“WHAT ARE YOUR GRATEFULS, DADDY?”

When my son, Kolby was six (he’s now 17), like many six year olds, he started nearly every sentence with, “I want.” In an effort to start teaching him about gratitude, we started a nightly practice. I would stretch out on his bottom bunk and Kolby would climb onto the top, where, surrounded by a zoo of stuffies, he would tell me three things he was grateful for. 

One night, Kolby turned the tables. “What are your gratefuls, Daddy?” I had a terrible day and told Kolby that I wasn’t up for it. Kolby countered with some form of six-year old words and said, “But you said it was even more important to be grateful on the bad days.”

Busted.

He was right and I blurted out, “I wrote. I worked out. I played with you. It was a day well lived.” I immediately felt better. Much, much better. I felt like he had discovered something magical. It was bigger than just a gratitude practice.

I had reconnected to myself.

What if we could all feel that magic?

It took me a long time to realize that this is my purpose. This is the secret sauce to the work I do and have always done. With brands. With people. My greatest skill is to help connect the dots. Create connections.

As I have explained, years ago, during an interview for an exec role at a Comms Agency, my would-be boss said, “You’re kind of an artist, aren’t you?” He meant it in a snarky way, but I thought it was a high compliment.

But it’s true. I am. It lands so resoundingly aligned. It may not be in the traditional sense, but yes.

I am an Artist.
I create Connections.
My canvas is People.
My brush is Love.

Our work together is where the art is created…