Human Behavior

Gratitude is one of the most fun ways to build a thriving business. When you regularly practice gratitude, you set yourself up for success. It helps you of your brand. And it gives you grease to bring in new business. Here’s how:

1. Focus on the unusual sensation

“I feel a very unusual sensation – if it is not indigestion, I think it must be gratitude.” – Benjamin Disraeli

Years ago, I used to be an entitled a$$hat. Opportunities would come to me. And I thought that I deserved the world. Slap me silly. Good thing that this mindset got stale. Because I was forced to learn new ways of thinking to design the new life that I wanted.

Benjamin Disraeli is right – it does feel un-freakin-usual at first. If you’re used to not feeling grateful when life is good, you feel silly for being grateful when life goes bad (and boy, did my life go bad three years ago).

My struggles seemed insurmountable. I was scared. Miserable. Broke. So naturally, gratitude felt “off.” The emotion felt entirely fake. But I surrendered to the unusualness – and over time, gratitude started to feel more normal.

I started to focus on simple things. Things like…

• technology! I could publish my thoughts.
• words! I could communicate with other humans.
• ideas! I could innovate.
• vodka! I could be funny (well, sort of…)

Fusing words, ideas, and technology can be an unusual sensation. A sensation that is often entirely new to most people. You’re finding your voice. Building your tribe. You’re putting yourself out in the world (hopefully with hefty shots of vodka as you hit publish). But when you’re going through a dark time, you no longer feel the darkness…when you focus on gratitude.

Gratitude helps you to channel fear into love…which gives birth to a new form of faith through which you can rebuild your life from scratch (file this under: if I can do it, so can you).

Whether you’re going through a dark time, or you’re trying to recreate yourself, gratitude helps you get there. Trust me (or trust the vodka).

2. innovate + imagine

Whether you want to create a new method, idea or product, innovation + imagination helps you get there. And gratitude is your foundation.

Gratitude is what allowed me to start living less out of habit. And more out of intent. I put all of my trust into my imagination. This means rainbows and unicorns. And magical trips on carpet rides to the other end of the Universe. This didn’t happen (yet). But at least my imagination leads to innovative ideas…which are almost as magical as rainbows and unicorns.

Imagination gives you the power to innovate. Focus on what makes you feel innovative. connected. human. creative. alive. follow your dreams. your passions. your obsessions. don’t box yourself in. Because boxes are meant to be broken open (preferably by a horn-wielding unicorn).

Look at the horn on this one!

3. Write out your words

When I write out my words like a boss I surrender to this “other self” that seems to dictate my life. And when I’m done with writing out my words, I think “how the hell did I just write that?!”

Is it:

a. vodka

b. sarcasm

c. neither. my pup writes my posts

d. all of the above

Don’t answer that.

The thing is, you do need gratitude in your heart for every human who reads the words you write. It’s crucial when you’re building an online audience. With all of the online noise, you need to stay humble. I’m always humbled to know that someone took two seconds out of their day to read my words (and to take my totally unnecessary multiple choice tests).

It’s terrifying and beautiful to resonate with people.

And resonating is a real responsibility. When you write, you are at the mercy of your audience. It’s up to them to decide whether your words are good. You can’t just scream from the rooftop that your words resonate (well, you can. but it’s better if others scream it for you).

If people don’t think your words are genius, keep writing. Keep waiting for that one person to email you and say “this changed my life!” It will happen…eventually. And then that’s when you can scream from your rooftop – with a cocktail in hand.

Even if you’re not a good writer, you can always learn how to educate and entertain your customers. It’s the smart, cost-effective way to have fun in the modern age. And also the best alternative to Tinder today.

But in all seriousness, I’m grateful for you for reading my words. As a token of thanks, you can schedule a 20-minute call with me here. You bring the rainbows. I’ll bring the unicorns. Let’s make some freakin’ magic (and bring in business)!