The Gratitude Attitude

The Gratitude Attitude

My friend, Bill Schiebler, is a man who lives by our philosophy that you can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.

Even though Bill has Multiple Sclerosis, his attitude of gratitude was very apparent as he shared the following incident with me.

Bill explained that his MS causes him to tire easily and one day he was especially exhausted as he drove up, very slowly, into his driveway. He knew he really needed to rest and wanted to be "left alone." However, at that particular moment, his electrician (who has two gardens on Bill's land) came briskly walking up and eagerly told Bill that he had planted some vegetables for him. Bill said he thanked him and went inside to take a nap. Sleep eluded him and he wasn't getting "much of a rest." He abruptly sat up in bed, realizing he hadn't acknowledged the electrician's kindness with a very grateful spirit. He got up immediately, went outside to his garden, apologized for his lack of gratitude, and "warmly thanked him the way I should have in the first place."

Bill continued with his story: "The electrician knows I have M.S. He also knows how critical it is that I get my rest. When he realized I had interrupted my nap just to show appreciation for his kind gesture, he beamed at my specific token of gratitude. Know what else? I went back inside and took a restful nap. The electrician went back to his gardening and planted more vegetables for me." As Bill put it, "We both won with that encounter."

Bill concludes: "Feeling gratitude but not specifically expressing it is like wrapping a present but not giving it." The message is clear. Genuinely express gratitude for things people do for you and I really will SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

Originally found here

Picture originally found here

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