In this special Thanksgiving episode of The Leadership Vision Podcast, Nathan Freeburg reflects on the leadership posture of holding long-term goals and present-moment gratitude simultaneously. Drawing from themes within Dr. Linda and Brian Schubring’s book Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane, Nathan explores why transformation grows slowly — through small, daily practices that shape who we become over time.
This episode offers a grounding, accessible reflection for leaders, teams, and anyone hoping to reconnect with purpose, gratitude, and the meaningful work unfolding in their lives.
Reflection
Take a few moments to pause and appreciate and express gratitude for both:
- The things you’re doing right now, however ordinary they may feel.
- The things you’re working toward, however far away they may seem.
What You’ll Learn
- Why gratitude is a fundamental leadership skill
- How ambition and appreciation work together in healthy leadership
- Why transformation happens through small, consistent habits
- A practical Thanksgiving reflection to use personally or with your team
Resources & Links Mentioned
- Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane — Dr. Linda & Brian Schubring
- Leadership Vision Website: https://www.leadershipvisionconsulting.com
- All Podcast Episodes: https://www.leadershipvisionconsulting.com/podcast
🎉 Unfolded is a National Bestseller!
#1 in Business & #5 Overall on USA Today
#17 on Publisher’s Weekly Nonfiction
📘 Grab your copy + get the FREE Reflection Guide!
-
Read the full blog post here!
CONTACT US
- email: connect@leadershipvisionconsulting.com
- Leadership Vision Online
ABOUT
The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in discovering, practicing, and implementing a Strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture. Contact us to talk to us about helping your team understand the power of Strengths.
Episode Transcript
Hello and welcome to this special Thanksgiving
episode of the Leadership VisionPodcast, our show helping you
build positive team culture.
My name is Nathan Freeberg, andit's Thanksgiving week here in
the United States, a time ofgeneral thankfulness, or at
least it should be.
Now, for the past 10 years orso, our team has taken a few
moments around the Thanksgivingholiday to reflect on what we're
(01:14):
grateful for.
Now, over time, this practicehas evolved.
First as a blog post, then as apodcast.
Sometimes it's been a team-wideconversation, or just Brian,
Linda, and I discussing an idea.
But other times like today, it'sjust been me sharing a
reflection, triggered bysomething I've read, a podcast
I've heard, or another piece ofwisdom that sparks reflection
about the role that gratitudeand generosity plays in our
(01:37):
life.
This year, that spark came froman email newsletter I subscribed
to by author James Clear, whowrote the book Atomic Habits.
In his email from October 23rdof this year, one line really
stood up.
He wrote, Each day, spend sometime on two things, working
towards something that will payoff years from now, and
appreciating something that ishappening right now.
(01:59):
I love that idea.
Or I guess it's two ideas.
And I'm gonna tweak it just alittle bit here to fit our
Thanksgiving theme (02:03):
holding long-term ambition in one hand
and present gratitude in theother.
Now, for some weird reason, thefirst thing that came to my mind
was my Roth IRA retirement plan,which honestly might be the most
boring thing to talk about.
I started it like 20 plus yearsago, we contribute to it every
month, and we're not gonnaappreciate it for another 20
years or so.
Just on autopilot, quietly doingits thing in the background.
(02:26):
I rarely, if ever, think aboutit, but I'm really glad it's
there, because that small,steady discipline is building
something that's important forour family's future, even if
it's not particularly excitingat any one given moment.
Now, the more I thought aboutthis idea, present and future
gratitude, the more I realizedthat those ideas are true for so
many areas of life.
(02:47):
Healthy eating, exercising,finding time for quiet, even
like investing in relationshipsor spending time with a spouse
or kids.
None of those things necessarilyoffer immediate, like big
rewards.
And in fact, most of themrequire some level of sacrifice
or discipline right now for abenefit of any kind, most of
(03:08):
which may not show up for yearsdown the road.
Now, I think there's lots of bigthings that we all want to
happen in our lives or ways thatwe want to be.
We want to be healthy, we wantto have strong, meaningful
relationships, we want to havesocial connections with those
who bring us joy, we want to dowork that is meaningful.
But I can often forget how muchconstant daily attention each
(03:31):
one of those big, audacious,eventually that'll be successful
things down the road, how muchthat actually requires.
Doesn't just happen by intentionor wishing or whatever, it
unfolds slowly through theaccumulation of countless small,
often pretty ordinary moments.
So perhaps this Thanksgiving, wecan start by simply reflecting
on both of these things (03:52):
the big things we hope for and the small
things that quietly move ustoward them.
Now, this idea, it also remindedme of Dr.
Linda and Brian Schuberg's book,Unfolded, Lessons in
Transformation from an OrigamiCrane.
The story of O.C., the littleorigami crane who dreams of
flying captures this sametension, I think.
(04:13):
Holding on to big, beautifuldreams while practicing the
daily habits that maketransformation possible.
OC doesn't fly on her first try.
She plays, then she fails, thenshe practices, then she fails,
and she practices, she triesagain and again.
Her dream is always out ahead ofher, but her growth is happening
in every small moment along theway.
(04:34):
And like OC, all of us havedreams, or at least I hope we
do, personal or professional,and it's easy to get so focused
on where we're headed that weforget to appreciate right here,
right where we are.
Or maybe to flip that around,it's easy to get so wrapped up
in the daily grind of right herethat we forget to look up and to
(04:55):
dream.
So as we enter this Thanksgivingweek here, 2025 and beyond, I
want to challenge you to takejust a few moments to pause and
appreciate and express gratitudefor two things.
Number one, the things thatyou're doing right now, however
ordinary that they may feel.
And number two, the things thatyou're working toward, however
far away they may seem.
(05:17):
Write these things down.
Share them with a friend, afamily member, or a colleague,
because if we can hold bothgratitude for the present and
hope for the future, we're farmore likely to arrive where we
want to go.
Maybe gratitude isn't just aboutwhat's behind us or ahead of us.
Maybe it's the quiet awarenessthat both are happening at the
(05:38):
same time.
Right here, right now.
Wherever you are listening fromtoday, maybe you're cooking,
traveling, resting, or even ifyou're not in the United States,
I hope you take a breath, pausefor a moment, and notice what's
already unfolding.
Thank you for listening to theLeadership Vision Podcast, our
(05:58):
show helping you build positiveteam culture.
If you found value from thisepisode or any of our other
materials, we would love it ifyou could tell a friend, if you
could subscribe, go toLeadership Vision Consulting.com
slash subscribe.
There's also a link in the shownotes for that.
And most importantly, just takea few moments, just a few
moments, to do even just one ofthe things mentioned here today.
(06:20):
My name is Nathan Freeberg, andon behalf of our entire team,
thanks for listening.
Happy Thanksgiving.
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