My Money Essay
Ken Honda, author of Happy Money asked his newsletter followers to write about something he teaches - the subject that inspired us the most. I wrote the following article about saying thank you. I was blessed to be one of the third place winners.
My Money Essay by Karen Lea (Disguised as a letter)
Dear Mr. Honda,
Out of all your teachings I have chosen to write about, the one that I feel made the most impact on my life is the words - Arigato – Arigato. Arigato is the Japanese word ありがと- that means thank you in English and he always says it twice.
First and foremost, thank you, thank you for sharing this technique. It is such a simple message but it packs a powerful punch – one that could absolutely affect the vibration in anyone’s little end of the world when dealing with money or anything coming into their life or going out of their life.
Before I read your teachings, I always thanked my customers from my previous business for not only participating in my dance program but for also paying me to do it. And those small simple words of saying thank you became a tradition that I not only looked forward to saying but in addition helped my business run smoothly and effortlessly.
Number one, saying thank you made me feel good that I was appreciative of their business – the nursing facilities and the staff who hired me. Two, my senior/elderly/disabled dance and music program participants loved when I thanked them for dancing with me. Their smiles, whether they could say “you're welcome” or not, told me directly they were appreciative of my time and that it made them feel extra special I was thankful that they were there with me.
Since retiring from that business, I have decided to make it another tradition with your teaching in mind – to be thankful for everything coming into my life and for everything going out.
I found that when you say thank you for your money or anything that you receive, it not only seems natural, but it seems effortless to repeat that process when paying your bills or buying something, even if it is something as small as a cup of coffee.
In conclusion, I want to tell you that I too want to become a writer – I have been writing for a long time and my dream is to publish all of my books and stories real soon.
Thank you again for writing your happy money book and for touching the world with your gift of thanks - 1000 times a day.
Sincerely,
Karen Lea