A simple challenge that will make you feel awesome

I listen to a lot of podcasts, and my favorite podcast of all is The Tim Ferriss Show.

Over the weekend, I listened to one of Tim’s podcasts in which he interviewed Seth Godin, a marketing legend and a hero of mine.

In short, the interview was phenomenal. (If you haven’t had a chance, you should listen to the podcast right now before you forget.)

At the end of the show, Tim asked Seth if he had any requests for the listeners of the podcast. Seth’s reply was simple yet profound. (That is Seth’s MO.) Rather than promoting himself, Seth made a completely selfless ask.

Seth said:

Send someone a thank you note tomorrow.

The importance of thank you notes

When was the last time you send someone a thank you note? When was the last time you sat down and actually wrote a note to another human being, expressing your gratitude?

If you are like me, it’s been a while.

Sure, we write thank you notes for big occasions (e.g., weddings, job interviews, etc.) but rarely for the help that other people give us every day. Basically, we write thank you notes but never as often as we should.

While simple, thank you notes can be extraordinarily powerful when building personal and professional relationships.

Thank you notes have opened personal and professional doors for me that might have otherwise remained closed if I had not expressed my gratitude. It is hard to ignore a truly grateful person.

So I took Seth’s advice and sent an email to Ramit Sethi, an entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author whom I have followed since 2010.

Over the years, I’ve learned a ton from Ramit’s book, blog, and online courses (Earn1k and ZeroToLaunch). So I thought it would be appropriate to send him a thank you note.

I wrote:

Hi Ramit,

I listened to Tim Ferriss’ interview with Seth Godin over the weekend. At the end of the interview, Tim asked Seth if he had any asks of the audience. Seth replied, “Send someone a thank you note tomorrow.”

That said, I wanted to thank you for all of the work you’ve done over the years. Your blog, book, courses, and email exchanges with me have been incredibly helpful to me, especially your advice on earning an MBA. While I’m still thinking about what I want and what it will take, I am confident that I will make the right decision. Thanks again.

John

Ramit replied:

Thank you, John. That means a lot.

Keep in mind that Ramit is a New York Times bestselling author with an email list of over 600,000 subscribers who send him over 1,000 emails per day. He runs a multi-million dollar business, writes multi-page emails every day, and lives an extremely active life, personally and professionally. He’s busy.

Still, he replied within minutes, which speaks to the power of sending a simple, authentic thank you note to someone. Thank you notes get noticed, especially today when everything is automated.

How to write thank you notes

If you don’t know what to write, copy and paste this example into an email and adjust the words to fit your personality.

Hi Name,

I wanted to send a quick note to thank you for helping me with X.

As you may remember, I tried A, B, and C but none of those approaches worked. Your suggestion to try D made all the difference. Here is what happened:

1. Accomplishment #1
2. Accomplishment #2
3. Accomplishment #3

Again, thanks for your help with X. I truly appreciate it.

John

Thank you note teardown

To help you understand why that thank you note is effective, here is a play-by-play of my example.

• Name: While I shouldn’t have to say it, use the other person’s name. Using a person’s name in an email makes the email more personal, obviously. It also reduces the likelihood that the busy person will think that you copied/pasted your thank you note to 1,000 other people. (Never do that by the way.)
• X: Tell the person how they helped you. Get specific because a half-assed “thank you” gets a half-assed “you’re welcome” or, worse, gets ignored. Plus, the person may have forgotten that they helped you or may not have realized that they helped you in the first place. Keep in mind that influencers help a lot of people, so they may need some context.
• A, B, and C: Be a bit vulnerable, sharing some of the things you tried but couldn’t quite pull off. Vulnerability will help you connect with the other person.
• D: Note the specific help you received that made all the difference. That will give the other person valuable feedback on which specific advice or assistance works best and in which specific situation(s).
• Accomplishments #1, #2, and #3: Share your results. Most people fail to share their accomplishments with others, which is a mistake. Remember that you are not bragging. Instead, you are sharing how your mentor helped you achieve one of your goals. Few things make them feel happier and more fulfilled.

Conclusion

By sending a simple thank you note, you will connect with other people on a deeper level and feel better overall about yourself for expressing gratitude. You will also increase the likelihood of getting more favors and advice from others because they know that you appreciate it, which makes you exceptional.

Now, it’s your turn. I challenge you to send someone a thank you note today and leave a comment sharing your results.