On today’s episode, I’m leaning in to the theme of the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S. and sharing seven things I am thankful for in my business. Beyond just telling you about these things, I’m sharing why I’m thankful and asking questions to you that I hope will prompt you to think about how to improve your business life. Thinking about my business this way got me thinking about how I should be building a joyful business in all things that I do. So, as I go through my list, I hope it helps you think about things you are thankful for and perhaps want to change moving forward so you can build a more joyful business.   #1. Complete freedom. When I decided to go freelance, I looked forward to being my own boss more than anything, but I didn’t fully grasp the complete freedom I would have as a freelancer. Work is still work. But, I have a lot of control over my business—who I work with, when I work, how I work, where I work and what I work on. I worry that some freelancers haven’t fully embraced this freedom or forget about it every now and then. I see way too many people working too many hours. Why are we freelancing if not for the freedom in it? You are in charge of your business, for the most part. Shouldn’t freedom be the goal in everything we do? Are you working with clients you want to work with? Are you working on projects you enjoy? If not, why not? If you are working with clients you don’t love or in an area that doesn’t fascinate you, maybe it’s time to at least start planning on how to find better clients or change your services or niche. Freedom! That’s what I’m really, truly thankful for.   #2. My clients. I am at a place where I’m really happy with the mix of clients I have. It has always been my goal to work with kind people, fun people, people I respect and who respect me. That is really important to me. I have no time for people who are passive-aggressive, make snide remarks, throw me under the bus, demand unreasonable requests. Again, freedom. Why would I want to work with those people? Maybe kindness is important to you, but maybe there are other aspects of clients that are really important to you. What types of clients would you like to work with? What is it about your greatest clients that you really love? Now is also a good time to think about how to thank your clients. Do you send holiday cards or gifts to your best clients? I’ve done this from time to time, and though I usually do it at this time of year, I also love the idea of doing it at surprising times, like sending a thank-you gift after a big project or just randomly in mid-summer—Christmas in July! If you can find out a bit about your client, you can find more personalized gifts, but I have a few go-tos when I’m not sure what to get people. See the links in Resources below.   #3. Great sources or subject matter experts. Because I’ve really honed in on my niche and I love my niche, I love the sources I get to interview. I’m almost always interested in what they have to say and often quite fascinated.   #4. Interviewing. I’m very thankful that my job requires me to interview people. I can’t believe I get paid to talk to people and have the honor of telling their stories! I absolutely love the process of interviewing. I love the discovery process of when a source says something that leads me to ask a new question or go down a different path or ask them to expound or explain. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of having fascinating conversations with medical professionals so I can then write great stories. I’m thankful every day that interviewing is a large part of my work. What do you absolutely love to do in your work? Do you get to do enough of it? How can you make changes in your business so you get to do more of that?   #5. The ability to change my mind and to scale back. As an employee, projects or new ideas were often thrusted upon me, and I couldn’t just quit them whenever I wanted. But in my business, I can change my mind all the time! I d