Impactful Gratitude
Last week I got to spend some time with my great friends, Bob Burg and Kathy Tagenel at the Go-Giver Sales Academy in Orlando, Florida. I had accompanied my wife and daughter who run K&K Worldwide Media and had enrolled in the two-day workshop as a means to help them as they implemented new strategies in their business.
I had really planned to spend more time watching spring training baseball than anything else, but somehow got so intrigued with the program, I didn’t miss a minute myself.
As usual, it followed the Go-Giver principles built on the five laws of stratospheric success, however, this went deeper than that. There were talented people from all over the world in this session, and many of the practices and recommendations shared were so valuable. You can say a few lifelong friends were made.
So I got to meet new friends, hang with my wife and daughter at a professional conference, and see Bob and Kathy again, all in one setting. However, as special as this was, my takeaway was a simple reminder on how to live.
On the second day during an exercise on receiving, each person went around the room and gave credit and thanks for the experiences they had enjoyed over their brief time together. There were laughs, smiles and tears, yes tears. This was inspirational to me. The key to the exercise was to get people comfortable with receiving good feedback while helping the messenger deliver with comfort and courage.
At the end of it, Bob Burg made the reference to living in constant gratitude. Wow! I thought. What a simple yet impactful way to go about life. It’s not like I forget how blessed I am or forget to say thank you, but to remind me to truly live in it. Live a life of gratitude, be thankful in everything and let people see it, feel it.
This week, my travels carried me to Washington, DC and a stay at the Normandy Hotel (highly recommended if you like great service). The conference hotel was booked up so I had to handle the inconvenience of walking nearly a mile back and forth to the conference where I spoke on Becoming an Employer of Choice.
When I returned to my hotel after a very long day, I had a snack craving. Unfortunately this hotel doesn’t do snacks or have a restaurant on site. The front team made suggestions, offered to get me a cab and even looked to see if cookies baked in the morning were still available. None were.
This did not deter me from giving complete thanks and living in gratitude. This made me feel great! I could see it made them feel great.
At 9:45 PM as I was winding down my evening, there was a knock on my door. As I opened the door, the young lady (Karimah) met me with a smile and two of the warmest chocolate chip cookies I have had in years. She simply said she knew how much I would appreciate it. I could not thank her enough!
My living in gratitude was received so well, this young emerging leader helped make my stay just a little better, and locked me in for a repeat stay next time I head to DC.
I want to thank the good folks in Orlando from the Go-Giver Sales Academy. From time-to-time we need to be reminded on what life really is all about; making an impact on others. Thank you!
- Gary Campbell