Reflections of Gratitude: 7 things I’m thankful for this year..
One of the most important things we can do as professionals and people is taking time to reflect. Without it we’re bound to get stuck in a rut, lose perspective on what matters most, and miss out on remarkable opportunities to grow and evolve.
So as Thanksgiving rapidly approaches this week, I wanted to share my reflections on what I’m most thankful for this year that have led to some of my best lessons learned.
The truth is, life is not always rainbows, unicorns, and roses here at ATP – it’s hard and sometimes challenging work. And while it’s easy to get bogged down in the things that aren’t going as planned, taking time to reflect on the things that are true blessings helps keep me focused on what really matters to propel me forward.
That said, here’s what tops my most thankful for list this year.
1. Debbie Showalter (my partner in crime).
It’s incredibly hard to find people that care about something as much as you do and she cares about ATP, our clients, our candidates and evangelizing our mission of doing business that matters in so many ways that put a smile on my face every…single…day. She helps me with my blind spots, is always an open ear, jumps right in without hesitation and works tirelessly every day by my side to do great business. I’m beyond grateful for her and can’t imagine ATP or my life without her.
2. Our clients.
They say actions speak louder than words, and I couldn’t agree more. All of our clients currently are repeat customers or referrals from past customers or people that we recruited and loved our process, some of which have been relentless about doing business together (and fought hard to bring us to the table). Scaling your business is no joke, and I’m completely honored and blown away to be working with the best of the best people professionally and personally. Thank you just doesn’t seem like a strong enough sentiment to illustrate my gratitude for your trust and partnership to represent your brands in the marketplace. Cheers to a tremendous 2017 and an even brighter 2018 together!
3. The seriously talented people that trust Debbie and I with their careers.
We’re talking about people’s lives and careers here and that’s never to be taken lightly. So a very big THANK YOU for letting us knock on your door, allowing us to get to know you better, trusting us to represent you, and for helping us help you fill the missing pieces to your careers!
4. The opportunity to evangelize topics that are so near and dear to my heart.
HUGE thanks to team Sales Hacker (Gaetano Nino DiNardi, you hold a special place in my heart), Datanyze, Sales for Life and Undercover Recruiter for the chance to contribute on sales, startups, and recruiting. Allowing me to evangelize important topics means the world and I’m beyond excited to bring more meaningful content your way!
5. All of the people behind the scenes that help this engine drive.
The people I trust to support my business through technology and services – you put up with my Type A get it done no matter what style (and let’s face, it my potty mouth from time to time). This posting will never encapsulate just how thankful I am for your partnership, creativity, hard work and results.
6. The lessons I’ve learned along the way in the last 2 years.
I took some advice a couple of years ago to reflect weekly on where I’ve stumbled, how I dealt with it, what I could’ve done differently and how I apply that moving forward to learn and grow. While some of these lessons are painful, I’m grateful as they help me be the best version of myself. The toughest times are where I’ve grown the most and taking the time to learn inside of chaos is never easy.
7. My husband, family and friends.
Saving the very best for last, these are the people that I can’t live without. Their words of encouragement, challenging me when I need it the most, reminders of what’s important amongst so many other things are the fuel for my fire.
My husband is the epitome of being my “rock” and it doesn’t hurt that he’s a CPA and keeps me on track (let’s face it math was never a key strength). My mom who continues to clip articles from the Chicago Tribune and send them to me with any tech startup or company news. My friends who listen to me wax on and on and on about growing this business, the celebrations and the obstacles. Your love, support, and words of wisdom mean more to me than you’ll ever know!
What are you thankful for?
Sharing is caring as I like to say. What are you thankful for? Don’t be shy, drop a few names, lessons learned, or the things that warm your heart.
As always, thank you for reading. I wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!
-Amy Volas
