I want to express my appreciation for all of you who have stuck with me for so many years. I’ve been publishing a newsletter since 2010, and have received an incredible amount of support and valuable feedback.

Thank you.

And that’s the subject of this article, actually. Expressing thanks for the great work that people are doing, whether paid or not. This is something I’ve learned with leading volunteer groups, but just as important for my employees.

You’d like to think that “the pay is thanks enough” when you give someone a job. It’s not.

Sure, you might get a minimum level of contribution, but people will rarely tap their deeper levels of inspiration and productivity just for a paycheck. And when someone’s volunteering, you have nothing BUT gratitude for what they’re contributing.

OK, you might be able to give them a nice card or once-a-year gift, but that doesn’t sustain someone very long.

It’s the gratitude that the gift, or card, or words represent.

I’ve long thought that “there’s no such thing as too many heartfelt, sincere thank-yous.” When it’s honest and real, I’ve never seen too much.

Sure, one person’s level of thank-yous might be different than someone else’s preference. Just like we all communicate differently in ALL respects.

But if I know that your style tends to be quite effusive while I’m more withdrawn, I’ll expect that you might express gratitude more lavishly than I would. That’s OK, because it’s about our hearts and inspiration connecting.

Now, expressing gratitude in front of a group has to be treated more carefully, because that’s a cultural thing. In some societies and corporate cultures, someone might feel embarrassed to be singled out in front of others. So it’s often best to default to thanking a group in front of the group, and thanking an individual a bit more privately.

But the world certainly needs more gratitude.