Have you ever heard of a Gratitude Jar?

The concept is quite simple:

You jot down things that you and your family are grateful for throughout the year on small slips of paper and put them in the jar.

Anyone can grab a scrap of paper and add it to the jar.

This is a great way to instill gratitude in your children and learn to appreciate the little things in life, that we might take for granted.

TIP: Make your gratitude more powerful by adding a statement of WHY you're grateful for whatever you're writing down for your gratitude.

Then, at the end of the year, you and your family can sit down together, pour out all the slips of paper and share all of the grateful memories.

You can start your gratitude jar any time of the year, but many people like to start on January 1.

I've heard of a gratitude jar before, but my sister recently sent me an email that Oprah just came out with her Favorite Things list this year, and included a Gratitude Jar!

So what do you think? Have you ever used a Gratitude Jar? Do you think you'll start using one?

Write me back and let me know!

I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

I am grateful for you because...

How powerful are those 6 words?

Extremely!

However, I feel like these 6 words aren't used often enough.

More and more people are adopting a gratitude practice, which I love!

But I feel like many people are just going through the motions:

I'm grateful for my house, my bed and my dog Fido.

I want to challenge you to take your gratitude deeper and express not only WHAT you're grateful for, but WHY you're grateful for that thing or person.

It will make things much more powerful.

For example, I'm grateful for my dog Fido because he loves me unconditionally. Everytime I come home, even if I'm down or had a bad day, he puts a smile on my face. He licks me and let's me give him belly rubs and then we have fun playing fetch.

That's so much more powerful than just saying, I'm grateful for my dog.

Especially when you're telling another human being that you're grateful for them. Take it one step further and tell them WHY.

Whether you are telling them in person or in a card, it's going to be so powerful for them and you.

And you might see some tears. Believe me. :)

Have a grateful day!

In October of 2000, I packed my 1992 Honda Accord as full as I could and took off to Phoenix, Arizona.

2 weeks prior, I had quit my well paying research job at a children's hospital in Dallas, Texas to start a new life in Arizona.

I was pursuing my dream of working in the fitness industry and living wherever I wanted to.

By Christmas my dreams had landed with a thud.

I was fired from the fitness job I was working in, and didn't have anywhere to turn.

I hadn't made many contacts in the 2 months I was there.

I was out of a job and almost out of money.

My nights were filled with tossing and turning in bed and lots of tears.

What had I done?

I had left a well paying, stable job in Dallas.

I had turned my relationship with my girlfriend at the time to a long distance one, which wasn't easy.

And just 2 months later, I had nothing to show for it.

So in April on 2001, I packed up my bags and moved back to Dallas.

I felt defeated, like a failure.

Fast forward to 2005 and I was running a very successful women's only bootcamp that lasted 5 1/2 years.

Fast forward 5 years after that and my entire business was online, allowing me the freedom to move to the beautiful state of Colorado, where I'm surrounded by mountains and all the outdoor fun you could ever want.

More recently I took another risk, and launched Say It With Gratitude in 2016

So what did that experience in Arizona teach me?

Taking a risk and "failing" taught me a lot.

It taught me to stare fear in the face and confront it head on.

It taught that the "worst case scenario" isn't as bad as I thought, and I was able to survive.

It taught me the importance of my family and friends during one of the low points of my life.

It taught me that to achieve my goals and dreams, that I have to get uncomfortable and step out of my comfort zone.

But most of all, it taught me the joys of running my own small business where I get to help others on a daily basis.

And even though running a small business has it's ups and downs, I wouldn't trade it for the world. :)

We don't have long on this Earth, so go out and pursue your dreams.

Don't wait!

And be grateful for your "failures." :)

I don't think we say hello enough.

I really noticed this when I took a trip to Guatemala in July 2014 to help build schools for some kids in communities that didn't have much.

What stood out was how friendly everyone was to each other.

In the morning, I'd be walking to breakfast with the other volunteers and everyone I passed on the street would say "buenos dias" which means "good morning."

And they would look at you in the eye and smile while saying this.

I couldn't help but smile and say "buenos dias" right back at them.

When I returned to Denver, I noticed that we rarely do this.

Most of the people I pass on the street do not say hello, or look at you.

Even in the hallways of my apartment complex, almost everyone I pass is either looking down on their phone, or looking straight ahead, trying NOT to make eye contact.

And they usually aren't smiling either. :(

From someone who has spent some time in Guatemala where everyone seems friendly, one little hello can go a long way.

Believe me.

If someone says hello to you and smiles, it will instantly make you feel good.

If you do it to someone else, you will instantly make them feel good.

But don't wait until someone else says hello to you.

Take the lead, and start to say hello to everyone you pass.

I can guarantee your day will be better because of it.

When is the last time you got a thank you card from a business when you were the customer?

I'm talking about a handwritten thank you note that you received in the mailbox.

If it's been awhile, you might not even know the answer.

Now, let's turn the tables.

When's the last time YOU sent a thank you card to one of your customers?

Or a co-worker?

Or a vendor?

Or to anyone for that matter?

It it's been more than 30 days, it's been too long.

Acts of gratitude can be the differentiating factor in business.

Even though it's so simple, relatively few businesses use appreciation as a way to stand out from the competition.

Clients and customers want to feel appreciated. Like they matter. And sending handwritten thank you notes to your customers will do that.

I recently read an article about a business owner who had a meeting with a prospective client.

After the meeting, he sent the prospect a Signature Box of Gratitude Cookies to say thank you for the meeting.

That investment turned into a $25,000 contract.

Pretty awesome return for saying "thank you" in a unique way.

So think about who you can send a thank you card to today.

I'm a member of a few fitness groups on Facebook and a common question I've seen a few fitness owners ask recently is what gift should they give their clients to show appreciation.

People have been suggesting yoga mats, gloves, jump ropes, t-shirts, water bottles with the business logo on them, journals, towels with the business logo on them and gift cards.

I don’t think any of these are great ideas.

First of all, if you give your clients a gift with your business logo on it, it smells of self-promotion, NOT true appreciation.

Secondly, if you get every client the same gift, it shows that you didn't put much thought into truly appreciating them.

If you get everyone a Starbucks gift card, guess what? Not everyone drinks coffee (or likes Starbucks).

If you get everyone a bottle of wine, guess what? Not everyone likes wine. Or they might be a recovering alcoholic.

Many of these clients have been with you for a year or longer.

And they've spent hundreds, if not thousands of dollars with your business.

Spend a little extra time and money to personalize the gift to each individual.

This goes for any business owner, or anyone that wants to show appreciation in the workplace.

If you truly care and love your clients (which I know you do or you wouldn't have a business without them) take a little extra time and spend a little extra money to make the gift personal.

That little extra effort will go a long way.

There is a great book that I just finished reading called Giftology.

It's all about the art of appreciating clients with gifts.

The book suggests you make the gift one that the spouse can enjoy too.

One of the suggested gifts is an engraved carving knife (engraved with the client's name, not your logo). :)

Then, anytime the recipient or spouse uses the knife, your name will come front and center in their mind,

And if you don't have the money for gifts, no worries.

A well thought out handwritten thank you note showing true appreciation for your client will be a winner!

Much better than a towel with your logo on it, don't you think? :)

Normally when talking about ways to express gratitude, I talk about keeping a gratitude journal, or writing handwritten thank you cards.

Today, I want to talk about 5 lesser known ways to show gratitude:

1) Flash A Smile: A lot of people don't smile these days, and often you have to be the one that initiates it. But not only does smiling make you feel good, smiling at someone will make their day too. Smile more and watch how your day can instantly turn around. While you're at it, give compliments too. Be sincere - find something about the person that you appreciate and let them know.

2) Do Something Unexpected For Someone: It's a great feeling to have someone bring home flowers unexpectedly, have dinner ready on the table, or give a hug out of nowhere. Surprise someone for no reason and brighten her or his day.

3) Go Complaint Free For 21 Days: Do you think you could stop complaining for 21 days straight? Complaining feels good because it gets out our negative feelings. However, if it becomes a habit, it can bring us down. Switching from complaints to all of life's goodness will enhance our lives.

4) Celebrate Your Wins: Be thankful for your successes. Write down all that you've accomplished this past year, which you may not even realize how many there are, and then savor these successes rather than thinking about what you didn't accomplish. Wanna start small? Start a wins journal and write down all your wins from yesterday, big or small. And then celebrate! :)

5) Share A Positive Review: We often only write reviews when we have something negative to say. Share a positive review about a place you stayed or a service you received on a website like Yelp or Trip Advisor to help support a business.

Today, I want to invite you to a new Facebook group I've put together called The Grateful Entrepreneur

I think in most businesses, gratitude is lacking.

Most often than not, businesses don't send thank you cards to their customers and clients and show them true appreciation.

And most often than not, employees don't feel appreciated in the workplace.

I think these need to change, and I'm on a mission to help businesses create a gratitude culture as part of their business.

So if you're an entrepreneur or business owner, looking to grow your business with gratitude, and show your clients and customers how much you appreciate them...

...and even if you work for a company and want some ideas how your entire office or company can have a culture of gratitude.

Then join our Facebook group, The Grateful Entrepreneur at https://www.facebook.com/groups/thegratefulentrepreneur/

I've got a book recommendation for you today.

It's called Spread Thanks by Elena Anguita.

A few years ago, Elena started writing one handwritten thank you note each morning.

After awhile, little miracles kept popping up in her life.

In her book, she shares her story of spreading gratitude with these handwritten notes and talks about the miracles that have happened to her as a result of sending out these notes.

I got a copy when it first came out and it’s wonderful. You can grab a copy of it on Amazon.

A couple years ago I was doing some research about happiness in the workplace, and I came across this startling statistic:

70% of employees say they receive no praise or recognition at work.

I was shocked.

I guess I shouldn't be.

I’ve had jobs where I didn’t feel appreciated at work.

I recall one specific job where I vividly remember being told when I did something wrong.

But never praised when I did something right.

One day I had my 90 day performance review and I was so stressed out about it. I went into my boss’s office and he proceeded to tell me everything I was doing wrong. There were no positive works from the meeting.

For awhile, I thought not feeling appreciated at work was something that just I was experiencing.

That it wasn't very common.

But with 70% of workers feeling this way, I guess not!

It turns out, there are a lot of great ways to appreciate someone at work!

Similar to the 5 Love Languages (you may know the book), there are 5 Languages of Appreciation at Work.

Words of Affirmation (I could have used this).

Quality Time

Acts of Service

Tangible Gifts

Physical Touch

The key is to find out what the primary appreciation language is for each individual person at work, and then tailor your appreciation for them.

We're all human, right?

We have different needs and desires.

It's time to start treating our co-workers, staff, bosses and employees as humans, with kindness.

Do that, and you'll have a much happier workplace.

One other quick note: I offer trainings on appreciation in the workplace so we can dive into this concept deeper. If you're wanting a happier workplace with more a productive staff and less turnover, let me know. I might be able to help! We can even do the training virtually. Shoot me an email if you want to discuss at [email protected]