Thanksgiving is almost here and once again it’s time for Cohere’s annual ‘give thanks’ post!
To get the juices of gratitude flowing, I’ve been pondering this quote from the Queen herself, Oprah Winfrey:
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”
Here at Cohere (and in many coworking spaces around the world) we call this serendipitous abundance. As coworkers, we have a unique opportunity to see first hand what happens when we are open, accessible, kind, and focused on community.
Each and every one of us has experienced a blessing–maybe big, maybe small–as a result of working elbow-to-elbow with our fellow freelancers and entrepreneurs. I’ve seen each of you act selflessly toward fellow members, which means when the time came to return the favor, we were ready and willing. Our lives, families, and businesses are better today as a result.
I’ve watched some of you go through hard times, facing challenges that seemed insurmountable right up until the moment you vanquished them with courage and grace. I’ve seen and heard you all give thanks for your successes, deflecting praise to those who helped you along the way. As Oprah said, you don’t concentrate on what you don’t have, you celebrate what you do–and that makes all the difference.
You should know that this is NOT normal. In offices the world over, negativity and complaint is more common than a cheerful word about blessing or abundance. Many professionals see cut-throat competition as the only way forward. But not you, not the coworking community.
You celebrate collaboration, reciprocity, and just generally being good people.
And for that, I could not be more thankful. Keep it up 🙂
Image: rustiqueart