Book Review: A Simple Act of Gratitude by John Kralik

One Word Book Review: ADMIRABLE

Title: A Simple Act of Gratitude

Author: John Kralik

Publisher: Hyperion

Publication Date: December 27, 2011

Length: 243 Pages


About The Author
John Kralik practiced law for thirty years before he was appointed a judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court. He lives in the Los Angeles area.

365 Thank-You Notes
John Kralik, at the age of 53, found his life in a mess. 

At the end of 2007:

• his small law firm was failing;
• he was struggling through a painful second divorce;
• he had grown distant from his two older children and was afraid he might lose contact with his young daughter;
• he was living in a tiny apartment where he froze in the winter and baked in the summer;
• he was 40 pounds overweight;
• his girlfriend had just broken up with him;
• and his dream of becoming a judge seemed to have slipped beyond his reach.

Inspired by a handwritten thank-you note that he received from his former girlfriend for a Christmas gift, John decided to write 365 thank-you notes in 2008.

This memoir describes how the act of expressing gratitude can change a person's thinking and his circumstances.

My Thoughts
This book is not a new release, but it has been on my "wish list" for quite some time. It is a good book to read while you are thinking about goals for a new year.

I believe a focus on gratitude can be a life-changing experience. Mr. Kralik found his circumstances changing when he focused on the blessings in his life instead of the problems.

I chose the word "admirable" to describe this book because I admire a person who takes time to write and send a thank-you note. It displays a certain kind of class that is sorely lacking in our modern society.

The wonderful thing about this is that it benefits the sender of the thank-you note just as much (or perhaps more) as it benefits the recipient. This turned out to be a win-win journey for Mr. Kralik and all who have followed his path of expressing gratitude.

My Rating: 5 Stars Out of 5

FYI ~ I purchased this ebook from Amazon.Com with my own funds. The price is $1.99 at this time (prices are subject to change at any time.)

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Book Review: 31 Days To Greeting Card Marketing Mastery

Bruce Brown provides some helpful hints on how to use greeting cards to build relationships and promote your business. "31 Days To Greeting Card Marketing Mastery" is a brief handbook that explains how you can grow your business by sending out greeting cards. He explains that all people want to feel appreciated and sending cards is a wonderful way to express your thanks and appreciation.


About The Author
Bruce Brown is a real estate Broker with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty in Leland, NC.
Bruce and Marge Brown are also Senior Managers with SendOutCards. Their independent distributorship, Fat City Cards, can be found at FatCityCards.com.
Quantum Results Coaching is Bruce and Marge's coaching and publishing company. In addition to writing the 31 Days to Mastery Series, of which this is the second volume (12 volumes are planned), Bruce also works with entrepreneurs and triathletes who are seeking rapid, significant improvement in their business or sport.

Greeting Cards From The Heart
Bruce Brown is a senior manager with SendOutCards but this book is not a sales pitch for SendOutCards. The tips, techniques and strategies in this book will work for any card that you can personalize with graphics, photos, art work, handwriting and your personal signature. Mr. Brown believes that the more personal the cards you send, the better they'll work for you. The author does not believe that electronic greeting cards are effective business marketing tools.

Bruce Brown shares 31 tips for using greeting cards to promote and build your business. The book has one page per tip with several additional pages for note-taking and questions for personal planning at the end of each tip.

Here are five of my favorite tips from the book;

• It's personal, not business.
• It's more about them than about you.
• An un-birthday card.
• Simple appreciation.
• Cards for all seasons.

Bruce Brown believes that sending greeting cards is a fun and effective way to reach out to your customers. He emphasizes that you must customize your greeting cards to help the recipient feel special and strengthen the relationship-building effectiveness of the cards.

My Thoughts
I wanted to read this book because I have been an enthusiastic handmade card maker for the past two years. I am familiar with SendOutCards and have no objections to them, however I am not promoting or endorsing this company. The author shows examples of photo cards that he has designed with SendOutCards. The ideas that he presents in this book can be used with any personalized greeting card.

This book is a quick read and has some original ideas for sending greeting cards to customers/business associates. I would advise you to read the entire book and then go back and concentrate on one tip at a time. I like the idea of working on a different strategy each day for a month.

I think greeting card marketing is a wonderful way to communicate with people and let them know that you care. This book provides ideas that will motivate and inspire you to start sending out cards.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

PuzzleGrams

I am always watching for unique notecards, stationary and greeting cards when I go to estate sales, flea markets and thrift shops.  I recently found some "PuzzleGrams" at a local thrift shop.  These cards were new and in their original packages.  Some of the cards were rectangular and some were heart-shaped.  I decided to buy some of these cards to make thank-you notes for the Christmas gifts that I received. The retangular Puzzlegrams are cut into twelve puzzle pieces.  You write a personal message on the card, take the puzzle pieces apart, put them in an envelope and mail them.  The person who receives this card will be very surprised when they discover a puzzle in the envelope.  When they put the pieces together, they will be able to read the message.

Here are some pictures that I took while I made a PuzzleGram:



This is what the PuzzleGram
 looked like when I took it
 out of the package.





I wrote a thank-you note on the
PuzzleGram with a permanent
marker.




I took the pieces apart and put them in
 an envelope.



I have one PuzzleGram card that I would like to give to the first reader who posts a comment on this blog post.  Please leave an email address so that I can contact you.  I will mail this item to any address in the world for NO CHARGE.

Thank you for visiting my blog.  Do you have ideas for unique or unusual notecards? I would like to hear from you.