10 Things to Be Grateful For

10 Things to Be Grateful For

Reader Comments (47)

  1. I have tons of thing that I am grateful this year, so many changing in my life (I have moved to the United States, brought a new house, expanded my blogging life, created Famous Bloggers blog…. and much more)

    Even if I don’t celebrate it, but that doesn’t mean I can not wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving 🙂

    Thanks for the great post!

  2. I love it, Sonia!

    I’m grateful for all the things you listed above as well, except for Backpack and my copywriting library. Sadly, my copywriting library doesn’t exist, at least in hard form. Everything I have is digital, though I would like to remedy that soon. Backpack sounds awesome, and I will check it out soon.

    I couldn’t agree more about the economy. I’ve seen this coming for a long, long time and always believed it would ultimately be a good thing for this country. Enough so that I ditched the certainty of income right in the rolling boil of it all.

    As for me, I am most grateful for my dreams and drive. Though my muse is quite the demanding minx, who has me running all over the place, often wearing a grin so wide I need a drool bucket, I love what I do and feel fortunate I am able to do it. Having too many dreams, I am certain, is better than having too few or none at all. I am thankful that I have the dreams, the work ethic to see them to fruition, and the tireless support of a family who believes that I will.

    HAPPY THANKSGIVING COPYBLOGGER!

  3. My husband and I both have jobs which we didn’t have at the beginning of the year. We are professionals working at bargain basement prices but we have jobs.
    Thankful!!!!

  4. Great list Simone specially the first on the list.
    And you’re the first online who wrote about the gist of this holiday -giving thanks.

  5. I am grateful for being a statistical fluke. I’ve continuously had my share of luck as well as the luck of many others.

    I have the most supportive wife a guy could have. She is also a California Blond personal trainer with blue eyes (see what I mean?)

    I have a list of amazing blogs with information that keeps me interested and coming back to read. I learn things that are important every day that I had no idea even existed when I woke up.

    I have one of those jobs that isn’t a job. It’s fun. I also get to work with some super intelligent people who are free with their ideas and experience.

    Still, my prayers are always just as much for those in need as it is to keep my own safe and warm. I guess I’m most thankful for hope. I’m most hopeful for humanity.

  6. Thank you Sonia. I’m grateful for having discovered you as one of my overseas mentors. I am learning tremendously and wish you all a lovely and blessed Thanksgiving.
    (Must admit, I am a bit jealous that we don’t celebrate this beautiful tradition here. 😉 But we are great students, so there’s something to learn ….)

  7. I’m also a sucker for Thanksgiving, maybe because I love to bake too (although, grr, my cardamom cake stuck to the bundt pan this time…one word: icing)

    I love my life and the business my boyfriend & I call ‘work.’

    A lot of my work-related contentment has to do with you, ALL you guys & gals there at Copyblogger and your amazing guest writers.

    THANK YOU!

  8. Great list Sonia! Perfect for this season of goodwill.

    I am grateful for the blogging community for all their support and help with taking my blog to a new level.

    And I am grateful for all the wonderful resources online such as CopyBlogger which allow allow of us to grow and expand our learning.

    Happy thanks giving everyone!

    We don’t really celebrate thanks giving here in London but maybe a tradition we should adopt:-)

  9. Dear Sonia:

    Great list of things to be grateful for. I am not sure I would list them in the same order, but I like the economy one the best. In times of hardship, people have to rethink or even remember what is important to them.

    For example, I graduated from the university in Dec of 2008. Yet I still do not have a job. It baffles me that I do don’t. Yet, I am grateful for it because I am able to focus my energy on myself.

    I can rethink what matters to me, work on things to make myself grow and enable myself to create better value in the future. What goes down will eventually come up. It is just the matter of being patient and using your time wisely in the mean while.

    That’s what I am grateful for. Also, I am grateful for my family and friends who are here to support me in these times. That is what I am grateful for the most.

    Best and Happy Thanksgiving,
    Tomas

  10. I’m grateful to be older with a 6 year old daughter. She is emotionally older and scary smart, just like her big grown up siblings, one in law school and the other artistic with a drive in NPO administration. All three are decent humans.

    I’m also grateful to have grown up with the space program with all that it has spawned in technology. People would be hard pressed to understand the mri or cat scan that saved thir lives are an evolution of the first integrated circuit boards. Then, it was a feat to have 12 transisters on a 6×9″ circuit board, now my car is smarter than a Cray.

    I’m grateful that I wake each day wondering what marvel I will discover. It might be a new computer or a new rose bud. Likely it is something my child learns. Every night, when I fall asleep, I can’t wait to wake up and check my email. Which is my way of saying thank you for this blog post. It made me reflective and awed by how much we have to be thankful for.

    Happy Thanksgiving, all!

    John

  11. I am grateful for all of the above plus Salesforce.com! I think Marc Benioff is a genius and their next level of adding social software on top of enterprise software is going to take things to the next level.

    Garry

  12. I must be a dullard because I’ve made no progress with Google Wave nor Salesforce.com. I know they’re great but never seems a good time to learn them. I need to find a salesforce for dummy book. Any hints, Garry?

    btw, I forgot to say I am grateful for Sonia and coppyblogger!

    John

  13. Sonia,

    Besides you, from whom I get a ton of inspiration and motivation, here’s what I’m grateful for:

    1. My Kid. No greater good has ever been put upon this Earth. Though I’m sure your kids are all quite nice. 🙂

    2. & 3. My parents. Close second to #1. Though I’ve been grown and out of the house for [*ahem*] many, many years, they are my rocks more than ever.

    4. My wild education and my continuing, unending curiosity.

    5. My wild life. Without 4 and 5, I’d be a much less rich person.

    6. Brian Clark (true AND sucking up!), without whom I wouldn’t have started the little blog that could a couple of years back. Man, I love how being a blog author has enriched my creative and business life.

    7. James Chartrand. James gets it.

    8. The Deep Friar. Endlessly inventive.

    9. George Tannenbaum. So brilliant it ought to be illegal and viciously funny, too.

    10+++. My readers, and my clients. Helping people to dream big rocks.

    Happy Thanksgiving!

    Regards,

    Kelly

  14. Great post! As a student trying to learn everything possible about public relations and social media, I’m grateful for easy to access to thought leaders around the country. I’m in the process of reading “Putting the Public back in Public Relations” and have actually spoken directly several times (via twitter and linkedin) to co-author, Deirdre Breakenridge. If it wasn’t for social media, I wouldn’t have been able to get to know her as a person.

    Also, I’m thankful that we are now in the Christmas season 🙂

  15. ‘Those that escaped the fire were slain with the sword, some hewed to pieces, others run through with their rapiers, so as they were quickly dispatched and very few escaped. It was conceived that they thus destroyed about 400 at this time. It was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the fire and the streams of blood quenching the same, and horrible was the stink and scent thereof; but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice, and they gave the praise thereof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them, thus to enclose their enemies in their hands and give them so speedy a victory over so proud and insulting an enemy.’
    William Bradford, a settler, describing Captain John Mason’s attack on a Pequot village.

    This Thanksgiving, rather than thoughtlessly stuffing yourself with food and then sauntering over to the couch for some postprandial football, think about how you can play your part in stopping the dominant culture from removing more indigenous cultures from their landbases to extract raw materials for industry that is destroying the planet’s ecological and climatic infrastructure.

    (Thanksgiving: A Time To Imagine, Frank Joseph Smecker
    Countercurrents.org November 25, 2009)

    And the same can be said of Australia.

  16. Well Mr. Rowland,

    It is hard for a mere mortal to understand why I should not celebrate the holiday as did my ancestors. It is also difficult to understand why we should be scolded and or mocked like errant school bullies. It appears you have a firm grasp on stopping the destruction of the planet and I salute your efforts, if not your style.

    John

  17. I am grateful for all the social media tweeps that I have gotto to know in the past year. Twitter has made connecting with readers easy and it makes community building a breeze. Thanks social media and thank you tweeps.

  18. @John Arleth. Thanks John, for the back-handed compliment. But please understand that my efforts as an environmentalist and peace activist, are more about substance than style.

  19. Well, I guess you’re feeling stuffed by now, had a great holiday and don’t need to eat for the next week!

    You brought up some great things to be grateful for. Re the economy – it’s good to look for a silver lining, there’s usually one to be found. The whole world of business and publication is being shaken up and it’ll be interesting to see where all the pieces fall. Trying to make sure you’re positioned somewhere near the top of the pile – or at least not squashed down at the bottom is key.

    I did my gratitude list on my blog a few months back so missing the Thanksgiving bandwagon. Whoops…. Next year I’ll know:)

    How to be an ethical, non-sleazy, relationship-based bloggers sounds right up my alley. Thanks for all the free info you give us. I’m sure the paid stuff will sell like hotcakes thanks to your winning attitude, insights and prose.

  20. I knew it was heartfelt an am passionate about the same issues, Gordon but have aged and mellowed since my days of sailing on the sloop, Clearwater with Pete Seeger. He had a little chart where he showed the federal budget as a pie and the littlest, tiniest sliver went to environmental causes. Sadly, people are the scourge of the planet and won’t do anything until they are gasping for air. I chided you because your style would sail over the heads of the masses. One has to talk in words a four year old can understand, IMHO.

  21. That’s what I love about Copyblogger is that they write fantastic value-packed posts but theyre not afraid to monetize it in some way – either an affiliate link, a product endorsement or an internal promo. Good lesson for other content developers.

    If you ask if it keeps them in business and pumping out readable posts then I dont have a problem with it.

  22. True enough, Gordon. True enough.

    Always fun to debate a well armed man.

    Now, if only I were ept.

  23. You know I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. I’m not really into Christmas either. If i’m not religious, why would I celebrate Christmas? seems a bit strange to me.

    BUT, I am very greatful for lots of things today:
    – Grateful to be sober
    – Grateful to have a blog/website to express myself
    – Grateful to have an amzing family
    – Grateful to be travelling the world
    – Grateful that I get to go snowboarding soon!

    I’m an avid reader of Copyblogger. I’m trying to create something similar in the Snowboard realm. Obviously not about Copywriting.

    I’m learning new things everyday.

    QUESTION: When you start a post like this, do you brainstorm the list first, then write the blurb? Did you start with a bigger list and then narrow it down?

  24. I’m grateful that I’m writing about things I truly care about. Earning a living from that writing (compared to resorting to various schemes like I’ve done in the past) is a entirely different beats though. 🙂

  25. We obviously don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here in the UK but I was fortunate last year to be invited by a family we new to join them when we were staying in Las Vegas.
    It was such a lovely day and I understood how much it means to everyone within a few hours.
    Great post Sonia and I think you raise some great points, especially about the economy and how to look on the bright side.

  26. I am thankful for my family, my health and my new formed friendships that have lead to business arrangements that have helped in this economically strapped time.

    AWeber certainly deserve to be on the list as they give rock-solid content on their blog that will help you in your business whether you use their service or not.

    Thanks for sharing,

    Karl

  27. I’m grateful for the amazing technology that’s all around us. If it wasn’t for the Internet, I wouldn’t be where I’m at right now. And I’m grateful for sites such as Copyblogger which share some totally awesome info!

  28. @Dave, for this one in particular, I started with the general concept, then brainstormed ideas for the items. Usually for list posts I’ll do that, start with a number in mind and then write until I get there.

    @Stan, you can start a new tradition among your friends! Have a nice dinner and be thankful for things, quite a nice ritual really. 🙂

  29. Thanks as always, Sonia. I’m grateful for:

    1) Being able to choose what kind of life I want to live. Being an online entrepreneur living in a spiritual community is pretty far out there. I’m very grateful for the freedom of opportunity in countries like the US and others (yes, even despite the impending FTC regulations). And the unprecedented freedom of thought and expression that we have because of our current culture is truly amazing.

    2) An awesome community of people and valuable resources like Copyblogger. I’ve learned more about online business from my relationship with you, Brian, and the team than with just about any other organization. So, thanks!

    Steve

  30. Great post Sonia.

    At the risk of getting a bit too personal, this Thanksgiving I am most grateful for my wife Rosemary.

    Two years ago at about this time, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, just as we were starting our lives together.

    After 4 grueling surgeries and a lot of rehab later, Rosemary continues to amaze me with her drive, determination, and never being willing to settle for anything less than what she deserves out of life.

    Thankfully, her prognosis is excellent, and God knows I would be lost without her.

    So today, without pause, I am very grateful for this amazing lady’s presence in my life.

    Bob Clarke

    PS Thanks for all you do for this amazing community, Sonia. You spoke about sticking with people who you resonate with. I have been lucky enough to come across you and Brian on the vastness of the Internet, and I am a better marketer (and person) for it.

  31. Great list. I am grateful for everything. Sometimes in a fast world with a lot going on people forget to be humble and give thanks to the simple things they have. I try to stay grounded and give thanks.

  32. Love this Sonia!!!!!!!!!! I’m going to Amazon right now and check all those copywriting books you were talking about. Miss reading those stuff.

    I’m thankful for you and Brian and the great insights I get from Copyblogger!

  33. WOW! You are right; something that is so bad (the economy) has turned out to be a good thing in some ways for some people. I think getting laid off sucks but it is also the motivation that some folks need t get out there and explore and live their dreams to the fullest.

  34. I’m grateful for flexibility. I still have to work, but the difference between working the day after Thanksgiving from home, and working the day after Thanksgiving from the office is sleeping in, working in comfy clothes and stopping to make a turkey sandwich whenever I want. I do my best to keep regular business hours, but it’s nice to know I don’t need to.

    (and yes, the crummy economy too.)

  35. @Deb, I’m grateful for that one too, very. I still work hard (actually I work harder than I did in the corp world), but I do it on my terms and in the environment where I feel most productive, and I can juggle things around to spend the time I want to with my kid. Huge, huge positive in my life.

  36. Yes, the bad economy can be something to be thankful for. Many people are losing their jobs in this downturn. Many are starting businesses because they can’t find regular work. Many of these people are going to find they love running their own business. Sure, it will be difficult for now, but since the chances of getting traditional employment are terrible, they will be able to stick with the mission of building their business. Many of these people will decide to stay with their own business, even when the economy turns and they can return to traditional employment. It may take some a while to realize, but this recession is a blessing to the resourceful.

  37. I’m grateful to be living at this time in history.
    Never before has there been the opportunity to be connected with so many different people and cultures.
    Never before has there been an opportunity to succeed without needing a bucket load of money.
    Never before has there been the opportunity to succeed by simply being yourself

  38. Sonia, I loved your post. I’m grateful for a wonderful family and for our clients that have helped us grow even during difficult times.

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