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What Are You Thankful For? Thanksgiving 2022

What are you thankful for?

This question is given extra attention on Thanksgiving day in the United States. Along with Seth Godin (see video linked to his free PDF “The Thanksgiving Reader” shared in his blog post below), Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because of the intentionality around slowing down, sharing precious time with loved ones, and feeling gratitude for the gifts in our lives. I love sharing thanks to and gratitude for others. Seth’s blog post of November 24, 2016, Choose better, highlighted that we have a choice in being “more honest, more caring, more generous.” I will also encourage choosing more gratitude. His blog is linked below but is brief and to the point:

“More honest, more caring, more generous.

It’s all a choice, isn’t it?

We can choose to dream better, connect better and contribute better.

Sometimes, in the rush for more, we get confused about what better means, and how attainable it is.

If you are lucky enough to be with family today, I hope you’ll get a chance to use our beloved Thanksgiving Reader around your table. It’s a free PDF that you can print out and use for group readings.”

Choose better
Seth Godin Blog Post – November 24, 2016 – “Choose Better”

The Thanksgiving Reader free PDF that Seth provides in his post has been used by our family for several years. The readings around the dinner table are a highlight of our holiday each year. One of my favorite readings is about gratitude:

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

It turns what we have into enough, and more.

It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.

It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. It turns problems into gifts, failures into successes, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events.

It can turn an existence into a real life, and disconnected situations into important and beneficial lessons. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

• Melody Beattie •

Page 32 of the reader provides a wonderful list of questions to discuss thoughts on gratitude:

  1. What’s the value of gratitude? Why does it even matter?
  2. Why aren’t people, especially Americans, more grateful?
  3. What can we do to feel grateful the other 364 days of the year?
  4. Are older people more grateful than younger people? Or is it the reverse?
  5. We all know the value of connections, but where did the barriers come from and what can we do to topple them?
  6. Who’s the most grateful person you know? Who’s your gratitude role model?
  7. What is something—a conversation, advice you received, etc.—you became grateful for only well after it occurred? Why did it take you so long?
  8. Have you lived a life that deserves gratitude from others?

https://thethanksgivingreader.com/

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Be The Match! Celebrating Ryan Tomoff PBMT 18-Year Anniversary

If you could take action to save a life, would you do it? My guess, because I believe people are inherently good and kind, would answer, “of course!”

People who choose to join the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) marrow registry through the Be The Match organization have made that choice. Joining the registry (see link https://my.bethematch.org/s/join) is available for people ages 18 to 40 (“Studies show that blood stem cells from younger donors provide better long-term survival rates for our patients”).

We all can make a difference, and Be The Match is an opportunity to join a cause that saves lives. YOU may be called upon to be the difference for someone. I will plead with anyone, who is eligible, to join the registry. Why? My son and our family know firsthand the importance of a bone marrow transplant – potentially a lifesaving transplant for the recipient and a guaranteed life-changing experience for the donor!

November 3, 2004. This is transplant day at Duke University Medical Center for Ryan Tomoff. Ryan, my wife Terri, our daughter Olivia, and I wake up eager for Ryan to receive the gift of bone marrow from an anonymous donor. We have no idea how the process works, but we are praying that Ryan’s donor safely arrives at the hospital and that the countless “players” involved are blessed to execute what they need to do to harvest the marrow, process the collection out of the hospital and receive successfully in Durham, NC, at Duke. We know that countless moving parts are involved, and the need for “perfect execution” is on our minds. Unfortunately, so much is outside of our control.

Around 5:30 or 6:00 PM, the marrow in a cold storage pack landed with a flight to Raleigh-Durham Airport, and a courier was transporting the package to the eagerly waiting medical team at Duke. Once received, the marrow needed to be irradiated before transfusion into Ryan. We were made aware that the marrow had arrived and was being prepared for Ryan. Yes, we were excited that the transplant was about ready to happen – Ryan’s preparation through total-body radiation (TBI) had successfully happened over the previous week. November 3rd was his targeted transplant date, the marrow had arrived, was processed to safely administer to Ryan, and at 7:45 PM, the transfusion started. The transplant was not the end, but we prayed the beginning of a lifesaving moment had arrived, and we were thankful and hopeful for his future. Transplants are not guaranteed to be successful, but the transplant was Ryan’s last shot at beating his leukemia. Ryan and our family were embarking on the start of a new journey.

Today, November 3, 2022, we are celebrating 18 years post-transplant. On November 4, 2005, one year and one day after Ryan’s transplant, we met Scott Harris at a beautiful event in New York. Scott was from Teaneck, New Jersey. None of this information is shared without the donor’s consent, and the earliest time to meet a donor is one year after the transplant. We felt blessed and beyond thrilled that Scott and our family both agreed to meet as soon as possible!

Thanks to this experience – the selfless generosity and kindness of a stranger to help a fellow human in such a tremendous and meaningful way – my “lens on life” is enhanced to look for and believe in the “good” of our fellow humans. My energy is dedicated to seeing and celebrating the moments of generosity that ARE all around us.

A thought I hold close that applies beautifully here is:

“The gift of a lifetime deserves a lifetime of gratitude.” – Rajesh Setty

https://bit.ly/RajeshSetty_ThankYou_Gratitude

Scott Harris did not have to show up and save Ryan’s life. He did so because someone was in need, and he was being called upon to help. Wouldn’t we all love the same opportunity? Will you take the step to become part of that community? Please do.

My wife Terri shared heartfelt thoughts about Ryan’s transplant day on her blog, quoting sections directly from her book The Focused Fight: A Childhood Cancer Journey: From Mayhem to Miracles. Her post is available at:

https://www.territomoff.com/post/can-you-be-the-match

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You Will Get Tired. Finish Anyway.

Recently, Blinkist introduced their First Original Audio Series titled “Two Minutes with Seth Godin” comprised of two weekly audio clips for the next 26 weeks.

This week, one audio addressed “Where to Put the Tired.” This topic discussed the difficulty of running a 26.2 mile marathon…if you have ever done one, it is clear you can’t finish a marathon without getting tired. To succeed, you must “find a place to put the tired.”

This audio resonated with Don Tomoff and I due to our past history of being competitive college distance runners and marathoners. The “tired” is unavoidable! We both credit our past sports experiences with contributing to our professional perseverance throughout our careers.

As Seth notes:

“The people who finish, they figured out how to do it. To be tired, and finish anyway. And that is the art of being persistently generous, of showing up again and again to do work that has exhausted other people.”

“The act of being a professional is not to do everything when and how we want to. The act of being a professional is to do it despite the fact that we are tired or afraid. We need to figure out where to put the tired.”

Bill and Don Tomoff | Personal best in Revco Cleveland Marathon


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Share Your Thoughts! Exposure = Awareness = Leverage

Over the last five years, my interest in social media has evolved and I have become a huge fan of the power and potential of social engagement. The ability to learn, and connect, with others has impacted me in incredible ways. People that I may never meet in person, provide insight and thought provoking content that is invaluable and enables me to continually develop my interests personally and professionally.

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of so many that share their thoughts and expertise with the world, I commit to challenging myself every day to help others and continually pay it forward. In person, and online, I have found that the world is full of people that genuinely care about adding value for others…with no expectations. Selfishly, I do hope that others will share content with the hope that their followers may enjoy value and pass along in their world!

I recently watched an excellent video from Robbie Abed where he talked about the impact Gary Vaynerchuk had on him. The discussion was around that observation that Gary is often asked about the business ROI of his video content for the #AskGaryVee Show. Robbie’s discussion in this 7 minute video elaborates on an excellent observation of Gary’s that “exposure = leverage”. Enjoy!

Coffee With Robbie – Gary V. Exposure = Leverage

Gary V. full thoughts on the business value of the #AskGaryVee Show are worth reading:

The Business Model Behind The #AskGaryVee Show

If you have not seen the #AskGaryVee Show, I encourage you to check it out! I have been watching for quite a while, and find it informative, entertaining, and fun yet serious points are made. Linked below is one of my all-time favorite episodes.

#AskGaryVee Episode 127: What Keeps Good Bosses From Becoming Great Bosses?

Full disclosure – I was so happy with the free content Gary provides in the #AskGaryVee Show that I have now purchased and read all 4 of his bestselling books. As he would say, provide so much value that you “earn the ask”!

Please share YOUR thoughts, expertise, and passion with the world. I trust you will find that Robbie and Gary are spot on…indeed, exposure = leverage! For my purposes, the phrase that resonates with me is “Exposure = Awareness = Leverage“. As you provide value genuinely and consistently, exposure will occur and develop into awareness for those consuming your content. Ultimately, awareness WILL create leverage for you in many ways that cannot be anticipated! Good luck!

 

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How Can I Help? 15 Ways We Can All Quickly Make An Impact

A recent article by Ryan Holmes (Twitter @invoker) in Inc. Magazine “The 4-Word Question All Highly Successful People Ask” emphasized the power of asking “How can I help?” and went on to explain that this simple phrase, and the genuine willingness to help others, might be the ultimate networking tool.

http://www.inc.com/ryan-holmes/the-4-most-powerful-words-you-can-use-in-business.html

This is a thought provoking read and a perspective, if adopted, will improve potential for long term success. As Ryan points out, “I truly believe that helping other people sets you up for cosmic success at some level, whether that’s in business or in everyday life (in fact, the less distinction you make between the two, the better). What goes around almost inevitably comes around.”

As I contemplated the post a bit more, I thought about “how can I help” beyond the scope of the post and wondered if we posed the the question to ourselves in our daily lives? Truly, it is easy to take small actions that may truly help others while also helping ourselves. Consider:

1 – Take Ryan Holmes message to heart, and find ways to help others!
2 – Be optimistic.

Continue reading “How Can I Help? 15 Ways We Can All Quickly Make An Impact”

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Evernote – Anything, Anywhere, Anytime

In my personal and professional lives, I am always on the quest to identify productivity tools in order to leverage for effectiveness in my day to day life. The goal is to be “touching and feeling” as much as possible which then increases awareness. If you follow me on Twitter @BTomoffCPA you will note a few hashtags for my passion…#EliminateTheFriction and #AwarenessIsLeverage. I Love to help others learn, develop and increase awareness!

In the last 2 years, Evernote has evolved to my favorite productivity tool, so much value to me that I upgraded from the free model to premium for $49.99 per year! PC Magazine gave Evernote an “Excellent” rating and it remains an Editors’ Choice productivity tool. Simply described, Evernote is “one workspace” to write, collect, and discuss / collaborate information with others. The incredible efficiency aspect is to think of “anything, anywhere, anytime” which means information you need is truly at your disposal whether in your computer or when you are out and about with your mobile device tablet or smartphone!

To dig into further information on Evernote, @DTomoffCPA and I have collaborated on a Flipboard Magazine titled Evernote Training!
Take a huge step in 2016 and embrace the power of Evernote. Indeed, #EliminateTheFriction…and enjoy having anything, anywhere, at anytime!