When’s the last time you sent someone a handwritten thank you note?

A real pen meets paper thank you note that maybe — just maybe — you even mailed via snail mail?

And when’s the last time you received a handwritten thank you note from someone?

With texts, emails, and phones…we all know that handwriting is losing popularity…

But does heartfelt gratitude have to leave with it?

One man’s attempt to turn his life around with gratitude…

I started reading a book today…

It’s a book that my dear friend Jaclyn got for me on my Kindle because she said, “It’s so Mona.”

She knows me pretty darn well, so I was really excited when I finally got to sit down and get into it.

It’s called 365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life

Jaclyn was right. This book is “so Mona” and I am so loving it.

The premise?

An unhappy, hating-his-life guy gets a thank you note and realizes how seldom he’s thanked others and what a small part gratitude has played in his life.

Then, in an inspired moment during a hike all by himself in the hills of Los Angeles, he decides that his life will be better if he writes 365 thank you notes over the course of the next year. The book follows him through his journey with pen, thank you cards, and gratitude – and the effects it has on his life and the lives of those around him.

Pretty cool, right?

Well, tonight I was tweeting about this book and a few new friends chimed in on the topic…

They were saying that thank you cards like this were a lost art and that it sounded like a great idea…

(I, couldn’t help but agree.)

Then, even though I wasn’t hiking on a mountain in Los Angeles like the author of the book was when he had his idea to write all the thank you notes, I had a wee small idea about writing thank you notes…

So I asked my new Twitter friends if they’d like to join me in sending a handwritten thank you card this week.

Just one.

Immediately 3 tweets came back from @CPasquella @bemadthen and @elleepiphany :

“I’m in!”

So I extend the question to you, dear friend…

Are you in?

Would you like to join us in this gratitude challenge and send a handwritten thank you card to someone this week?

If you’re in, leave a comment below to let the universe know you’re doin’ it!

Then start watching for someone in your life you can write a sweet thank you card to…

Who knows the incredible blessings and goodness that will come your way as a result of this gratitude and kindness…

We’ll check back in again next Sunday to share our thank you note stories…

Oh! And if you have a blog, share the news of what you’re up to with your handwritten thank you note and encourage your readers to get involved too so the gratitude can keep rippling out into our beautiful world…

I’m in love with my local library.

I go to its website, I look up books that I want, I put them on hold…

And then Magic happens…

The Lovely Librarians go to the shelves (while I’m working, sleeping, sun bathing, eating and NOT being in the library) and they make a pile of all the books that I want.

Then they put a little piece of paper on my books with my name in all caps: GRAYSON, MONA LISA, and place them on a Special Shelf in the front of the library.

Then get this…

They start playing the Eee! Mail! game with me…and let me know that my books are ready for me to pick them up.

So when it’s convenient for me, I drive or bike over there, walk in the front door, go straight to the Special Shelf in the front of the library and collect the books with my last name showing on the spine.

I take my pile, head straight to the front desk, show the librarian my little green library card so I can be held accountable…and then off I go.

Could it be any sweeter?

Okay, maybe if the library had all my favorite types of books in a van and it drove around like an Ice Cream Truck with a catchy out-of-tune tune, that’d be way cool. But hey – the way it is now saves the library on gas money. That’s more important.

What’s your library like?

As of last night, Seth Godin is my new teacher. I’ve plopped myself down in the Classroom de Seth and I’m soaking up any wisdom he cares to share with me.

Professor Seth, I’m ready to learn.

And I’m ready to receive gold stars.

Since I usually take notes when I read books anyway, thought I’d share them here.

Note: If I’m quoting Professor Seth, I’ll put quotes. Otherwise, the things I’m sharing here are my own notes, paraphrases, understandings, and ideas for application based on what I’ve read.

On with the learnings!

• We’ve been told that winners never quit. Seth debunks this myth. Winners DEFINITELY quit. They “quit the wrong stuff. Stick with the right stuff.” And “have the guts to do one or the other.”
• Too many choices makes people panic. Sometimes to the point of not even buying anything. Reminds me of when I was India when I was 20. My suitcase was lost for a few days and I needed a toothbrush. I went to the street corner and found a guy selling things. He had ONE type of toothbrush. And he had about 3 in stock. That’s it. It was one of the easiest purchases I ever made.
• Jerry Maguire moment: Reading this stuff about being good enough vs. best in the world is making me want to be a better (wo)man.
• “Strategic quitting is the secret of successful organizations.” Noticing that he’s taking a behavior that’s generally seen as “bad” (quitting) and making it okay by putting “strategic” in front of it. Watching TV isn’t a super great habit…but strategic TV watching…now we’re getting somewhere. Other places where some strategy might be useful? Strategic lying? Strategic laziness? Strategic infidelity?
• The Dip comes after the big excitement and the initial effort. Loved his example like Yay! You’re going to med school. Good for you! So you go to your classes all excited and then you hit The Dip – like organic chemistry and you start thinking UGH…was this such a good idea after all? Some make it through the dip and go on to become doctors. Others don’t.
• Getting through The Dip can take a long time. “Suck it up. Put your head down. Do as you’re told.” It’s not necessarily glorious and easy and fun. But that’s what separates out the Good Enoughs from the Best In The Worlds. “If there wasn’t a Dip…” (or it was super easy to get through it)…”there’d be no scarcity.”
• Being in the Dip isn’t a death sentence. It doesn’t make you a victim. You can speed up the rate at which you get out of the Dip by “leaning into it. Changing the rules, pushing harder, and whittling away at it.”
• One thing we should quit: Hanging out in Cul-de-Sacs. Jobs, projects, interests, whatever…that aren’t going anyway. Cul-de-Sac is French for “dead end.” So what in our lives is a Cul-De-Sac? Where are we riding our bikes around the Cul-de-Sac in a circle like kids on a lazy afternoon instead of riding out into the distance where we can actually see, do, and accomplish new things and growth? Stop hanging out in Cul-de-Sacs.
• “If it’s worth doing, there’s probably a Dip.” This makes a lot of experiences in my life make sense. And I see where I didn’t quit the wrong things and stick with the right things. I ended up quitting the things I should have stuck with. And kept doing the stuff I should have quit. That’s why I didn’t get the results I was looking for.  Good one, Seth.
• “Dips create scarcity. Scarcity creates value.” So many places to see this working. Olympic gold medals are valued because The Dip is so intense to get there. The medals are scarce and rare. Athletes go through Dips all the time. We go through Dips as business owners. I’ve gone through Dips in my health and fitness. And in my relationships as well. This framework is really useful.
• “What’s the point in “sticking it out” if you’re not going to get the result of being the best in the world?” Gee, Seth. I can’t see any reasons, actually. Maybe just fear of not doing what I said I would do. Thinking that I need to stick it out so that I can look good in the eyes of others. But that doesn’t make me the best in the world at anything. Except maybe selling out on myself. Ouch.
• Brave. Mature. Stupid. Which one are you? Brave people start something and then stick through The Dip. Mature people don’t even *start* the activity because they don’t think they’ll make it through The Dip. Stupid people start something all gung-ho about it (spending a lot of time, energy, and money on it) and then quit right when they get to The Dip. Seth says it’s okay to be Brave & Mature, but the being Stupid is going to keep us from being successful.
• “Every single function of an organization has a wind problem.” Wind meaing unpredictable stuff. He says that windsurfing is super easy. Except for the wind part of things because it’s so unpredictable. So basically EVERYTHING would be easy, except for the “wind”. “Customer service would be a lot easier if it weren’t for the customers.”
• “If I could offer just one piece of inspiration, it’s this: The Dip is the reason you’re here.” Everything we’ve done and invested has brought us to this place we’re in now so that we could confront The Dip we’re in right now. And “it’s not enough to survive your way through this Dip. You get what you want when you embrace the Dip and treat it like the opportunity that it really is.” <Wow. I heart Seth Godin.>
• “The real success goes to those who obsess.” Have you read Barbara Sher’s book Refuse to Choose? It’s about Scanners and Divers. Scanners like to see possibilities and ideas. They like to do lots of different things. Divers like to go deep and really focus in on things. I’m a Diver and this quote is making my Diver Heart sing on the hills. Yay!
• “Simple: If you can’t make it through the Dip, don’t start.” Remember the peanut butter commercial? Choosey moms choose JIF. It’s good to be choosey about what projects and activities we start.

Okay. I’m on page 32. Good stopping place for lunch. As you look over my bullets and notes here, which are the things that stand out to you? What’s something you’re hearing in a new way that you can act on immediately? Or better yet, what’s something in your life that you need to QUIT because it’s not helping you be the best in the world?