One of my Thank Yous hits the net!

So the recipient of Thank You number Four emailed me today to let me know she had actually scanned and posted my Thank You letter to her business' website as a Testimonial! I of course checked it out immediately:

http://www.thebrowsrus.com/Testimonial.aspx

And was happy to see my handwriting to her again. Nice to know that the good vibes sent out in a thank you can keep on vibing for some time. =)

Nine

Written Friday July 15, mailed Monday July 18....To Garth, the salesperson at South Hills Honda who managed the leasing of my car..I had received at least 3 typed-up thank yous from him over the past four months, so I figured a handwritten one back might be nice. Car dealers are people too! ;)

Eight

A tricky one, because I couldn't find a postal mailing address for this author. So, I mailed her publisher (address on inside pages of book) writing "Attn: Gretchen Rubin" and crossing my fingers that it gets to her! Written yesterday, mailed today:

Dear Gretchen,

On Friday June 24, my fiance and I arrived the Pittsburgh airport and found out that our flight to New York was delayed. I wasn't perturbed much since I had my Kindle to keep me occupied However, my Kindle malfunctioned and I couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. Instead of calling Amazon, I decided to check out the nearby store for some entertainment.

I scanned the shelves several times and couldn't find a book or magazine that I liked. Correction -- I couldn't find one that I was willing to spend money on since I had a (broken) Kindle full of digital books back at the gate. Before leaving the store I decided to scan one last time and saw your book "The Happiness Project". I read the full title cover, liked your honest face, and bought it.

I returned to the gate and read the book while the plane was being serviced. I read it after boarding and through the entire flight. I read it during the HOUR after we landed and circled the airport waiting for a gate to taxi at. I read it on the entire flight back to Pittsburgh that Sunday. I read it on subsequent random evenings in my living room, and I finished it last Thursday!

I loved it. I love how you tell your story and what your project did for you. I have yet to formally begin my own Happiness Project, but I already randomly remember snippets of yours, ones about cutting people slack, or spending out, or sleeping when my body tells me I'm tired even if there is another "Housewives" episode on.

I look forward to seeing the continued effects your book will have on my life, and I thank you for putting it all out there!

Sincerely,

Hima Tadoori

Seven

My first international Thank You. Written yesterday, mailed today:

Dear Rafa,

I have been watching or playing tennis since I was a child, but I have never enjoyed watching matches as much as when you have been on the court! Thank you for working so hard to be an athlete of your caliber. Your dedication to the sport and your intensive training show through in every set and game, and on every point. Your grace, whether shared after winning or not, is highly respected. I hope to watch you play for many years to come and wish you even more happiness and success than you've already earned and are enjoying!

Love your fan,

Hima

Six

Written yesterday, mailed today:

Hi Tootsie,

I hope you are doing well! I'm not sure if you know but I got engaged and moved to Pittsburgh last October! It's been a busy year with lots of change, but I still love to dance. I joined a nearby gym and have been trying different dance/cardio classes. I was away for awhile and I'm returning to the gym and dance classes this week, and in the process I remembered you and wanted to write and thank you for doing what you do! I am sad that I no longer get to enjoy your
classes being hundreds of miles away, but I feel so lucky that I got to have you has a dance teacher while I lived in Manhattan. The students you teach are so blessed to have you near them and I hope they make that clear to you! Perhaps one day I'll come upon another instructor who is so fun to learn from, rarely turns down the music, and pushes me (safely) to my limits. In the meantime, I'll keep your spirit and flow in mind whenever my feet hit the dance floor! Thanks again and keep dancing!

Love,

Hima

A Response!

I'll admit I've been eagerly checking my hima@thousandthankyous.com e-mail account, especially a few days after sending out each Thank You. However on some note cards I included my Gmail address, and I got a response to one of my cards this morning! It was Dipali, and she appreciated the "beautiful card" and "nice comment". I was so happy to read that!

Five

Written Wednesday June 22

I thanked Stephanie Jaeger, a trading advisor has helped me improve at what it is I am learning to master. I am so grateful for her help!

(Mailed a few days later)

Four

Written Wednesday June 22 (mailed a few days later)

Dear Dipali,

It was great meeting you yesterday at your salon. Thank you for doing such a great job on my threading, etc -- I had no skin irritation whatsoever afterwards! More importantly you
were very friendly and made me feel comfortable in a new place. I'm so happy and relieved to have found someone I can count on for my beauty needs here in Pittsburgh. Thanks again
and I'll see you next time!

Sincerely,

Hima

Early Hiatus over - back at it!

So it's been awhile since I've posted my Thank Yous, but it wasn't because I hadn't written any! I just wasn't making a point to update the blog/my site promptly and share what I've been doing.

On a random note though, when my Kindle "broke down" a couple weeks ago as I was waiting to fly to New York, I got my hands on The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and read over half of it over the course of my weekend trip. I finished it last night and LOVED it. And I am wondering if my project fits into any genre - it's not quite a "stunt" because I haven't set out to write all of my Thank Yous in one calendar year. However, it is a project towards self-improvement and growth and partaking in it is making me happy.

I've started keeping a running list in my Iphone of ideas of people to thank, preventing the loss of an idea simply because I'm not near pen, paper, or my computer at that. I also realized that although I've written Five Thank Yous so far (the other two shared in the subsequent posts), I have Nine Hundred Ninety-Five to go, and I need to find a way to resolve some doubts I've already experienced. First, what type of contact/return information should I be including within the card? And second, should I be making each recipient aware of my project and their place in it?

For the latter question, I think the answer is a resounding Yes. My fear that it will demean the value of the Thank You by making it a specimen in a social experiment stems from my greater fears/discomfort with sharing Thank Yous that started this entire project! As for what type of information to include and how to format it, my best bet is to create a business card sharing a few key pieces of information.

So, I'm off to update the site and create my method of contact information sharing!