The Legacy of a Thank You Note

As the daughter of a military officer I was taught that it was important to say thank you to others for the service they provided. I am sure I was not like you growing up being a bit resistant to my parents on all the lessons they attempted to teach me. For some reason this particular lesson had a profound effect on me and it was something that I carried into adulthood with ease.

As a young adult I learned that I had to pay the bills or they would no longer work! I learned many lessons about paying the bills. You are probably wondering why I am talking about paying the bills as a legacy of a thank you note. Do not worry I will get to the point. It was a time in life when the news was talking about how the bill payments were being stolen from the mail boxes and to make sure that your payments did not look like there was a check inside the envelope. This was important to me because I could not afford to have people steal my money when I had so little of it.

Because of the news, I made a plan to put my checks in the envelope with a piece of paper that made it look like a letter was going out. The companies did not have the self address envelopes like they do today. I would wrap up my check into a piece of paper and handwrite the address to the bill collector and mail off my payments. This cycle would happen every month without fail.

At some point in this process I began to think that the paper I was putting in was just so plain. I remembered my teaching as a child to make sure to say thank you to the people who are of service to you. So I began writing in big letters on the paper I was wrapping my check in “Thank you For Taking My Payment”. I thought that just maybe that note would let people who were often in a thankless job know that I cared.

Over the years I continued this tradition. I would happily sit down and write my notes as I made a payment to the very people that were taking all my money. The electric company, the water company, the garbage company and the credit card company just to name a few. I took responsibility for using their services and had made a choice to say thank you.

It wasn’t until about six years ago that I understood the impact of what I was doing. I like many other people had gotten so busy in life with work, kids and activities that I was late at paying the bills. I remember coming home after being away facilitating seminars and getting a notice that said I had 24 hours to pay my water bill or they would turn it off. Wake up and smell the reality! Went right down to City Hall building to pay the bill! As I was waiting in line I looked around and was listening to the people who were yelling because they too had gotten the same notice that I did and they were trying to get out of paying that bill right now and of course it was the clerk’s fault that they got that notice. I noticed something out of the corner of my eye that caught my attention. Right behind one of the clerks on their bulletin board was a note that said “Thank You For Taking My Payment”. I was amazed to see right there in public view a very simple piece of paper that I had written thanking this person for doing her job.

When it was finally my turn to pay the bill I went up and asked the clerk about the piece of paper that I recognized. She shared that the first time that payment was open they were surprised that someone had said thank you. She then shared that every month they receive this note they appreciated it so much that they began to pass them around to the different staff. Almost all the staff now had one of these notes on their bulletin boards. I was thrown back for a moment! Had what I been doing all these years really made that many people appreciate it? If this was how it was at this payment center could it be like that at other payment centers to. I had not realized or even thought that this would mean a lot to people. I said to the clerk “wow I did not know that by writing those notes that someday I would see them displayed on a bulletin board and have that kind of an impact.” She looked at me and asked if I could wait there a minute. I did and she came back with three people and said “this is the lady that sends the notes”. They each shared that they appreciated receiving them and they thanked me. They also shared that no one thanks them for taking their payments and more often than not that people are mad at them. One person shared that when they would get done dealing with someone who was rude and yelling at them they would look at the note and say at least one person cares.

A legacy happens when you consistently take small steps that improve the life or wellbeing of another. That is exactly what these thank you notes did. What will be your thank you note in life? What will you do that is small and may seem meaningless yet could potentially create an impact in the life of another? I mostly have my bills paid through auto payments now and do not send in the bills like I used to. However, I still look for ways to say thank you to the people who more often than not have a thankless job. Be it the grocery store bagger, the house keeping staff at the hotel I stay at and the list goes on. Find a way to make small steps in your life, create a ripple effect no matter how small and how it may seem like not much of a big deal! I learned a very valuable lesson the day my service was almost shut off. For me it was worth it to have written those notes for all of those years without realizing the impact and the legacy it would create. A hand written thank you note can make a difference. Go make your difference.

Design Your Ideal Life

Are you designing your ideal life?

Believe it or not you have a clean slate everyday to design the life that you want. Each day you get to choose what you will do and how you will respond to the choices around you. You can invent your life any way you choose. How you do it will be up to you.

Start designing your life by choice. Here are some questions to get you thinking and get you writing about your ideal life. Answer these questions with great detail. Describe each idea using your senses. Visualize the colors, sounds, smells and anything that can get you excited about your ideal life.

• How do you see yourself every day?
• Who do you want to be?
• Who do your spend your time with?
• Who would you like to spend your time with?
• What does an average day look like for you?
• What would you like your average days to look like?
• What do you do for fun?
• What would you like to do for fun?
• What do you do for income?
• What would you like to be doing for income?
• Where do you live?
• Where would you like to live and why there?

This does not have to be difficult. If it feels hard to visualize a long distance just visualize your ideal life for one day. What can you do tomorrow to make your life better than today? Take designing your ideal life in small steps. It took small steps to get you where you are today so pace yourself in your designing. After you get the hang of your ideal day then move to an ideal week and then month and so on. Once you have designed what your ideal day, week, month, year or life looks like then start taking steps to put it all into action. Start making the small steps and planning to live your ideal life.

We do not have to out do someone else's life. We only have to live up to our life! This is Your ideal life. You can decide how you live it, who you live it with and what is important to you.

Design your life with your loved ones supporting you and bring together the people in your life who are willing to help you reach your ideal design. What are you waiting for? Go have fun designing your life and your legacy.

September Legacy Foundation Day

Septembers Legacy Foundation Recipeint is the Women's Center of San Joaquin County.

Be A Legacy creates awareness with Legacy Foundation Day.

Legacy Foundation Day is an opportunity for you to receive a 30 minute coaching session for free. In turn, we ask you to make a contribution of $30.00 (or more, it's up to you) to the cause, organization, or individual we've chosen each month that we support because they are also making a huge difference in the world.
We choose to model how simple it is to walk the talk, take a stand, and do something for another. And we invite you to join us.

Here's how it works.
• Every month we'll highlight on our blog the month's charitable focus.
• You complete the 'Give to Receive' form on the Be A Legacy website to request your 30-minute coaching session.
• After receiving your form, you will be contacted by one of our Be A Legacy coaches to schedule your session.
• Your session must be scheduled within one week of your request.• After the session, please make your donation. Simple honor system applies.

Here is some information on the Women's Center:

For more than three decades, the Women's Center has been the lifeline to help and hope for thousands of women, children, and men in San Joaquin County, and now reaches over 30,000 individuals each year. The Center is the sole certified provider of services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in San Joaquin County, and operates the only undisclosed emergency shelters for battered women and their children.

The agency also provides prevention education and community outreach to numerous local schools, businesses and organizations, to prevent more people from becoming victims and to help stop the violence.

The Women's Center is driven by its mission to provide a wide range of supportive, educational and crisis intervention services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, enabling them to regain control of their lives.

Mission
To provide a wide range of supportive, educational, and crisis intervention services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, enabling them to regain control of their lives.

Vision
The founding and continued vision of the Women’s Center of San Joaquin County includes:
A community where women can share ideas and feelings, examine their role in society, and learn to bring about change.
An environment conducive to growth and self-empowerment where women can teach and learn skills important for dealing with a changing world, and further community cross-cultural understanding.
A forum where women’s issues and concerns can be brought before the public.
A place where women, men , and children in need can find supportive services.
A catalyst for change pursuing societal goals of equity and self worth, working to insure the provision of quality services, community education, and new programs for women and children.

Goals
The Women's Center's goals are to serve and empower victims, raise awareness about domestic violence and sexual assault, dispel myths and misconceptions, and reduce violence in our communities. Ultimately, our goal is to eliminate domestic violence and sexual assault, but we work to ensure that our services are available as long as there is a need.

Legacy Foundation Day

July's Legacy Foundation Recipeint is Kids Inspiring Kids.

Be A Legacy creates awareness with Legacy Foundation Day. It is an opportunity for you to receive a 30 minute coaching session for free. In turn, we ask you to make a contribution of $30.00 (or more, it's up to you) to the cause, organization, or individual we've chosen each month that we support because they are also making a huge difference in the world. We choose to model how simple it is to walk the talk, take a stand, and do something for another. And we invite you to join us.

Here's how it works.
• Every month we'll highlight on our blog the month's charitable focus.
• You complete the 'Give to Receive' form on the Be A Legacy website to request your 30-minute coaching session.
• After receiving your form, you will be contacted by one of our Be A Legacy coaches to schedule your session.
• Your session must be scheduled within one week of your request.
• After the session, please make your donation. Simple honor system applies.

Go to www.kidsinspire.com click on the donation page and make your donation to support kids in Africa.