This season of gratitude always reminds me how important it is to step back, look around, and be thankful for the people in my life who have helped me along this road.

The busyness of life can sweep through and keep us from ever expressing gratitude to these important people. Even during this holiday weekend, we get wrapped with traditions and bustle so much that we forget the true meaning: thankfulness. Gratitude was made to be expressed, we cannot let it slip through our fingers.

Today, I would like to invite you to make a list of individuals for whom you have gratitude.

Yes, you can even go so far as taking out a piece of paper and a marker and taking the time to write them down.

It could be a long list, it could be a short list, but who in your life has made you a better friend, spouse, and individual?

The following list is my own results from this exercise. An overwhelming sense of thankfulness flooded me as I wrote each name down. Some have been lifelong friends, some have come in and out, many support my family in some fashion and others are the people that I wake up and share my life with on a daily basis. However, this list in no way encompasses all the people in my life that deserve my gratitude. This is just a small sample of the truly amazing people whom I have gratitude for in my heart:

My wife, Julie.

My daughters, Jemma and Jolie.

My parents, Bruce and Sandy.

My grandparents (living and dead). And those that came before them.

My wife’s parents. Victor and Marina.

Aura

Our dog Rocco. And Stella who will always be in our heart.

EVERY Positively Positive reader and fan.

EVERY Positively Positive contributor.

My past clients.

My past teachers.

From this point my list will be in alphabetical order:

Adam Baker

Agapi Stassinopoulos

Alissa Finerman

Amber Rae

Amrit Khalsa

Angella Nazarian

Antonio Ortiz

Arielle Ford

Barbara Seymour Giordano

Bethany Butzer

Bill Stierle

Billie Ohanesian

Bliss Young

Brad Bedford

Brandon Walowitz

Brenda Menendez

Brett Carella

Brett Harris

Brian Johnson

Brian Kessler

Byron Paidoussi

Carol Bovil

Celia Lee

Chava Tombosky

Chaz Guest

Chelsea Hettrick

Chelsea Roff

Chris Assad

Claire Wineland

Craig Katz

Dabo Che

Dallas Clayton

Dan McDonald

Daniel Goodstadt

Danielle LaPorte

Danny Greenberg

Darren Maddern

Daryl Snyder

Davi Khalsa

David Copperfield

David Garcia

David Katz

David Reed

Deepak Chopra

Desiree Miller

Dodinsky

Don Mink

Douglas “Disco” Hylton

Dr. Edison de Mello

Dr. Frank Lipman

Dr. Jay Gordon

Dr. Lawrence Meyers

Dr. Lissa Rankin

Dr. Myles Spar

Drew Francis

Eddie Trump

Elise Ballard

Elizabeth Guber

F.E. Young

Fiji – All of my friends in Fiji who were there for us this summer.

Frank Cortinas

Fred and Francie Glassman

Fred Arnold

Fred Kreger

Gabby Bernstein

Gary Goldstein

Gary Vaynerchuk

George French

Gerard Austen

Gene Fisher

Gina Hunt

Gina Lobaco

Giselle Fernandez

Gordon Haas

Gotham Chopra

Grant Peele

Gretchen Rubin

Guru Singh

Gurudhan Khalsa

Guruperkarma Kaur

Hannah Brencher

Harriet Seitler

Heidi Krupp-Lisiten

Heifara and Nani Duterte

Ilene Silk

Ishitia Gupta

Jack Canfield

Jacob Shallman

Jason Barrett

Jason Gold

JC Gabler

Jeff Frankel

Jeff Greene

Jen Groover

Jennifer Garcia

Jennifer Pastiloff

Jennifer Waldburger

Jessica Law

Jill Spivack

Jim Wiatt

Joan Fink

Joan Martin

JoAnn Anderson

Joanne Goulbourne

Jodi Guber

Joel Lubin

John Farrand

John Herzfeld

John Maxwell

Jonathan Fields

Jonathan Shulman

Jonathan Wolk

Jordan Reasoner

Joshua Willis

Joy Watt

Juliano

Karen Rosenthal

Karen Salmansohn

Karl Robb

Kevin Boylan

Kim Warren

Kyle Maynard

Kris Carr

Krishna Kaur

Kurt Reisig

Lara Shriftman

Lash Fry

Latham Thomas

Lewis Howes

Linda Bruno

Lisa Cypers Kamen

Lisa Doyle

Lucia Mancuso

Mak Takano

Mallika Chopra

Maranda Pleasant

Marc Erlbaum

Marci Shimoff

Marcelene Dyer

Margaret French Isaac

Marie Delcioppo

Mark and Ann Marie Cappellano

Mastin Kipp

Maya Watson

Melissa Nordquist

Michael Caplan

Michael Carter

Michael Eisen

Michael Foonberg

Michael Glynn

Michele Ruiz

Mike Caputo

Mike Murphy

Mitch Thrower

Mrs. Green

Myisha Ramsey

Nancy Levin

Nick Gouche

Nick Ortner

Nikita Pritchett

Nils Johnson

Nina Boski

Oprah Winfrey

Pamela Salzman

Patricia Karpas

Patsy Kennedy

Patty Aubery

Patty Gift

Paul Benec

Penny Hintz

Peter Fischer

Rabbi Avraham Zajac

Rabbi David Eshel

Rebecca Musser

Regina Romero

Richmond Kodua

Robbie Tombosky

Robert Cooper

Robert Sturman

Roberta Haas

Saje Dyer

Sam Cawthorn

Sasha Sable

Satish Dholakia

Saundra Parola

Savannah Cookson

Scott Rudin

Selena Soo

Serena Dyer

Seth Godin

Sheri Salata

Siree Franks

Siridyal Kaur Khalsa

Skye Dyer

Sommer Dyer

Sophie Parienti

Stefanie Hagen

Stephanie Lee

Teresa Collett

Terri Cole

Tim Sanders

Tom Shadyac

Tommy Rosen

Tony Robbins

Tracee Stanley

Tracy Fleiss

Valerie Wildman

Xian Horn

Waylon Lewis

Wayne Dyer

And of course my gratitude for G-D is overwhelming.

I could go on and on…

Share a few people from your own list in the comment section below. I would love to read about the bright individuals in your own life who have made you the person you are today.


Eric Handler is the publisher and co-founder of Positively Positive. Check out his TEDx talk. Follow Eric on TWITTER.

*Photo by mtsofan.