Week 49 - A little "Thank you" never hurts 🤗

Hey my friend, I have a practice saying every day “Thank you” to one person who has somehow influenced my life. It doesn’t have to be a huge impact: sometimes it’s just saying one sentence, or sharing a book, or even showing an example of how they’ve done something, or just continuously showing up for me in my life, even without me asking (or even when I did ask).

Many times, that small thing was exactly what I needed to get where I am now, and since we’re all composed of such small things (check Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon), I'm just amazed at how people take everything for granted 🤷‍♂️

I wrote before how it works, so a little tl;dr - I sit in front of a laptop, think about who I am grateful to (usually a name immediately comes to my mind), open their LinkedIn profile, and start writing what I’d say to them without overthinking. And click “Send” 😁

And I’m still amazed at how beautiful this is because the worst case scenario is that someone won’t see my message or won’t answer, but I’ve received so many messages back from people saying that it was a highlight of their week or day, that this message came exactly when they needed it, or even just saying thank you back and telling how they cherish our friendship 🤗

And if you think about it a little deeper, that’s exactly what is missed in our daily communications. We got used to taking-taking-taking or just admitting someone’s help and support once, but we never reflect on how that something we’ve got influenced our lives over time, and even if we do, we usually do not got to someone like, “Oh, remember that thing you told me a year ago, well, that’s what was the starting point of how I got to this and this.”

So when you give just a little “thank you” back over time, you let people know that they’re worthy, you make them feel good about what they’ve done, and, damn, it feels good to tell people how amazing they are even though they might not feel like that at all!

And, trust me, anytime someone does this thing to me (it happens very rarely 😲😅), I remember them forever, and since a very small number of people do it, I bet it also works the same or very similarly the other way around 😉

tl;dr When you achieve some milestone, stop for a moment, think about how grateful you are, who those people are who helped you to get where you are right now, and write them a simple “thank you” note—it’ll make you feel good, and also strengthen your connection with that person.

On another note, I have a weekly task to connect at least two people who I think need to be connected, and there are three main reasons I do it:

1. It takes me less than 30 seconds to write an intro, and if I can save someone’s time and improve their connections (and maybe even lives), I’m more than happy to do that.

2. I meet many interesting humans who deserve to be known by more people, so if I can anyhow amplify what they do, count me in! Also, elevating others just feels good 😊

3. When I connect people, I’m still a person they both know, so even though such an intro creates a new connection, it also strengthens my connection to both of those folks.

I believe together we can achieve much more than by ourselves, and sometimes we need a little push to identify who we need to meet and why. The more I talk to people, the more I see patterns, and the more I understand it’s not just about what we do and how we do, but also about the energy. And still, there are 8 billion people, and not everyone is exposed to each other every day, so when I talk to someone with a similar vibe to a person I already know, I immediately ask whether they know this person, and if not, I go and make an intro right after we finish our conversation.

Also, we all have one limited resource—time of our lives—so when you make a warm introduction, you help people identify faster whether that person is a friend or foe, and if they are worth spending time getting to know them. Basically, you act like a guide in a wicked forest who knows where to turn and what to avoid, to get to the brighter side alive and unharmed, and I can tell you, it’s a super valuable service 😏😈

tl;dr If you have a gut feeling that someone needs someone, trust it, and go make a small, quick intro right away. You’ll save people time, hopefully improve their lives with one more meaningful connection, and you’ll also strengthen your connections with them!

So yeah, that’s it for this week, and if you have any questions, thoughts, ideas, or personal examples of how to build better human connections, please answer this email, or connect with me on LinkedIn, and let’s talk 🤗🤓

💡 What influenced me this week 💡

Thoughts of the week (oh, wow, just one this week 😅):

• “Don’t just join new platforms. Get there early enough that you can actually talk to the people running them. Platform teams are hungry for success stories when they’re small. Be one of those stories.” - Indie Hackers newsletter

Song of the week (hello, Black Mirror 😲):

Book and quotes of the week:

Money Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom - Tony Robbins

• “Remember, knowledge is not power—action is! Execution trumps knowledge every day of the week!”

• “Find the empowering meaning in anything, and wealth in its deepest sense will be yours today.”

• “Every day, stand guard at the door of your mind, and you alone decide what thoughts and beliefs you let into your life. For they will shape whether you feel rich or poor, cursed or blessed.”

Tools that I use with referrals:

• Descript - for anything around podcasting and video editing

• Beehiiv - for a newsletter (that’s what you receive 😅)

• Text Blaze - to access message templates with shortcuts (like “/ty”)

• Exali - promo “FROMYURII” - indemnity insurance for independent experts in Europe

• Scripe - to write better posts on LinkedIn

• Manus - for building complex systems and projects

Daily actions:

• tell 1 person what I’m thankful to them for

• read a self-development book/listen to a professional podcast for 15 minutes

• make a valuable post/comment on LinkedIn

• tag 15 people in my connections database

• connect with 30 interesting people on LinkedIn

• invite 5 people to join the 👋Friendworking newsletter

Weekly actions:

• transcribe one new episode of the Creator Spotlight and Personal IPO (bi-weekly) podcasts, learn something from them, and connect with guests on LinkedIn

• transcribe two new DOAC videos, and learn one thing from them

• connect 2 people who I believe need to be connected

• ask 30 people about what they want to learn about Community ROI.

If you have any thoughts, ideas, or questions, please 👇

And if you’d like to have more 👋 Friendworking in your life 👇

See you next week! 👋