Every year on Thanksgiving I have a ritual of using my usual morning meditation time for closing my eyes and visualizing all the things from the past 12 months I am thankful for. I let the images from the past year float through my brain and bow to each one.
My list is long this year. I’m thankful for my husband, Bill, without whom I would not have physically or mentally survived the past year of surgeries, months in a wheelchair, and struggling to walk again. I’m thankful for our 16 years with our beagle girl, Phoebe, who we lost last March during the very worst times with my recuperation. I’m thankful for the fabulous music we enjoy as a vital part of Nashville’s culture. God knows I am thankful for our small winter home on Florida’s Gulf Coast, where I can soak up the sunshine and avoid the gray drizzle that comes with Tennessee’s winter. Sitting in a wheelchair for 14 weeks non-stop without standing is much easier in warm sunshine, believe me!
I’m so thankful for the team who helps me both personally and professionally, who always are there to support me.
- Mika Howard, the most accomplished and helpful VA ever!
- Cyndi Papia, my webmaster extraordinaire who watches all my websites like a hawk and keeps up to the minute on all things WordPress
- Vanessa Hampton, my trainer and physical therapy assistant in Nashville, whose constant encouragement cheers me up always
- Frank Dieckman, the world-class therapy specialist in Florida without whom I literally would not be walking
- Lisa Miller, our housekeeper and assistant in Nashville (and a fabulous motorcross photographer, too!)
- Teresa Mateo and Paul Hallick, our housekeeper and condo-watchers in Florida
- Jon Maxson, who watches our investments and keeps us on track financially
- Paul Evans and Ali Brown who are my main teachers in business
- The two multi-millionaire business owners (they prefer to be nameless) who have mentored me in my business for over a decade now
- David Cashen, the orthopedic surgeon whose skill and expertise has created a way for me to have some mobility against all odds
The list could go on – my own spiritual teachers, the woman in my mastermind groups, my own clients who stretch me and who give me great joy as I watch them create the business and life they most want for themselves and those they love. The past 12 months has come with both joys and sorrows. Our work is to be thankful for it all, use everything in some way to enrich and bless our own life and the lives of others.
Happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of you! If you aren’t in the U.S. and don’t celebrate the holiday, still do the exercise of visualization what you are thankful for. It helps you gain perspective and wisdom for yourself and your work.
As a small way to express my thanks to you, here’s a link to one of my case studies, How To Recognize A Marketing Opportunity and Act Quickly. It shows you how I saw an opportunity and what I did, step-by-step, to take advantage of it. No opt-in is required, just hit the link and download it. Enjoy!
Here’s to a life and business filled with goodness and grace.
I am thankful for you! You inspire me in so many ways, Sue…. Happy Thanksgiving!