My Gratitude Story
I believe in the power of a story; that every story needs to be told because you never know who is becoming inspired to live and tell their own story.
I also believe that when you love what you have, you have everything you will ever need. Cultivating a life of gratitude has been a journey which began at the age of 27 during one of the most devastating times of my life.Although losing my mom was the most painful experience of my life, it propelled me on a journey to discovering my true purpose, to realizing first hand the saving grace and powerful gift of gratitude, and ultimately empowered me to share and inspire others with my story. It began when I discovered the book “Simple Abundance” and on a daily bases began to focus on what I had each day… simple, small steps each day. I learned that gratefulness is the root of all joy. If I wanted more joy, or to find the joy that exists… I must not just be grateful. I must live it, and in order to do that I must practice it. I must be present in my life and look for gratitude in the everyday. It’s not the “trip of a lifetime”, “your wedding day”, “and a dream job”. It’s the beauty in the everyday, the simple, the ordinary, the moments you’d miss if they were taken from you.
In many ways, gratitude was the thing I clung to, the thing that saved me, even.
Not only that, but it became a vital part of me, a lifestyle. What began in 1998 as an ordinary daily ritual of writing down 5 things I was grateful for each day, morphed into a yearly/annual Christmas list of “Overlooked Blessings” shared with family and friends. Over time, this way of life opened the door to abundance, created a personal transformation and regardless of what I had; I knew I would always have enough. In January of 2013, I knew I wanted to deepen this experience. I wanted to share, teach and show others how gratitude can not only transform you but it can strengthen relationships, restore friendships, facilitate forgiveness and that small acts of kindness and love are choices that will transform you beyond anything that you could imagine. I knew that I wanted to make an impact and create a legacy that I could not only be proud of but one that would ignite a flame in others. I became so deeply connected to the power of gratitude I wanted to help others connect to the “tangible”~ our treasures that carry a deep meaning, photographs, cards, letters (I still have my 30 year old pen pal letters!!) poems, small gifts, handwriting from a loved one passed. In early 2013, I found myself crossing paths with friend and fellow entrepreneur Kathy Duguay, and we became armed with a powerful idea, a drive and focus and a deep rooted passion for making a difference. This idea bloomed into what is now known as The GratitudeTrain™; a heart centered movement that strives to inspire others to unlock the fullness of life through embracing a legacy mindset and gratitude infused lifestyle through authentic, inspired connection. We wholeheartedly embrace the notion that gratitude can create true fulfillment in our lives – especially tangible gestures of love, celebration and appreciation. At the very core of our collaboration and community is the philosophy and mantra that we are all interconnected, that competition and comparison are old news, that strong people lift each other up, that words are things with great power attached to them, and that little whispers, nudges – “promptings” that come our way are meant to be acted upon, not ignored, and that WE are the creators of our own stories: your life is your message to the world-make sure it’s inspiring.
With Gratitude comes possibility; restoring broken relationships, supercharging your business, lifting spirits, eliminating fear and fostering love, renewing and strengthening friendships, healing lonely hearts, attracting infinite abundance, changing mindsets, reversing damaging paradigms and limiting beliefs, igniting personal, spiritual and emotional transformation, increasing levels of happiness, connectedness and the desire to live a purpose driven life – all while celebrating the human experience. We also believe in the possibility of financial success – making the world a better place, a massive difference and a LIVING. A living through giving.
The vehicle we are using to drive our mission is SendOutCards. We encourage people to become proactive and experience it yourself; if you are truly inspired you may consider embracing a 30 day Gratitude Challenge to fully understand what we are talking about. Send one heartfelt greeting card in the mail for 30 days. Write stories of love, laughter and remembrance to people who have inspired YOU or have made a difference in your life. We love the ease and affordability of this platform, although we believe in the power of all avenues to express gratitude.
It is our inherent desire to:
- Inspire thousands of people to embrace the power of gratitude
- To perpetuate a beautiful cycle of positivity
- Be catalysts for positive change by empowering you to take gratitude to new heights
- To transform lives through the power of appreciation
- To gently nudge humanity in a positive direction
- To eliminate fear, competition + scarcity mindset, and replace it with love and prosperity
- To create a vibrant community of proactive, intentional, inspired givers
- To be difference makers
- To invite anyone who believes in our vision and philosophy to become difference makers alongside of us. Together we can move mountains
- To ignite a flame in your heart for the power of your own words + impact
- To empower you to turn overlooked blessings into meaningful experiences
- To take you on a wild ride of possibility.