finalize my first book which I’m hoping will be released on March 31, I’m finalizing the acknowledgements portion of the book.  For any author, this is place where we write a thank you note to those who have made a book project possible.  There are many people I’ll be thanking (you’ll have to pick up a copy of the book though to read the list).

The exercise of writing acknowledgments is a great way to appreciate others.  I’m learning it’s a little harder than one might think to write this section of a book.  I want to make sure I thank the people who really made it happen, and I certainly don’t want to miss anyone.  If I really think about it, I could probably fill a book with thank you notes for people who have made a difference in my life.  (Maybe that’s an idea for another book in the future.)

Next week is the final week of the 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge.  Before we close out the challenge, I’d like to challenge you to write an acknowledgement section for your future book.  Use the time to express your gratitude for those who have changed your world for the better.  When you’re done, make a copy of your acknowledgements and send it out to those you appreciate.  I think you’ll make someone’s day.

Share a few sentences from your acknowledgements in the comments below.

Stay tuned for more details about the release of On Track – Life Lessons from the Track & Field.  I’ll be posting more information in the coming days.

Mary’s Thank You Note Story

“We share our gratitude and that has made all the difference.”  Click to Tweet

 Stories matter.  Today, I’m privileged to share a story from Matt McWilliams’ book, The Power of Gratitude.  The 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge will be over in a few weeks, but the Thank You Revolution will continue.  You have a gratitude story worth sharing.  I hope this story will inspire you to share your story.  Share your thank you note story in the comments.

Mary’s Thank You Note Story

Mary finally shut down her computer and tucked her chair under her desk.  

It was 12:42 A.M. and she was finally leaving the office. She’d be back in less than six hours for the executive team meeting, during which they would likely decide on another round of layoffs, including at least two of her remaining eighteen team members.

She was the Vice President of Sales for a company that at its peak had more than two hundred employees. Today, they had slightly more than two-thirds that many with another round of layoffs on the way.

Times were tough and her team was stressed to the breaking point. Almost half of their co-workers and friends had been laid off. Those remaining had their resumes ready and spent every spare moment looking for jobs. Morale was at an unmanageably low point.

As Mary prepared to step back into the office from the cold winter chill while her car warmed up, she remembered that she had forgotten to do one last thing before she left. So she trudged up to her office, reached into the top left drawer and retrieved a small envelope with the name “Henry” on it. She took the envelope and its contents, a short, handwritten note, to Henry’s office and slid it under the door.

“No one writes handwritten notes anymore,” Mary thought to herself. “He’ll probably think I am after something.”

By morning, Mary had forgotten all about the note. Four restless hours of sleep, a quick shower, and two strong cups of coffee after she left the office last night, she was back. Sure enough, the team decided to lay off another twelve people including two from Mary’s sales team.

As she exhaustedly sunk into her chair, with the weight of two more pink slips crashing into her shoulders, she heard a knock on her door and invited the visitor in. It was Henry, holding the note.

Henry looked the part of an ex-Marine, but Mary had never taken the time to find out if he was. Six-feet tall, clean-shaven head, and noticeably muscular structure, Henry seemed like an impenetrable fortress of manhood. To Mary, he was direct, cold, and all business. He was Mary’s last choice to be the recipient of her first thank you note. Nevertheless, he had helped her immensely earlier that week with next year’s forecast and so it made sense to thank him.

“Mary, I just wanted to thank you so much for writing this and leaving it for me this morning,” Henry opened up. “It means a lot to know that my help was appreciated. If you ever need anything else, just let me know.”

He turned to leave, but before he could reach the door, Mary spoke up.

“I meant it. I could not have gotten through last week without your help. With all of the budget cutbacks, I couldn’t make sense of how to make the conferences fit into the budget.”

“No problem at all,” said Henry. “Anytime.”

And with that, he was gone.

Within a week, Mary had learned more about Henry than she had learned in the previous two years working with him.

He was not a former Marine, but did serve as a Reservist in the National Guard. His two-week vacation every year went to training and his family was fearful that at any moment he would be called to fight overseas.

They were able to help each other with two difference projects. And Mary was able to lend Henry two of her team members to help beta test new software. Henry, in turn, wrote a thank you note to Mary for doing so.

Mary continued to write thank you notes and continued to form closer relationships with all of her colleagues and direct reports. She even began to leave post-it notes on computers and write messages to her team on their white boards.

But it was her handwritten notes that quickly became the talk of the company.

Team morale was noticeably improving. It didn’t take long for others outside the department to notice. When other executives asked why, she reminded them of the notes that they themselves received from her.

“Gratitude,” she said. “We share our gratitude and that has made all the difference.” Click to Tweet

“You know, I got a thank you note from one of my programmers last week,” T.J. told her. “On paper. Paper! I didn’t even know programmers knew how to write with a pen.”

The Thank You Revolution was spreading. The company culture was changing. Morale was skyrocketing.

Now if this was a Hollywood story, what would come next is the sudden resurgence of company profits, the returning of all of those who were laid off, and the promotion of Mary to CEO.

But this isn’t a Hollywood story. In fact, five weeks after Mary’s first note, seven more people were laid off, thankfully none from her department. She only wrote her first note nine weeks before she shared her story with me. We have yet to see what will result financially from the Thank You Revolution taking hold of her company.

It only took nine weeks for a culture of gratitude to institute itself in her company. In the past four weeks, the average person, she estimated, has written ten thank you notes each. And it shows no signs of stopping.

Managers reported more openness with their team members. Customers showed increased satisfaction and one CEO even responded to a thank you note with a referral to a CEO friend of his who was on the board of a large non-profit that is likely to become the company’s largest client.

Team members were arguing less. Married people even reported better relationships with their spouses. The Thank You Revolution was not confined to work.

All in nine weeks.

That is the Power of Gratitude.

That is a story from the Thank You Revolution.

As an added bonus, if you’d like to know the rest of Mary’s story, you can read it here.

Now it’s your turn.  What’s your Thank You Note story?

BIO: Matt McWilliams is a world changer. And so are you. Matt’s goal is to help you to be the world changer God made you to be.  To be clear, Matt will not make you a world changer. You already are. His goal is to help you find that person inside of you.

He blogs about personal growth, business, and leadership at MattMcWilliams.com and tweets about the #ThankYouRevolution and more at @MattMcWilliams2 (don’t forget the 2 or you get an egg).  To get a FREE copy of Matt’s book, The Power of Gratitude, click here.

A Thank You Note Deal

I don’t typically post stuff like this, but I thought it was appropriate considering today is Thank You Thursday, we are nearing the end of the 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge, and I just received my first order of Thank You notes from tinyprints.

Click on the banner above to have a look for yourself.  If you order thank you notes today, you get 40% off.