An Amazing 5-Year Journey
It’s Monday, June 17th!
WOW… what a sight to see on the calendar. And, again this year June 17 is a Monday, as it was 5 years ago in 2019.
Something amazing happened on June 17, 2019. At the time, I had a hunch that the four words I heard were an invitation of divine origin.
I had NO idea what saying YES to that four-word invitation on June 17, 2019 would mean… for me… or the world.
We were coming up on the 100th episode of the Higher Purpose Podcast. Over the preceding 16 months, my life had been transformed by the Power of Gratitude. I didn’t have the PoG label for it then, but I was profoundly aware of the impact of gratitude in my life.
Through the kindness of Maryann Kerr, I met Steve Foran about 60 days earlier — April 19th to be precise (thanks LinkedIn 😉). Steve had just written a new book, Thriving to Surviving: The 10 Laws of Grateful Leadership and had gifted me a copy.
Actually, I remember his kindness in sending me two copies. Jason Meucci ended up with the gift copy.
I had this idea of having Steve join me for Episode 101 of the Higher Purpose Podcast to “ground the next 100 episodes in the good soil of gratitude.”
That episode was set to air on July 2, 2019.
Back to that fateful Monday morning of June 17, 2019. Sometime during the early hours of the morning that include gratitude, prayer, journaling, Bible reading, and meditation I heard a simple 4-word invitation.
Heard…that’s an interesting word. I didn’t hear an audible voice. It could not have been more clear or compelling had it been audible.
What I heard arrived as an invitation — not a mandate.
HOST A GRATITUDE CHALLENGE?
Those words animated, energized, and excited me!
My immediate answer was YES!
But I had NO IDEA what a Gratitude Challenge would or could look like.
Immediately, I grabbed my phone and called Steve…
WHY? Because I knew whatever this was… it was bigger than me and I needed help to pull it off.
I still remember calling Steve and asking, “Hey, what do you think of joining me and us hosting a Gratitude Challenge as part of the podcast episode?”
I had rehearsed all of the possible responses Steve might offer. I had tried to anticipate all of his objections so I could mitigate them and entice him to join.
His immediate response stunned me.
“Count me in!”
Say what?
He did not raise a single objection.
Now what? What’s our next step?
I wasn’t prepared for THAT!
Suddenly, I was in scramble mode. I said, “Let me call my friend Christy Kern and see if she’s willing to join us and we’ll hop on a Zoom later today.”
Christy responded in similar fashion to Steve. I do remember her saying something like, “I’ve been thinking it’s time we offer something else.” The year before, Christy and I cocreated the 90-day journey we called, The Extraordinary Experiment.
While that was a great experience, we did 90 days is a bit of an audacious endeavor to start with right out of the gate.
Early in the afternoon of June 17, 2019, the three of us met and brainstormed what would become the 10-Day Gratitude Challenge.
The things that would happen over the next 21 days — well, there are plenty of topics there worth their own posts.
Let me fast forward to June 17, 2024… FIVE YEARS LATER and do a short THEN and NOW Contrast.
THEN…
What would happen if we invited people to a 10-day gratitude challenge?
We worked like crazy to recruit 100 people by Friday, July 5 to launch on Monday, July 8.
Then, on Saturday, an amazing guy, Steve Browne heard about the challenge and asked if he could share it. In 46 hours, another 194 joined in. We closed registration and hosted the first session with 294 people.
The next day, we had 100 people on a wait list.
We started the second session with 349 people.
Then, things got crazy.
We ended up hosting 22 sessions of The Gratitude Challenge and had 2,800+ people join from 73 countries.
Saying YES to that four-word invitation, “Host a Gratitude Challenge?” set me on a path…and launched a journey.
NOW… June 17, 2024
We’ve just announced Don’t Wait To Thank…a month-long invitational initiative for July.
Our aspirational goal? Can we see ONE MILLION people touched by the Power of Gratitude…in a month.
Five years ago, it took 20 months to reach 2,800 people. Now, we’re wondering can 1,000,000 people experience the Power of Gratitude in 31 days.
With your help, it can happen!
Here’s where you can learn more!
Want to embrace the healing power of gratitude? Join me in participating in the #DontWaitToThank Challenge this July to create deeper connections with those who touch our lives. Let's not wait for a special occasion to express gratitude! 🌈💕 Sign up here: https://www.imgratefulforyou.co/dont-wait-to-thank