Managing to Make a Difference

Chapter 79Express Your Gratitude

We wrote Managing to Make a Difference to help you discover strategies, tactics, and techniques that empower you to make a difference in the lives of your employees. Many of these approaches can be used with your friends and family to make a bigger difference in their lives.

In this final chapter, we bring the endeavor of making a difference full circle. We encourage you to reflect on and express gratitude to the people who have made a significant, positive difference in your life.

Experiment: Thank Those Who Made a Difference in Your Life

1. Think about the people whose influence helped you become who you are today, people who have made a significant, positive, and lasting difference in your life.
2. Take a few moments and make a list of their names. No matter your age, the list is not long. Just take a few moments and write their names.
3. Chances are you have not thought about some of these people in a while. Some might have passed away.
4. Visualize each person, one by one.
5. Think about what each one did that influenced you in such a powerful, lasting way.
6. Now, answer this question: Do they know what a huge difference they made in your life? We submit that unless you have told them, they do not know.
7. Here comes the immensely rewarding part: tell them. Tell them in person, or tell them in a handwritten letter. Tell them openly, sincerely, and authentically from your heart.
8. If you are visualizing actually doing this, you might be uncomfortable or even ...