31 Days of Gratitude Reflections

I suppose there should be some reflections on this exercise of sharing what I'm most thankful for, and there are a few thoughts. More to come I'm sure, but here are a few things that stand out to me as I complete this journal of sorts. 

• In a season where I've been struggling to understand what may be next and sensing many barriers in my way that seem to be beyond my ability to overcome, it was important to reflect on everything, and specifically everyone, that is for me and with me in this journey of professional and personal life. 31 days of thinking about all the really great things and the people that make life good is renewing to my spirit and gives me confidence that I'm in good company. 
• I know some really incredible people and I can see specific ways each of them work on improving my character through the traits I most admire them for. I've got many mental notes on how the people I'm around make me a better person and that's an incredible feeling. 
• Some of the common traits of those on this list seemed to be: kind, generous, gracious, intentional, and welcoming. I need to reflect more on what that says about me or them, but I've glad the list of people I'm most grateful for in 2015 had those traits.  
• We need tell more people what we like about them and how they impact our lives for the better. We need focus on the positive characteristics of those we love the most and they need to hear it. Too often we hear what we suck at, how we're failing, and wrestle with all the internal battles of knowing what we want to make different about ourselves. That's exhausting and once in a while, we need to be lifted up and say we're just fine the way we are, or that we're really great at something. I sense we don't tell those we love that we love them and specifically what we love about them. 
• The diversity of the community I highlighted as it relates to the different ways I know these folks in these 31 days is encouraging to me. I consider it a privilege to get to know so many wonderful people with a variety of backgrounds, interests, perspectives on faith and service, and ages. It could always be more diverse, but I'm pretty grateful for how it is today. 
• I need to do more of this in 2016. It felt vulnerable to write public and specific notes to friends and family, but it felt right to do it publicly. I didn't promote each post nor did I do this for any professional gain, but as a public statement to share appreciation for others. I think equally important. For me, I'm not the most outgoing person and I many things I'd like to tell folks but am not great at telling them. So, I write notes and emails, and now this series of blogs. Just another way of stretching myself as a leader and a friend. 

Whether you are good at telling people what you're grateful for or not, give it a shot. Send a note, email, or better yet, a phone call or conversation over coffee. They need to hear it and you likely need to share it. 

Day 31 of Gratitude - David Park

31 Days of Gratitude - In an attempt to publicly express my gratitude for the people that have impacted me in some way in 2015, I'm setting out to write one post a day sharing what I appreciate about them or what moment that marked me. Some of these people I know well, some I've only met, and some I'm just getting to know. There is no ranking to these posts and they aren't meant to put anyone on a pedestal. They, like you and I, are imperfect people with their own flaws, some you may have experienced. Despite those flaws, I believe we all need to have our positive characteristics called into light and celebrated. This is that attempt. 

David Park is a such a great guy and I'm grateful to have gotten to spend time with him in 2015. David and I met a few years back through a mutual friend on a 30ish mile bike ride. David and his wife just had gotten some bikes then and David quickly fell deeply in love with cycling. Since then, he's gone all in and has become quite the bike racer and an asset to the Team NL squad. David and I always enjoy getting together to talk about bikes, racing, and cool things we could do with cycling through Team NL. More than that, we connect on many other levels beyond cycling, which I'm most grateful. 

We share a deep faith that our lives are meant for something bigger than ourselves and that we have a responsibility to do something meaningful with them. David is a such a caring guy and it plays out through his profession as a fire-firefighter as well as in every interaction I've seen him have with anyone when we're together. He's always engaging beyond a simple hello and is kind to everyone I've ever seen him talk to. He's generous with his knowledge and experiences while wanting to learn from those around him. 

I'm grateful for our growing friendship on and off the bike, David. You encourage me in many ways and I look forward to spending more time with you in 2016. Lets do some long rides together this year!

Day 30 of Gratitude - My Wife's Family

31 Days of Gratitude - In an attempt to publicly express my gratitude for the people that have impacted me in some way in 2015, I'm setting out to write one post a day sharing what I appreciate about them or what moment that marked me. Some of these people I know well, some I've only met, and some I'm just getting to know. There is no ranking to these posts and they aren't meant to put anyone on a pedestal. They, like you and I, are imperfect people with their own flaws, some you may have experienced. Despite those flaws, I believe we all need to have our positive characteristics called into light and celebrated. This is that attempt. 

I've been fortunate to marry into a wonderful family. The Brate's are some of the kindest, warmest, and loving people I know and I'm grateful for that. I couldn't have asked for a better family to be forever connected to that wasn't my own, and eight married years in, they are my own. 

Dave & Connie - You've done such a wonderful job raising your daughters and creating an environment where they could grow up and learn what it means to love others well. I'm grateful for all the ways you continue to care for them and incorporate Austin and I into your families as your sons. You're grace, generosity, welcoming spirits, and genuine interest in our daily lives is welcomed and appreciated. I'm grateful for all the character traits I've seen you both demonstrate over the years that have impacted me and marked me as ones I need to emulate as a husband, father, and a neighbor trying to love others well. I truly hope that Michelle and I can do with our kids half as well as you've done with your own. I'm looking forward to the many years ahead and the life we'll get to do together. 

Austin & Linda - Thank you for welcoming me into the family all those years ago and making an effort to get to know me as a person and not just a guy dating your sister. Your kindness and genuine interest welcomed me to the family and continue to make me feel like I'm a part of it. I'm grateful for sibling in-laws that are also friends. Whether I show it well when we're together or not, I do appreciate all the times we get to spend together and to see our kids grow up closely as cousins. 

As I reflect on the past year, the times we've spent together, and the fact that our family is loved deeply by you all, I can't help but be grateful. 

Day 29 of Gratitude - Lily Fenoglio

31 Days of Gratitude - In an attempt to publicly express my gratitude for the people that have impacted me in some way in 2015, I'm setting out to write one post a day sharing what I appreciate about them or what moment that marked me. Some of these people I know well, some I've only met, and some I'm just getting to know. There is no ranking to these posts and they aren't meant to put anyone on a pedestal. They, like you and I, are imperfect people with their own flaws, some you may have experienced. Despite those flaws, I believe we all need to have our positive characteristics called into light and celebrated. This is that attempt. 

Coming from an advertising agency background where resources and creativity flowed widely to a no-budget nonprofit organization has continued to be one of my greatest frustrations at NL. I'm constantly dreaming up ideas on how to better position NL in the community from a marketing, branding, and communication perspective. It matters greatly to our growth and success, and I'm always feeling limited in what I can do. However, I've been capable of doing a ton of great stuff because so many people have invested their time pro-bono or at a significant discount over the years to help us. There are many I'm grateful for when I think about it. 

At this time last year, creative work for our website, Team NL, and a whole host of other NL projects was backing up. It was going to be too costly and the timeline too short to hire it all out, so I had the idea of hiring a design intern, which I had never done before. It turned out to be one of the great decisions of 2015 because of Lily Fenoglio. We had some other great candidates, but I connected to Lily because of her natural ability, desire to work and learn, and something in her spirit that I  knew connected to the position we were in at NL at the time. Lily was the perfect fit and she did a ton of great stuff for us. 

I'm grateful for Lily far beyond all the "work" she did for us, which was great. I appreciated how she wanted to jump right in on design projects as well as a volunteer on projects. Her creativity was a breathe of fresh air every day in the office and the fact that she was accomplishing everything I wanted to be working relieved some of the tension I have with feeling constantly under-resourced in the communication realm of NL. Lily ended up interning for us for a solid 5-months of time and became a part of our team. We were sad to see her head to Ashville, NC in May, but knew it was the adventure she needed as a person. 

Since then, Lily has run her first half-marathon on behalf of Team NL and raised some dollars for us, which helped fund a roof. She's an advocate for our work and will always be a member of our NL team. Thank you, Lily, for being exactly what NL and I needed in 2015. Like everyone else you've impacted in FW, we wish you were still around, but are glad to see you doing well in NC. 

Day 28 of Gratitude - Fortezza Coffee

31 Days of Gratitude - In an attempt to publicly express my gratitude for the people that have impacted me in some way in 2015, I'm setting out to write one post a day sharing what I appreciate about them or what moment that marked me. Some of these people I know well, some I've only met, and some I'm just getting to know. There is no ranking to these posts and they aren't meant to put anyone on a pedestal. They, like you and I, are imperfect people with their own flaws, some you may have experienced. Despite those flaws, I believe we all need to have our positive characteristics called into light and celebrated. This is that attempt. 

I've spend so much time, and money, at Fortezza this year and I've not regretted it at all. When I started at NL, we had no office and I did all my work out of Starbucks and a home office I built. As NL matured and grew, we got an office space, but I can't stand spending more than a few hours in there every day. I need a coffee shop environment where there is a buzz of people, great coffee, and some social & relational interactions with people. 

Starbucks served that purpose for a lot of years for me, but when Fortezza opened, it changed it all. This local coffee shop is unlike any other local coffee shop in my opinion and one of the main drivers of that for me is their actual coffee, not their ability to make espresso drinks. I'm not sure what it is, but so many other local coffee shops I go to, the regular black coffee is an after thought shoved on the counter in an air pot. I just don't want to go pay a premium for a cup of coffee that's not good because I don't drink lattes all that often. Fortezza cares as much about their coffee as they do an espresso drink, which isn't really about coffee for me, it's about the attention to their craft and their business. It's the care towards the lowest transaction cost as much as it is to the highest transaction. I like spending money at places that care about the small things as much as they care about the big things. 

Beyond the goods, the people are great and it's what makes any "3rd place" hangout for folks. It's refreshing to come to places several times a week and know the people working there while being welcomed back every day as I take up my spot at the front window. 

Fortezza, I'm grateful for your entrepreneurial spirit, warm atmosphere, commitment to the small things, and gracious spirits. I hope I've been as good of a customer as you have been a host. Thanks for making a great cup of coffee that ruins about any other cup of coffee for me. Mission Accomplished.