Whoa – 3 days in and feeling awesome! I love life and I’m thankful for these two 🙂

In Fire #1, we figured out that having something you love to do first thing in the morning is a MUST.

In Fire #2, we explored the miraculous power of our minds and the RIGHT inputs it requires to produce better outcomes.

Today, we’ll explore the power of reflection and GRATITUDE. Years ago, I read the Last Lecture (Click Here ) which made me completely rethink life. And, I wasn’t the only one.

Randy Pausch, upon learning that he had little time left on earth, took the world by storm when he gave a speech at Carnegie Mellon University which then led to this book that he wrote in the very late stages of his life. He was an extremely accomplished professor who at 47 left behind a beautiful wife and 3 young children.

His story ripped my heart out. Years later, it still makes me sad. As a father to a 4 year old, there is nothing scarier than the thought of not being able to watch her grow.

He writes…Yes, a percentage of my sadness is, “I won’t, I won’t, I won’t…” But a bigger part of me grieves for them. I keep thinking, “They won’t…they won’t…they won’t.” That’s what chews me up inside, when I let it. I know their memories of me may be fuzzy. That’s why I’m trying to do things with them that they’ll find unforgettable.

The captions kill me……”Making memories with Dylan” & “Logan, the ultimate Tigger”

By now, I’m sure you can imagine how profound of a book this is. It’s one that I recommend every person in the world read. It’s a book on humanity and everyone can become better from it.

While there is no shortage of lessons to be learned. There is one story that really helped shape me to this day and it speaks to the power of gratitude.

Chapter 41 – The Lost Art of Thank-You Notes

“Showing Gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.”

Without ruining the wonderful story, Randy talks about the power of a hand written thank you note and shares a story of a time he was reviewing someones application and came across a thank you letter the person had hand written to a non faculty support staffer who helped her with arrangements for the visit. This person tossed her thank you letter into the application file and ended up being the reason that she was admitted into the program.

This story made me reflect on the many people who have helped me tremendously along my own personal journey and before I knew it, a new hobby was formed. I started by sending thank you letters to some of the people who have had a monumental impact on my life. Even some who I had not necessarily developed the strongest bonds with.

These were handwritten and my hand writing is terrible so I also typed each one. Which is cool because I now have them all electronically to go back and review later in life. This turned into a love for gifting books and writing inscriptions within them. A small way for me to let someone else know, years from now, that they touched my life in a special way.

This year so far, I have gifted 3 books and wrote three special inscriptions. The power that this has is truly hard to describe. There is nothing in the world better than opening yourself up and letting others know how wonderful you think they are. And how appreciative you are for what they have done.

This simple tradition has led to other easy practices. Over the phone, through text, in an email, within a comment, I will let others know how cool I think they are and thank them for their awesomeness when warranted.

It’s an amazing super power. And it makes the world better.

Thank you for your time. If this resonated or you enjoyed please enter email for the daily blog delivered beautifully to your inbox.

A nice and quick way to start the morning.

And don’t forget to read Fire #1 and Fire #2 if you have not already. Tomorrow will be Fire #4 out of 5.

with love,

-chad shipley