Things to be thankful for.

Published 20061122 by Olivier Blanchard | E-mail this post

It's Thanksgiving week here in the US, so I'll be off tomorrow stuffing my face with turkey.

If you don't do it on a regular basis already, this is a good time of year to stop and think about all of the things that we can be thankful for. I don't know what your list is like, but since I'm in a sharing mood today, (in a kind of kumbayah group therapy kind of way) here's a short version of mine, in no particular order:

Some of the things Olivier is thankful for in 2006 (other than family, which gets its own little chapter, but not here):

Great clients. Not-so-great clients. The unbelievably talented people I am lucky enough to count as my friends, co-workers, and partners in crime. You (my readers). Freedom of speech. Blogs. Free entreprise. The very concept of the American Dream. Pretty good health (knock on wood). Fast legs. Wireless internet. My Canon EOS 20D. Greenville's triathlon/running/cycling community. Tsunami (the sushi bar down the street from here). Everyone who has ever taken a chance on me. Everyone who didn't. Portable mp3 players. PB&J smoothies. Mark Knights' spicy chicken salad. Briko bicycle helmet design. Spacetime dynamics. Wireless communications. The internet. Skype. Helpful strangers. Finding out that it wasn't curiosity that killed the cat. Kevlar. Good instincts. Being bilingual. Aspirin. Deodorant, toothpaste, and things that make people not stink on long flights. Trees. My laptop. Merino wool. German engineering. Accel gel. Great music. Good reflexes. Not living in a hurricane, earthquake or pestilence-prone part of the world. Just about everyone I've met this year (with a few notable exceptions). Confidence. 20/20 vision. A good first full year for F360, and the knowledge that no matter what hurdles are ever thrown my way, everything will always be all right.

Thank you all for being out there and helping make the world better, even if it's just a little bit.

You know, if you don't feel all that chipper, remember that life rarely goes according to plan, but all and all, it's good. There are always moments that make it all worthwhile (or more worthwhile than others). Good times and bad times come in cycles. When you're in a bad cycle, all you need to do is stay the course until things get better. They always do.

Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone. :)