Normally on this blog, I focus on thanking people that are part of my life; or I highlight things that I am thankful for. This post is a little different: I am thanking those that said No to me.

Whether it was the young lady that said No to a date, her loss (ha ha), or the person that said No for the a job I applied for; these people impacted my life in some way. They influenced where I am at this point in time. Much like the Garth Brook's song, Unanswered Prayers, I am thankful for those that say No.

We focus a lot of time, energy, effort and prayers on what we want, either for ourselves or others, but how often do we give thanks for the No's in our lives? More importantly, to those that said No?

Take some time to think about and to thank those that said No to you. If it wasn't for that No, you may be on a completely different path in life.

Thank you again to those that said No....but let's not make a habit out of it :)

I am in the process of reworking and changing some of my blogs and sites, which includes getting back to posting on this blog, My Thank You Blog. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Today's thank you is for the small things. I think we all, myself included, can get wrapped up in working towards, praying for and being thankful for the large things in our lives. I would encourage you, and in doing so remind myself, to be thankful for the small things.

*A sunrise that you can experience

*A sunset that you can see

* The warmth of a cat on your lap or a dog that wags it's tail any time it sees you.

*The pleasant memories of a loved one that has passed on or a pet that you have lost.

*A text from a friend that understands.

*A friend that doesn't want anything; they just want to be a friend.

*Coffee

A million other things that day-by-day we should always be thankful for.

Be thankful for the small things in your life.

Today, and every day for that matter, I am thankful for life. Let's face it, there are many days in our lives, that life is tough. Just getting out of bed, dealing with a debilitating disease, fear, stress, worry, they all make for very hard days in our lives. Although I am optimistic and generally happy, I know that not every day is great and not everyone will have a great day.

But, stop I encourage you stop and think about what you are thankful for; even for just being alive.

I have so many things in life to be thankful for. My health, family, friends, a job I dearly love, coffee, laughter, a good cigar, mornings, sunrise, sunset, the ocean....

My point in all of this is, life rocks! I am thankful for life and everything that comes with it....the good, the bad, the heartache, the tears, the old joints and bad knees and all.

Be thankful.

It may seem like an unholy alliance; a die-hard Cowboys fan that lives in Ontario, Canada and a never give up hope Redskins fan that lives in Virginia; but that describes the friendship between me and Rob Cairns. Rob is an exceptional human being living and working in technology and social media; but it goes much deeper than that. Rob is the type of person that can be described as good people. The type of person that would give you the shirt off of his back, and not expect it returned. Well, unless it was a Cowboy's Jersey; then there may be a problem :)

I am thankful for Rob, his technological insight combined with his breadth of knowledge on all things digital. The difference with Rob? You are getting a real person behind the technology. A real human being that cares behind the website. Someone that values and treasures his clients and gets to know them on a personal level. Rob also does mind to stir up the conversation with something a little edgy! Pretty amazing for a Cowboy's fan!

A year ago this week, Rob's father passed away. The loss was hard on Rob, but as I told him; continue to live your life so that your dad would always be proud of you, because I am sure he was.

Look Rob up on Twitter: @RobCairns or on his website: http://www.robertbcairns.com/ When you do, pass along this message: #ABC (Anybody but Cowboys)

Thank you Rob, for being a true friend, a peer and just an all around great guy....Cowboy fan and all!

Today's post is my way to say Thank You to one of my best friends and top referral partner, Kimberly Christian. One thing that I can always say about BNI (Business Network International) is that it introduced me to Kimberly. I met Kimberly many years ago when she was a BNI Assistant Director and I was a member. That was the beginning of an incredible referral partnership, and what I am even more thankful for, an incredible friendship.

Kimberly recruited me into the roll of Assistant Director within BNI and our opportunities to work together kept growing. During the years we spent together in BNI, she was a mentor and a friend; especially when I ran into issues with the chapters that I worked with as an director. She refers to me as her number one referral source and is constantly working to find me referrals, but that's just how she is as a person.

So Kimberly, this is my way to say thank you. Thank you for the mentorship, for the referrals, for always being there, but most of all, just for being you. An incredible friend, and an amazing person. Always see yourself as I see you and all of your friends see you; pretty incredible! And no matter what anyone says, getting splashed by you at the lake was a blast! Oh, and thank you for that incredible birthday day :-)

You rock Christian!!