365 Thank Yous: The Year A Simple Act Of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
I recently started taking a marketing class for solo professionals. Our first assignment was to write one handwritten note a day for the month of October. It could be about anything, business or personal, to anyone. By the end of the month I was surprised by the results. One former client emailed to thank me and asked to set up another financial planning engagement. A colleague wrote me a note wishing me professional success that brought me to tears. A woman wrote me back and enclosed a check for my son. Not in response to a note, another colleague wrote that he submitted my name to his church's prayer group! At first I was taken aback, but I wrote him back to say I was touched at the thought of strangers in a distant state praying for me. This exchange of handwritten notes has deepened our collegial relationship.Another student in our class recommended this book "A Simple Act of Gratitude: How Learning to Say Thank You Changed My Life". It is a quick read. I was moved by the author's true story of using the act of writing thank you notes to focus on what was good in his life, at a time when a lot was bad. Through the notes, almost one a day for a year, he realized that he had much to be grateful for and this gave him the energy and resolve to fix other aspects of his life that were negative. If he could not fix them, he learned to accept.He writes with clarity and authenticity. I enjoyed this book very much. This is one of those books that I never realized how much I needed until I opened it. The kind where the timing’s so perfect you feel heart string tugs as you read.Kralik is honest. He doesn’t sugarcoat the yuck in his life. He just tells his story deeply, and it resonates.I don’t have much patience for false Pollyannas who think we should only ever smile and say “All's fine!” even as life’s knocking us down. But I can sure relate to seeing those aspects of life that pull you down – money, relationships, fading dreams, -- and being unwilling to stay down. Longing to rise up and focus on beauty and gladness in spite of the mess. That’s where 365 Thank Yous spoke to me.Kralik was living the middle of his own gigantic mess when he resolved to look for one person each day that he could write a thank you note to. He wrote notes to everyone from family, to clients, to friends, to Starbucks workers. As he did, it opened his eyes to the grace that surrounded him.“Through the process of writing thank-you notes, I had developed a notion of being blessed with grace that was meaningful to me. And I see this grace and these blessings everywhere—in my sons, daughters, siblings, friends, and colleagues, for just a few of more than a hundred examples—where I had not seen it before.”I loved the book and hope to start my own 365 thank yous shortly.
What do You think about 365 Thank Yous: The Year A Simple Act Of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life (2010)?
Inspiring read.... going to do my own version!Thanks John! Well done you!
—polkm
Interesting idea, but so poorly written I could barely make it through.
—Jtb
A great read. Could be life changing if you let it...
—Amycat
