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Thank You Revolution Archive

When I started my blog last year, I had to make a decision:Be 100% transparent

or

Don’t do this thing at all.

Obviously, I chose the former.

Part of transparency is giving away secrets. Secrets that I previously guarded like Fort Knox.

I guarded some secrets because I didn’t want others to benefit. I wanted certain things all to myself. Then I realized that your success doesn’t hinder mine at all.

One secret I’ve held for years is that I write thank you notes to famous people. Not the celebrities you see on People Magazine. I can’t even name 90% of those people, nor do I particularly care about the other 10%. I’m referring to my favorite authors and speakers.

I write these notes to people I’ve never met, but who have transformed my life in many ways. And I do so for two reasons:

1. They need it. Everyone needs to feel appreciated and I want them to know they are appreciated. I write them to let them know the specific impact they have made on my life and hope that it encourages them.

2. I might get something from it. Just when you thought I was totally altruistic, I burst that bubble.

I just told you to do something for selfish reasons. Sue me. It’s true, though. You might get something out of it. A signed book. An invitations to share more in a testimonial. An invitation to speak. An invitation to write a blog post. The possibilities are endless.

More often than not, you will get nothing. And #1 more than makes it worth it.

But sometimes…

You get a chance to dine with a world famous author and speaker.

Or to play golf with the Majority Leader of the U.S. House on a world-famous course (the one and only time I ever played golf with Secret Service protection).

Try it 10 times…and I’d love to hear the results.

With Gratitude,

Matt McWilliams
Matt McWilliams.com | Life. Leadership. Love. Learned the Hard Way

 

2 thoughts on “A Thank You Secret Revealed

  1. Jon Stolpe says:

    Interesting…. If I were to write a thank you note to someone famous, I’d start with Bob Goff, Mark Batterson, and Matt McWilliams.

    1. Matt McWilliams says:

      I recognize two of the names but that third one seems sketchy.

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