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The 2011 Copyblogger Gratitude List

written by Sonia Simone
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The 2011 Copyblogger Gratitude List

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the States … a day devoted to family, football, and eating our own weight in pie.

And, of course, gratitude.

I probably don’t take as much time as I should to sit down and think about everything I’m grateful for. The list is embarrassingly long, and it starts with the readers of this blog.

If I tried to list every single thing I’m grateful for, we’d both be here until after Groundhog Day. But I’d like to hit a few highlights — and to find out what’s on your gratitude list this year.

So here’s my personal and very partial list.

I’m grateful for the amazing students in Teaching Sells and Third Tribe

We have the most passionate, motivated, hard-working, and just plain smart customers anywhere. Every day I’m knocked out by what they bring to our forums — these are folks with a clear vision of what they want to create, and the discipline to get there. It’s such an honor to work with them.

I’m grateful for the StudioPress community

Brian Gardner is the kind of guy who leads by example. The warmth, the class, and the community of support shown by our StudioPress crazed fanatics valued customers is a direct reflection of the heart and soul Brian has poured into Genesis over the years.

I’m grateful to Yaro Starak

Yaro was the first one to describe what we do at Copyblogger as “Internet Marketing for Smart People.” I’m not 100% sure he meant it as a compliment, but I’ll take it. 🙂

I’m grateful for the Copyblogger team

Everyone at Copyblogger Media, at every position, is crazy-smart, talented, hard-working, and also just incredibly nice.

It’s been quite amazing to see four different companies come together and transform ourselves into Copyblogger Media. I’m very proud of the work we do, and I’m awed by the team we have pulled together.

I’m grateful I worked up the nerve …

To ask Brian Clark, almost four years ago, if maybe some time I could write a Copyblogger guest post.

And I’m grateful to Brian Clark

For saying yes to that post, for always challenging me to do my best work, and for being incredibly kind.

I’m grateful for class-act business partners

Not just the Copyblogger Media partners, each of whom is a prince in his own right, but also Chris Brogan, Darren Rowse, and Chris Garrett, who have made working together a true pleasure.

I’m grateful I was too stubborn to keep my day job

And too quirky, and too argumentative in meetings, and entirely unfit for life in a normal job.

Phew. Seriously.

I’m grateful for my beautiful little family

This is the one I can’t find words for. Every day with them, even when it’s tough, is a fantastic day. Thank you so much to my Big Dude and my Little Dude.

I’m grateful to Tim Ferriss for the Kiwi’s Critical (M)ass workout

My (m)ass is looking pretty good these days, thanks Tim.

I’m grateful to Robert Bruce

For being an amateur recluse, Robert is in fact the most cheerful, upbeat ray of sunshine I can imagine. Thanks for your great writing and your laugh. And for editing the radio show so I don’t have to do it.

I’m grateful to Carole Brown

Carole’s the one who keeps me from disappearing into an inescapable vortex of disorganization. Thanks for always having my back.

I’m grateful to the internet

Thanks for providing this unbelievable environment in which we can create value, build audiences, make friends out of strangers, laugh at funny pictures of cats, and construct things that have never been imagined before. What a rush.

I’m grateful to Seth Godin

For putting ideas into my head. Reading your work was what made me decide to take the red pill in the first place. Thank you.

I’m grateful to you

I know I said it before, but it bears repeating.

Thank you so much for reading, for commenting, for sharing the posts, for your interest and support and intelligent criticism, for keeping us honest, for buying the tools we make, for giving a damn about doing great work.

You are magnificent, and everyone at Copyblogger is supremely grateful for your time and attention.

How about you?

I want to know what you’re grateful for! Whether you’re celebrating U.S. Thanksgiving or not, it feels great to take a minute and think about what’s made your life better this year. Let us know about it in a comment below.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is co-founder and CMO of Copyblogger Media. Let her know about your own gratitude list on twitter.

P.S. – Whenever you’re ready, here are 4 ways we can help you:
  1. Copyblogger Academy - Our community gives you 9 full-length marketing courses (over 30 hours of education total), ongoing education, expert Q&A, and more. Join 1500+ members inside.
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Reader Comments (59)

  1. OH YES the beautiful sound of Gratitude – wouldn’t this be a better world if we took it farther then one day called “Thanks” “Giving”….I love that word!

    So I am thankful for my breath for without that I would not have the power to speak – I am thankful for the love that grows in my heart and the love that I get to share daily with random encounters and the such.

    I am thankful that my website MakeGirlfriends.com has come this far and I’m still writing inspirational blogs.

    Yes the word gratitude – I once asked Carlos Santana – “How are you Carlos” and his reply to me was “Grateful” … I share this with your readers for itsn’t it so much better to be grateful that just FINE!

    In love and light,
    Nancy

  2. SO with you on this one:
    “I’m grateful I was too stubborn to keep my day job
    And too quirky, and too argumentative in meetings, and entirely unfit for life in a normal job.
    Phew. Seriously.”

    Grateful for everything I think

  3. I am grateful for Brian, Sonia, Jon, Johnny, BrianG, Robert, and everyone else at Copyblogger who works hard to help me become better at internet business, content marketing, and online business in general. Have a great Thanksgiving.

    And I’m grateful for the support and friendship of Chris Garrett.

    Then, I am also grateful for an awesome wife, two beautiful kids, health, prosperity, opportunity, energy … and so on.

    Thanks for reminding me to be grateful Sonia!

  4. I’m grateful that I found the Copyblogger community and your posts and that I understand even half of what you write about:-) It’s been a year of intense learning, for which I am forever grateful. Thanks, Sonia!

  5. I am grateful to you Sonia because the Remarkable Marketing Blueprint helped me start my online business.

    The list of people who I am grateful for is long, but you made it among those who are on top of my list. You are my hero.

    Thank you!

  6. I am grateful to be cancer free and to have a funded project working with Homeless Female Veterans and Veterans with Families. There but for the grace of God….

  8. Great post Sonia.

    For me, the first thing I’m grateful for is a beautiful, wonderful family and the new contribution we added this year (we have a 7-month old daughter 🙂 ).

    The other BIG thing I’m grateful for is the opportunity we all have to become entrepreneurs.

    Yesterday I travelled to a conference in Toronto to see some excellent speakers like Seth Godin, Keith Ferrazzi, Sally Hogshead and others. From my house, the drive is roughly 90 minutes. But yesterday it took almost twice the time because of bumper-to-bumper traffic.

    I couldn’t help but think while I waited in traffic how much I appreciate working from a home office. It saves so much time and frustration. Being an entrepreneur, we don’t have to deal with stuff like this if we don’t want to.

    Being able to run a business from any internet connection is something I will always be grateful for.

    Thank you internet, you make this possible.

  10. OMG–I’m grateful for SO much!

    1. My twin toddlers, Christopher & Ryan.
    2. Our HEALTH
    3. The roof above our heads (although times have been tough)
    4. Our wonderful friends & family
    5. My husband (even if we don’t understand each other sometimes)
    6. Great books
    7. Fantastic websites like Copyblogger
    8. Dreams that are slowly turning into realities

    Happy Thanksgiving All!!!!!

    – Jennifer

  11. I’m grateful for the birds who sing in my wildlife garden and that I can do work that I love with the most amazing team of people on the internet. Thanks to Sonia who believed in me before I fully believed in myself 🙂

  12. Beyond grateful for the business opportunities I’ve had over the past year, what those projects have meant for my financial situation and goal of becoming self-employed, and for the relationships I’ve built with some great people because of them.

    I’m grateful for my family, who support my crazy ideas even when I think they’re pretty out there…

    And I’m grateful that I live in a stable, wealthy country where I’m able to pursue these opportunities, rather than, say, dodge bullets, fight famine or deal with many of the other struggles that are unfortunately endemic to some areas. The fact that I have a safe, warm house to go home to and food on my plate is something I can never be thankful for enough.

    Happy Thanksgiving!!!

  13. In my part of the world we don’t have this tradition but I think it’s one all cultures should copy from the US. The act of giving thanks just makes us aaware of all our blessings. So I’m thankful to Americans for coming up with this great tradition and for the guys at Teaching Sells, for putting together the EXACT course I’d been looking for for years!!! Also I’m grateful for those little symbols we call letters and that strung together allow us to communicate and share ideas. Happy Thanksgiving all!

  14. What a year! I’m grateful that…
    1. I have the love and support of a man who wants to see my new small business succeed. (Thank you, Ira!)
    2. People like Sonia, Jon, Brian and Robert care passionately about what they do and are so willing to share their knowledge and their lives with the rest of us.
    3. My little tribe of Word Chef readers and Test Kitchen participants appears to be growing and thriving.
    4. I get to spend my day meeting and talking with the most interesting people on the planet — all because of the Internet. (What the heck DID we do before the Internet, huh?)

  15. I am grateful for the internet that means that I can learn all the Copyblogger wisdom over here in the UK, I am grateful for my iPod which is loaded with the Copyblogger Radio podcasts and which I listen to as I walk on the beach after doing the school drop off. I am grateful for Twitter for keeping me company in the midnight writing hours and I am grateful for my health, my marriage, my children, my family, my friends – and for really good coffee (oh, and killer red lipstick!)

  16. I’m grateful to Robert Bruce. I’ve learned more about English from him than all my high school studies combined. That beer-drinking raconteur can type a storm, and the world’s better for it.

  17. I am grateful for my awesome teenage son, my friends around the world, the amazing people I have had the opportunity to interview and meet (Jimmy Carter, GEN Norman Schwarzkopf, GEN Barry McCaffrey and Buzz Aldrin, to name a few), the roof over my head, good food, my skills, knowledge and passion, my spirituality and lots of good “food for thought and action” from your blogs.
    Everyone have a blessed, gratitude-filled and safe Thanksgiving!

  18. I’m so grateful for your non-judgemental, welcoming approach. I’m grateful for the patience and expertise that I know awaits me, and that when I get my act together, you’ll still be welcoming.

  19. I’m grateful to you Sonia. I’d been a passive RSS subscriber to Copyblogger for some time, until I read this post from you:

    https://copyblogger.com/no-money-blogging/

    A light switch in my head went off as I realized that the way to make money through a blog was the very thing I’m passionate about.

    I would not have my site of coaching business if you hadn’t shared that insight. Seriously.

  21. Love the list but even more the why of each. Brian Clark continues to inspire me as well. You of course will be on many lists! Thanks for sharing.

  22. I start in the shower every mornng to get my day off to a positive start. I give thanks for the hot water that loosens me right up and invigorates my body and clears my fuzzy mind. Then I go through all the things I truly am thankful for every day —- my wife, my five kids, the home and parents I was born to, the fantastic education I was so priviliged to get and all the friends I have made over the years both here and in my travels abroad. Then it is the turn of all the experiences, both good and bad which helped in my growth—it is best to give thanks for them all, for the bad experiences often were the most valuable of all.

  24. I’m grateful that I heard you, Sonia, speak at the ProBlogger event in Melbourne in October. That day was pivotal in changing my paradigm about blogging. I’ve been following Copyblogger for a while but the penny dropped that day. (It was also nice to hear an American accent – I moved to Oz 10 years ago and I’m losing mine lol).

    Thanks!

  25. My Thanksgiving list, in order of appearance:

    I’m grateful to Darren Rowse for telling me about the people below.
    I’m grateful to Brian Clark and Sonia Simone for making Copyblogger.
    I’m grateful to Martyn Chamberlain for his great posts that opened my eyes about blogging, and what I was doing wrong.
    I’m grateful to Derek Halpern for telling me what I was doing wrong.
    I’m grateful to Leo Babauta for giving me something to smile about in my life.
    I’m grateful to Jon Morrow for telling me about guest blogging, though I can’t afford his class. Or any other class for that matter.
    I’m grateful for Cebu Bloggers Society, for making it tough to contact them and making me decide not to join them, thus forcing me to work harder.
    Thanks to Stuart Mills for accepting my guest post.
    Thanks to my girlfriend for standing by me and supporting me always.

  27. I am thankful for you and Brian. I have learned so much and made so many good connections through you guys and this blog, it makes my head spin to contemplate it all. My career would not have grown into what it is without you and for that I am eternally grateful. 🙂

  28. I am grateful for a countless number of things,a wonderful man,trustworthy friends,incredible siblings,Amazingly growing career and website,Sound health,too many things i cant mention,Its good to give thanks,Happy thanksgiving day.

  30. Wow, quite a list you’ve got here. I have so many things to be grateful for… and I don’t know where to start, really. Perhaps, I’ll sum it up as a huge THANKS for everything and everyone in my life… that makes life worth living. My gratitude also extends to the trials and failures I’ve met, that made me a stronger and better person the second time around. I think we should practice the habit of gratitude daily: Wouldn’t it feel wonderful if everyday’s Thanksgiving Day?

  31. wow! I feel the love here! first time to comment..I’m grateful I found this site. I’ve been reading you for several months and I’m learning a lot!
    Thank’s a Ton , CB!

  32. Sonia, I love your writing style, your insight, and your ability to put words together. You could write about cans of tuna, and I would look forward to reading your post on them. Have a great Thanksgiving, and please keep writing.

  34. I said that? It sounds like something I would say.

    I’m glad it was helpful and thank you for mentioning me in this article Sonia!

  36. Wow, A perfect list! I have so many things to be grateful for… and I don’t know where to start, really. Perhaps, I’ll sum it up as a huge THANKS for everything and everyone in my life… that makes life worth living.

  37. Sonia,

    I am grateful for my family and having time to spend with them, for my friends that I have met on and off of the internet, for my faith that has gotten me through many things in my life.

    I am sure there are many more things that I am grateful for but those are the really important ones in my life.

    Dee Ann Rice

  38. Last couple of years I’ve done a list like this. I’m happy to know you a little bit. Happy because I might still be senselessly serving the mercurial and itinerant desires of boofy haired realtors as they grapple with adult failure spiral.

  39. Hey Sonia

    I don’t think many of us take as much time as we should to sit down and think about everything we are grateful for often enough.

    One thing that I am thankful for is the incredible staff at Copyblogger who challenge us daily to be more effective and productive with our copywriting skills. We owe you guys a lot!

    Thanks

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