Send thank you notes to five people who deserve a little recognition.

Well, obviously I am not reading too far ahead in the ‘Gratitude Challenge Calendar’ as I spent most of the day before yesterday calling people and sending letters, cards and notes.  Seems like I almost deserve a day off being grateful and sit around being pissed off about… well, everything!

But a promise is a promise and the most important ones are the ones we make to ourselves….

So I have decided to write ‘thank you notes’ to 5 people who I am grateful for in changing major aspects of my life.  No, this is not even about my family, friends acquaintances  – this is about the celebrities!!!  Which reminds me of an ongoing bitch I may have mentioned before when people say who was the most influential person in your life and people invariably say “My Mum/Dad’ – to me this is so lame – of course our Mum or Dad are the most influential to all of us – but what about the people that you choose to be great influences over your life, not the ones that are common to all of us and were thrust upon us, for better or worse – most don’t think that much….

So I have chosen dead people to write my little thank you notes to….

That way I can just write them here and hope that they are reading them… not over my shoulder as that would be a bit creepy, but more in a sense of knowing that they left a legacy, even if some of their influence over the years for me has changed – which is a good thing.  Or, as importantly what I thought was the truth was only the truth insofar as it led me to find my own truth – they were the catalyst for me understanding, or the kick start on the way to wanting to understand, or occasionally, even in the past, helping me be more grateful….

Albert Einstein
The greatest quotes of all times.  My favourite (okay one of them) is: Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
What I learned from Albert and I am am most grateful for – Genius doth not make the man. Thanks.

Emiliano Zaparta
Emiliano’s most famous for the quote “it is better to die on your feet than live on your knees.”  I believed this for a long time, and fought to stay on my feet.  It was a good quote to teach me a lesson – living is better than the alternative, and often surrender is the better option versus dying.  By the way, Emiliano died on his feet, is almost forgotten and the above quote has been attributed to others.

What I learned from Emiliano and I am most grateful for – dying for a cause is probably a stupid death. Thanks.

Gordon Livingston
(This one is a bit of a cheat as he is still alive…. but, Im saving a dollar and not writing to him in the real world…)  I found his book “Too soon old, to late smart.”  This man has insight, wisdom and the scars to prove he earned it.

What I learned from the good Doctor and I am am most grateful for – His book “Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart.” was one of the catalysts to me being a better man.  Thanks.

Sun Tzu
He died a long time ago and was a warrior of renown who’s legacy live 500 years after his death.  He was a ruthless killer who’s philosophies have been adapted to modern business teachings and strategies – scary really.  He teachings have merit – but, no war does (see Emiliano above).  I read his book and a lot of associated notes occasionally just to make sure I understand them, not in war, but in peace.

What I learned from Sun and I am most grateful for – knowing when to fight is the most important thing (and from his readings I read ‘The Art of Peace’ by Morihei Ueshiba). Thanks.

Nelson Mandela
(Woops, you’re not dead yet either…. oh, yes you are, I just checked! – Lucky!)
I learned that the Government of the day make the laws and if you decide to overthrow them through violence you go to jail for 27 years.  Then you get out, the world has changed and you become President of a country and a great leader…  Why?  Because during those 27 years you changed – you accepted your fate and tried to understand it.

What I learned the most from Nelson and I am most grateful for – knowing that people can really change and past behaviour is NOT a definitive indication of future behaviour.  He also gave me the poem ‘Out of the Night that covers Me’ – which he read not wrote!  Thanks.