After celebrating 40 last year, Kim decided to name the month of August “Hugust”. As you might imagine this came from my desire to celebrate my 40th for 30 days and 30 nights (unfortunately, this year, “Hugust” is already over). I’ll admit this year wasn’t quite as fun as last year but I was blown away by the calls/cards/gifts I received. I know I’m a broken record on the subject but I get more value from being on the receiving end of something, positive or negative, and realizing how it feels, good or bad, than any other form of learning. Point being, I can often be the guy that skips the call to a good friend to wish them a happy birthday. I can skip the card with something nicely written, and I can certainly skip the gift. Roy Mason has been working with me on having more gratitude for the past year. Most of the decisions we make around family/friends/coworkers etc.. can be broken down into either having gratitude, or lack thereof. Having been on the receiving end of some serious outpouring of love/friendship, my gratitude meter is running high. In all reality, I understand it’s a bit of a selfish reason to have a lot of gratitude right now but I’m glad I recognize how it feels. I’m going to try to remember this current feeling as long as I possibly can and when I have the opportunity to make someone’s day (or even a minute, or an hour), I’m going to give it my best shot. Having purposeful gratitude toward others and impacting someone’s life in a positive way is 100% up to us, and pretty darn easy to do. Contagious too as it’s pretty hard to be in a bad mood and have gratitude at the same time. As I type this I have my coffee, a smile on my face, and girl from Ipanmea playing in the back ground…..HA. Have a great rest of the day.
by Hunter Marckwardt