Episode 199: John Kralik - The Power of Gratitude (A Simple Act of Gratitude) Subscribe on iTunes  or Stitcher Radio The Learning Leader Show "Until you are grateful for what you have, you won't get what you want." In This Episode, You Will Learn: Common themes of leaders who sustain excellence: Being grateful for what you have will lead to continued excellence How his second divorce impacted him: "The second time around, it's your fault" The power of writing thank you notes -- Learned from his grandfather "Until you are grateful for what you have, you won't get what you want." Writing one thank you note per day for one year "When you're negative, you're angry." His thank you note to his son prompted his son to take him out to lunch... What happened next? Life changing "He took out an envelope and paid me back $4,000 that he owed me." -  Writing all of your employees thank you notes: Why you should do this but most don't "Instead of being mad about my bad clients, I started thanking my good ones." -- The impact this had on John's business was immense "It turns out the one thing I had to be grateful for was my 8 year old daughter." -- "She loved this awful little apartment we lived in" "There are so many things to be grateful for" "When things don't go well, stay positive, stay grateful... Good things WILL happen" How to shift a negative mindset? -- Use a pen, write it out. Write thank you notes.  Use gratitude journals.  Trying to find out the person's address without asking them is part of the fun and the surprise. John has written over 1,100 thank you notes since starting this process Focus on the people supporting you everyday.  Say thank you How to write a great thank you note? -- John describes: 4 Sentences Always start with "thank you" Recognize the gift (or whatever they've done that's created your gratitude) Write one true sentence -- Why you're grateful Tell that person what they mean to you Listen as John reads a thank you note he wrote to his daughter (you might cry). Continue Learning: Read: A Simple Act of Gratitude  Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12 You may also like these episodes: Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why Did you enjoy the podcast? If you enjoyed hearing John Kralik on the show, please don’t hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me. Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell The Learning Leader Show is supported by Rhone.  Use the code "Hawk" for 15% off.  Rhone... premium activewear engineered with principle, performance and progress for the modern man.  Rhone builds clothing around 3 main tenants: Cutting-edge Performance, Premium Comfort, and Simplistic Style.