what led us here

It is such a JOY and an honor to have YOU joining me — joining US for this amazing journey of knowing, growing, and showing gratitude and using the Grateful App as a portal for growing gratitude globally and generationally.

Since this is Post One, it seems fitting to share with you [some of] the backstory for how the Grateful App came to be — what led us here…what led me here? And, of course, if you know me or as you get to know me, you’ll discover I’m a curious fella and I want to know what led YOU here — both to this place in life as well as you joining us on the Grateful App.

Did I tell you that I’m grateful for YOU and so glad you are here?

You may hear me say that a lot — it’s because I am grateful for you…and honored to have you as part of this journey and inviting me to be part of yours.

Thank you!

the origins

Now, back to the story…the backstory, that is.

I was taught to be thankful — to say please and thank you as part of good manners. Then, some 20+ years ago now, a mentor encouraged me to think of “three things you’re thankful for before your feet hit the floor getting out of bed each day.”

If you asked me, “Are you grateful?”

“Of course I am,” would have been my fast…and flippant reply.

I’m not even sure I had even given gratitude serious thought — at least no deep thought. Until a fateful day — April 17, 2018 to be exact.

Not only was it a memorable day, I’ve got a journal entry documenting that day.

On most mornings, I pop up out of bed. Usually by 5:00 am if not before…and without an alarm clock.

Not that morning. I languished. I was awake several times…but simply didn’t have the get up and go to get up. So, I didn’t.

It was around 7:30 when I finally dragged my fanny out of bed. And I mean dragged. Lackluster. No energy. No excitement. No enthusiasm.

Wondering what’s the point. Who cares? Does it matter if I get up or not?

Out of sheer habit and discipline, I fell into my morning rhythm (I prefer to think of it as rhythm and not routine because I do many of the same things — rarely in the same order).

As I prayed, I cried out for help. “Holy Spirit, you are the source of creativity — spark creativity in me.”

That was IT! I had nothing else to pray. And laid down on the floor.

45 minutes later, I popped up with an idea. An idea to host a 90-day program (13 weeks) that we called The ExtraOrdinary Life. Each week had a theme…what if you explored and embraced the theme of the week and put it into practice. Might your ordinary life become a bit more extraordinary.

That was the premise.

We laid out 13 weeks of topics — each framed as a challenge.

Week Six — smack dab in the middle was The Gratitude Challenge. As I prepared content for that week’s session — I realized I had always assumed that being thankful and being grateful were the same things. Two synonyms for the same idea.

That belief began to change!

the invitation

Fast forward to June 17, 2019. It was in one of those early morning quiet times of prayer, meditation, worship, and reflection when I heard these four words,”Host a gratitude challenge?”

I heard it as a question. An invitation.

I said yes. Immediately, I called my new gratitude pal, Steve Foran and asked, “Want to join me and cohost a gratitude challenge?”

Never mind I had no clear concept of what a gratitude challenge is or how we’d structure it. I was simply taking action on an inspired idea.

Steve’s reply was nothing like I thought it would be. Instead of asking loads of questions, he simply said, “Count me in.”

Later that day, Steve, Christy Kern, and I met to outline this gratitude challenge thingy. We landed on hosting one 10-day challenge that would start on Monday, July 8, 2019.

I’ll save that story for another day. For now, the Cliff Notes’ version is that ONE Gratitude Challenge was a phenomenal success and ended up having 22 runs reaching over 2,800 people from 73 countries.

Then came 2020. And you know what came with 2020!

Covid will probably be the MOST memorable event of 2020…but BC…before Covid — do you remember the hope and optimism people had over the new decade?

I do. I was one of them.

Covid had a unique ability of draining life and breath out of billions of people on the planet. Quite literally for the million plus people who died (God rest their souls).

The business I had dried up — like so many business owners I know. I kept leaning further and further into gratitude.

Both personally and professionally.

By that time, I was incorporating gratitude as an “add-on” to everything I did and every meeting I led.

ALL IN on GRATITUDE

Then came another fateful day. I was on my morning walk — Thursday, September 10, 2020. I can take you to the side street in our neighborhood where I was when poof — out of nowhere this question was front and center in my mind…

Of all of the things that energize and excite you, what is the ONE thing that has the broadest appeal and greatest impact?

GRATITUDE was my immediate answer! Right then and there, I decided I was going full time into the “gratitude business.”

Mind you — I had no idea what that meant. Heck, I didn’t even know you could ‘go into the gratitude business.’ But that didn’t stop me.

The first thing I did was decide to start hosting Gratitude Encounters on the first Tuesday of every month starting Tuesday, October 6, 2020.

I committed to do that for seven months and then evaluate whether or not to continue.

Why seven months? I’m not really sure. But I know me — if there was a mediocre response in the first few months, I could get discouraged and decide this was a bad idea and walk away.

So, I thought seven months was an adequate time to test out this concept.

Well, a friend joined me in that first session. After it was over, he asked, “You do know this is a commercially viable service, don’t you?”

To which I replied, “Are you kidding me? No, will you help me create it as such?”

He did.

Six weeks later I hosted our first corporate session and began thinking — maybe I can devote all of my focus to growing gratitude.

Well, one thing led to another…and another…and another. One event, one conversation, one relationship.

In 2021, I began hosting sessions that we called 30 Days IN the Power of Gratitude.

The sessions were amazing. In the final days, some people always began asking, “what’s next?” “How do we keep this going?”

I didn’t have an answer. That troubled me.

I created an intention to find an answer.

IF you had an app

In September of last year, I was IN conversation with my friend, Suzie (please note the power of relationships and conversations). I mentioned that a friend and client, JC had asked if I ever thought about creating my own app.

Honestly, I had not.

Not until that conversation with Suzie. She said, I’ve got somebody you need to meet.

We met. I listened. I was intrigued.

Intrigued enough to say YES.

And here we are.

On the threshold of another amazing journey!

INSPIRATION and INVITATION led me here…to this point in time. This amazing opportunity to serve as YOUR coach and guide to help you grow gratitude and discover the amazing transformational power of gratitude.

That’s the backstory of what led me here. Now, what led you here? Hit the share button on the Grateful App and share YOUR story.