Subject: The Power of Please and Thank You

Welcome to Celebrating the Journey!
Monday, November 20, 2000
Issue #42

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Welcome Notes
2. The Power of Please and Thank You
3. Coaching: Who Will You Thank This Week?
4. Quotes
5. Humor: The Wedding
6. Reading for the Journey
7. Opportunities

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1. Welcome Notes

It is still dark outside at this early hour of the morning,
and the light of the late-rising moon creates shadows on
the bright snow. I am reminded of many oh-dark-thirty
starts on mountains all over the world.

Those of you who have read my autobiography “To The
Summit: A Woman’s Journey Into the Mountains to Find
Her Soul”* know how important Jonathan Wright has
been in my life both before and after he died.

The December issue of Outside magazine contains an
article, excerpted from Rick Ridgeway’s forthcoming book
“Below Another Sky”. The excerpt describes Jonathan’s
death on a mountain called Minya Konka in detail.
Jonathan died in Rick’s arms, and in 1999 Rick returned
with Jonathan’s daughter Asia to the place where the
father she never knew had died.

This is a story for anyone who has a father, anyone who
has lost a father, anyone who yearns to know their father
better. It is told with love and language that brings both
the glories and the tragedies of the mountains to life. Read
it.

Welcome to all our new subscribers. The CTJ family grows
through you, our readers. Please forward this week’s issue
to five people this week, as a thank you for their being in
your life.

I wish you a Thanksgiving blessed with love and joy and
peace.

* To order a hard cover copy of To The Summit for only
$18, send an email to mailto:tts@tothesummit.com. The
soft cover is available at amazon.com for $10 by clicking
here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380788845/tothesummit.
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2. The Power of Please and Thank You

I was raised to say Please and Thank You at appropriate
times, and I freely admit to having a great liking for that
level of politeness.

Please pass the gravy. Thanks.
Please edit this report and get it back to me by noon.
Thanks for having the budget done on time.

All relationships – with family members, with friends,
with business associates, with the grocery clerk – are
enhanced by this degree of respect and courteousness in
communication.

I hear the words Please and Thank You less and less these
days, and I am disturbed by that. I fear that it is emblematic
of a cultural decrease in respect for one another as
individuals and human beings. Without respect, there are
fewer barriers to rudeness, abuse and violence.

People, especially children, learn a great deal from what is
modeled for them, from how adults behave around them.
Want your kids to treat others with more respect? Saying
Please and Thank You yourself, is a great beginning.

And then there’s a whole other level of Thanks. One
which I see disappearing even faster. It goes far beyond
simple politeness. It is an expression of genuine caring for,
admiration for, love of another human being.

It is the act of thanking someone for the role they play in
your life or for how they affect the planet and its
inhabitants. Thanking your father for the values he
modeled as you were growing up. Thanking your best
friend for all they give you. Thanking the author of your
favorite book for giving you so much pleasure. Thanking
your partner for loving you.

Giving thanks in this way is an action that pays itself
forward. When people are appreciated for who and how
they are, it is a natural progression for them to show that
appreciation for someone else. And so on, and so on.

Gratitude is a popular concept these days. And an
important one. Living from a place of gratitude greatly
enhances the quality and success of our lives. Expressing
that gratitude, especially our gratitude for how others
impact our lives, enhances both our lives and that of
others. Feel your gratitude. Then express it.

We hear much in the news about how society is becoming
dehumanized. The words Thank You, used often and
from the heart, do a great deal to re-humanize our
culture. We can each play an important role in
maintaining a sense of connection and community on
our planet by paying one another the respect and
appreciation inherent in a simple and heartfelt Thank
You.

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3. Coaching: Who Will You Thank This Week?

Stay aware in the coming week of how often you say
Please and Thank You. Are you treating others as you
would like to be treated? Is the way you are
communicating how you want your children to
communicate?

In this week of the Thanksgiving holiday, choose at least
one person each day and let them know how you are
thankful for who they are and for the role they play in
your life. Make sure you include yourself in your thanks!

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4. Quotes

Grateful people can see the stars, and give thanks for
every sunrise. Grateful people reach for the moon,
knowing that even if they fail, it will be one heck of a ride!
But ungrateful, timid, frightened or bitter people don’t see
any of that. They know their “rights”, and they remember
small slights. True success is based on a launching pad of
gratitude!
Phil Humbert

Praise and an attitude of gratitude are unbeatable
stimulators…we increase whatever we extol.
Sylvia Stitt Edwards.

Appreciative words are the most powerful force for good
on earth!
George W. Crane

There is no investment you can make which will pay you
so well as the effort to scatter sunshine and good cheer
through your establishment.
Orison Swett Marden

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5. Humor: The Wedding

Attending a wedding for the first time, a little girl
whispered to her mother, “Why is the bride dressed in
white?”

“Because white is the color of happiness and today is the
happiest day of her life,” her mother tried to explain,
keeping it simple.

The child thought about this for a moment, then said,
“So, why’s the groom wearing black?”

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6. Reading for the Journey

Say Please, Say Thank You : The Respect We Owe One
Another by Donald W. McCullough

The Washington Post Book World calls this book, “A
charming, insightful, and very funny look at the
importance of simply being nice and at how incredibly
easy it is to forget how.”

Publishers Weekly says, “This rousing, witty guide could
help make the world a nicer, more civilized, more
humane place.”

I agree heartily with the amazon.com reviewer who
writes, “Donald McCullough reminds us of the power that
we have to make the world a better place–simply by being
polite. He helps us spot opportunities to treat others with
respect–not because they have “earned it,” but because
they deserve it as fellow human beings. From saying
please and thank you, to keeping a secret, to picking up
the check at dinner, it’s the little decisions in life that
make the big difference–helping us to grow more
gracious, and to give, and receive, life’s simple but
essential gifts.

It is these gifts that bring humanity to our culture. Find
marvelous examples of them by clicking here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0399525386/tothesummit.

Richard Scarry’s Please and Thank You Book by Richard
Scarry

I am very familiar with the quality of the Richard Scarry
series and with the animal residents of Busytown. This
volume comes highly recommended by several friends
who are moms of young children. In it, Huckle and Lowly
learn useful lessons about manners, thoughtfulness, and
caring. We all need reminders about Please and Thank
You and good manners in general. This is a delightful way
to provide them for kids and parents alike. Buy it here for
only $2.92:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0394826817/tothesummit.

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7. Opportunities

Want to discover, at a personal level, what coaching is all
about? Here’s your chance!

I am once again offering Coaching Gift Certificates for this
holiday season. The certificates are for one month of
coaching – that’s 4 half hour sessions – at the discounted
rate of $150. They are available through the end of 2000, to
give as gifts or as an introductory new client rate. They
may be used any time during the year 2001.

This is a great way to discover the value that a Life coach
can have for you. Advocate, cheerleader, mirror, someone
to be accountable to, holder of vision — my roles as a
Coach are many. Sound intriguing? Give it a go! Give the
gift of coaching to a friend! Or to yourself!
Email me at mailto:gc@tothesummit.com to find out
more about this program.

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Give yourself the gift of giving thanks this week.

Namaste, Margo

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My purpose in publishing Celebrating the Journey is to
provide you with resources, motivation, inspiration and
energy for YOUR journey of creating success and freedom
in all areas of your life. CTJ will use stories from my life
and others, coaching tips and resources, quotes and
humor to deliver a learning experience that can enhance
your life. I am always looking for comments, ideas and
ways to improve CTJ. I welcome your e-mails at
mailto:margo@tothesummit.com.

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Copyright © 2000, all rights reserved, by Margo
Chisholm

I invite you to share Celebrating the Journey with your
mailing list, friends, and associates. We ask only that the
entire e-mail with copyright and credits be included. The
author of this article is Margo Chisholm. You may contact
her at (970) 704-9336 or at mailto:margo@tothesummit.com.

—
“At every moment of our life we have an
opportunity to choose joy.”
Henri J. M. Nouwen

Margo Chisholm
Coach, Speaker, Author, Therapist
Partnering you in having success,
freedom and joy in all areas of your life
970-704-9336 fax 970-704-9346
margo@tothesummit.com

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