May 19, 2025 • 24 mins
In an age dominated by AI, handwritten thank-you letters have become a powerful symbol of genuine human connection. Research shows we often underestimate the emotional value these simple gestures hold. While AI can automate many tasks, it can't replicate the authenticity of a heartfelt note.
I've come to find these letters to be therapeutic and love writing them every week!
Key Takeaways:
- ✉️ Handwritten notes create emotional impact that AI cannot replicate.
- 💡 We undervalue how meaningful our gratitude is to others.
- 🕒 Just a few minutes spent writing a note can create lasting connection and joy.
Thank you for tuning in! If you feel led, please subscribe & share the show to others who you believe would benefit from it.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Wednesday podcast, a weekly
resource thoughtfully crafted tohelp people build and refine
discipline, accomplish theirgoals, fortify their mindsets
and be of service to somebody inthis world.
My name is Ryan Cass and I amyour host, and it is my mission
and commitment to deliveramazing episodes to you every
week where you'll learn frommyself or renowned expert in
(00:26):
their field.
We love helping people win inevery aspect of their lives, and
you can help us win by sharingthe show with somebody that you
believe will benefit from it,subscribing and leaving a rating
and review.
We believe that everybody inthis world is meant to do
something great with their lives, and we're here to help play a
(00:47):
role in that.
Thank you for tuning in andlet's win today.
One question that I've beenexploring is how do we stay
genuine in a world where it'sbecoming more difficult or it
appears to become more difficultto maintain authenticity,
(01:14):
meaning, how do we come acrossas genuine when we have so many
tools at our disposal that cando things for us that used to
take a lot of time, whether thatbe writing an email response or
, heck, even sending a textresponse, coming up with unique
(01:38):
copy for your business or anexciting event that you have
coming up your business, or anexciting event that you have
coming up writing your ownthoughts about something that is
important to you without theassistance of anything else.
How do we remain genuine whenit feels like perhaps that's not
(02:04):
what's the most appreciatedthing right now in this society?
And I'm wrestling with thisquestion as we explore one thing
that I've been using that hasbeen making a difference in my
life.
I've found it to be verytherapeutic, making a difference
(02:28):
in my life.
I've found it to be verytherapeutic, and also it's
something that is, I believe,creating joy in the lives of
others, and it's something thatAI or automation can't do.
So, as this likely evolves intosome sort of series or
something, I'm going to expandmore on this as my thoughts
(02:48):
become more clear.
What are things that AI can'tdo and won't be able to do that
will allow us and enable us tomaintain a sense of genuinity
and authenticity, things thatcan still genuinely reflect our
(03:13):
hearts and minds and beings thatare of no assistance of
technology?
Now, it's awesome to see allthese things that are being
developed, whether it's ChatGPTand the additional AI tools,
many of which we're using, manyof which I'm using in the
(03:35):
podcast and in my businesses,but I often again it begs the
question is this going to be thefuture of our lives?
Is everything going to be AIdominated?
Not every little thing, but howmuch of our lives, if we had to
(03:58):
offer a percentage, is going tobe AI driven versus not?
Is going to be AI driven versusnot?
As we grew up, we're at 0%.
Now it feels like it's at least50% and probably even more for
those that are really using it.
So here are a few things thatAI can't do that I believe will
(04:21):
help us, but then I'm going tofocus on the last one and the
one activity that I absolutelylove and I'm going to encourage
you to test out yourself if thisisn't something you're already
doing right now Things that AIcan't do and things that allow
us to maintain our sense of selfand authenticity.
(04:43):
Ai can't get your ass out of bedat four o'clock in the morning,
five o'clock in the morning togo and work out when you don't
want to.
Ai is not going to be able todo that.
Ai cannot build discipline foryou.
I'm sure AI can set your alarmclock, but AI cannot wake you up
, get you out of your bed, intoyour car, into the gym
(05:05):
downstairs, into the home gym,whatever you need.
Ai is not going to be able todo that, and that's something
that we can still, we'll alwaysbe able to do to maintain our
sense of self.
Ai is not going to be able topick up the phone and call your
loved ones.
I understand now a lot of AIbots are able to imitate voices
(05:30):
pretty damn close to where youcan't really tell if you're
actually hearing from me or not,but AI is not going to be able
to pick up that cell phone andcall somebody that you love and
have a genuine conversation withthem, tell them meaningful
things, how much you love themand appreciate them.
(05:51):
They can't do that.
Ai is not going to be able tolose weight for you or pick up
weights.
It might be able to build yourworkout plan, but it can't do
the work.
But it can't do the work.
And lastly, in expanding uponthis, ai cannot create life
experiences.
(06:11):
Second to last one AI cannotcreate life experiences for you,
to where you'll then be talkingabout it for the rest of your
life.
I was just at the be talkingabout it for the rest of your
life.
I was just at the YankeesMariners game in Seattle a new
(06:36):
ballpark this past week.
One thing that I love is goingto see all of the MLB ballparks
in the country, ideally when theYankees are playing, and that
is something that AI would notbe able to reproduce Going and
seeing the world going andwatching a sunset, going and
just listening to the birdschirp, going for a nice walk.
Ai cannot recreate lifeexperiences.
(07:00):
And the last thing, and this isthe one we're going to expand on
, ai cannot create genuineconnections.
Ai is not going to be able tolook someone a nice heartfelt
(07:28):
hug and express empathy.
Ai is not going to be able toreach out to the person that you
like or you love and wish thema good day.
You like or you love and wishthem a good day, coming from
your voice, where it's just, ittruly comes across from the
(07:51):
heart.
Ai is not going to be able tosit in the friend circle and do
all the conversing for you andget a bunch of people to
gravitate toward you.
And get a bunch of people togravitate toward you.
When we think about genuineconnections one thing that I've
(08:16):
been exploring with now for thelast about six weeks, and this
is something that is going tostick is writing handwritten
letters to people Handwrittenthank you or just gratitude
letters.
Over the past six weeks, I madeit a priority to write at least
three letters per week topeople that I truly appreciate
(08:38):
and have made an impact in mylife.
Some of these people I haven'tspoken to in a long time, but I
have a list, a growing list, ofnames of people that have made
an impact in my life since Istarted my goals, my goals
binder, in 2011.
(08:59):
And so 14 years worth of people, because I know, when I look
back on my life, there's a lotof people responsible for where
I am right now.
Nobody is a one man show, andso some of these folks on the
(09:22):
list, I've sent them lettersjust from the heart, thanking
them for the influence thatthey've had in my life and how
much I appreciate them.
Not an AI prompt AI can't goback into the history and the
memories that I have with thesepeople and write the letter for
me.
Ai certainly can't replicate mytiny ass handwriting that
(09:46):
sometimes looks like chickenscratch, but let me tell you
what this has done and then alsoshare a little bit of research
behind this and, lastly, sharethe inspiration for this.
So what this has done.
(10:08):
I'll start with the personalbenefit first.
Every time I write one of thosethank you letters and while I'm
writing it, it excites me, it's,it makes me feel good, it makes
(10:28):
me feel even more grateful that, wow, there's this Thank God
for this amazing person that isin my life that I even get to
write this letter to.
I feel this unwavering sense ofgratitude for the people that
(10:50):
have entered my life, and then Ialso feel I find it to be
rather I experience it to bequite therapeutic In that for
that two minutes of time sothat's really all it takes to
write a two to five minutesBecause that's really all it
takes to write two to fiveminutes, because that's really
all it takes to write aheartfelt letter those two to
(11:12):
five minutes I feel like I'mputting a good service out into
the world and truly pouring myheart out to this person as to
what they mean to me.
And it's got me thinking, man,why didn't I do this earlier?
(11:37):
But there's no better day tostart anything than today, and
maybe this is enough to get youto think about writing a letter
to somebody Now, on the flipside of that, hearing back from
some of these people so far andseeing the impact that something
(12:01):
so simple has made on theirlives.
Think about that made on theirlives.
Think about that Two to fiveminutes of your time can make
someone's day, their week, theirmonth, their year from
something so simple and it'ssomething that no piece of
(12:23):
technology will ever be able todo is to pick up a card, tell
someone thank you or that you'regrateful for them, and get to
make such a big difference intheir life.
(12:44):
You never know, when that cardarrives in their mailbox and
when they open it, if that couldhave been the thing that they
needed to hear or see rightthere in that moment, because
maybe they were in a low point.
I do feel like the universe andthe big man upstairs has a
(13:06):
magical way of delivering theright messages to the right
people at the right time, andit's.
I feel that doing this, it issomewhat addicting.
Like I'm looking, I lookforward to writing these thank
(13:28):
you letters.
Now here's some research thatbacks it.
There was a study at theUniversity of Texas, at Austin
UT Austin Go Longhorns for someof you folks that may be
listening from Texas or areLonghorns fans, and in this
study there were.
They wanted to get a betterunderstanding of the effects of
(13:54):
writing a handwritten gratitudeletter or a thank you letter.
They surveyed 334 people thatwrote letters to one person that
was meaningful to them in theirlives.
And what was interesting is,before the letter was sent,
(14:16):
whoever was writing the letter?
They asked the person well,what do you think such and such
is going to feel?
And the majority of therecipients wrote well, maybe
they'll feel.
Okay, I guess they'llappreciate it.
I'm not sure.
(14:36):
My grammar is not too great.
So basically there was moreuncertainty, because we also
live in a world where we createstories in our minds of man.
Is this person really going toenjoy this letter?
This isn't my best writing.
What if I didn't spellsomething right?
What if they're not going toappreciate my articulation or
(14:59):
lack thereof?
Right?
We make all these things up.
Then they surveyed all thepeople that received the letters
and how they felt.
Then they surveyed all thepeople that received the letters
and how they felt, and what theresearch showed is people
consistently underestimate howmeaningful a thank you letter or
a gratitude letter really is,because each of these recipients
(15:20):
expressed that they wereextremely grateful, so excited.
This made their day, their week, their month.
They were so much happier thanthe writers could have ever
expected, and I also had thiskind of writer's block at first
(15:42):
too, just like with a lot ofthings in life, where that doubt
creeps in, that story creeps inof man.
Is this really going to make adifference?
Is this what if I'm not aletter writer?
I'm not.
This isn't what I've been doingfor years.
What are people really going tothink?
(16:03):
Not once has there been anegative response, and I've also
seen quite overwhelmingresponses in that wow, these
people love this way more than Ithought they ever would have.
So there goes to show both apersonal testimony.
Research and then I'm a bigbeliever in success leaves clues
(16:28):
.
One person that I love to studyand follow and embody in
certain areas of life is JesseItzler, and that name may be
familiar to some of you.
If you haven't heard of JesseItzler, I highly recommend go
and spend some time researchingthis man and what he's done.
(16:54):
As an entrepreneur and as afamily man, he has launched
several businesses fromliterally sometimes from a back
of a napkin idea and then justshowed that with unrelenting
grit, hustle some creativitythat you can create just about
(17:20):
anything you want, even afteryou're told no a thousand times
or kicked out of an office andtold how stupid your idea is.
Jesse is now amulti-billionaire, and also
thanks to his wife, sarahBlakely, who women listeners
y'all may recognize SarahBlakely as the founder of Spanx,
but Jesse Itzler?
(17:40):
He talks about how he has beenwriting thank you letters and
gratitude letters for years, andevery week and it might even be
every day, but at least everyweek he sends out three letters
to people that did somethingthat was meaningful or someone
that he is thinking about,someone that he loves, someone
(18:02):
that's important in his life.
He sends out those letters andthe responses he receives are
overwhelming.
But then also, from a businessstandpoint, these are the things
that keep people coming back toJesse's businesses and to
Jesse's brands, because whatJesse does that's different from
(18:27):
many.
And especially, again goingback to how do we remain genuine
in the world of technology andautomation and AI?
Not every company or founder orleader is doing something like
this.
Not to say that a letter is thesole separator or if you don't
(18:50):
send a letter, then you're nevergoing to be as successful as
XYZ.
But when we think about it andhow meaningful it is the act of
doing something so simple.
It makes sense why people thatdo this would succeed more in
the business world and otherrealms.
(19:13):
Think about some of yourfavorite brands or places you've
stayed.
What stands out about them?
In some cases it could be thatyou just love their product, but
I'd be willing to bet becausemy audience is much like me you
(19:35):
appreciate the brands that showtheir heart and are more
service-oriented.
Meaning company A and company Bsell the same product, but
company A as opposed to companyB donates X percentage of their
(19:57):
profits to service-orientedorganizations.
Or company a as opposed to bwill occasionally send out a
thank you letter for being arepeat customer, and you may
hear from somebody in theircustomer service department.
Or there was somebody that justtook really great care of you,
(20:22):
even though they probably didn'ttechnically have to on paper,
but they went above and beyondfor you.
Those are likely the companiesand the brands and the products
that you resonate with the most.
I know that one thing that keepsme coming back to certain
companies is I look at theirfounder and what does he or she
(20:44):
believe in?
What do they stand for?
How do they lead their lives,their families, their businesses
, their people.
Sure, I can buy other enduranceproducts out there, but one of
the things that keeps me comingback to Bear Performance
Nutrition is the fact that theirleader, nick Bear, I know is a
(21:10):
service-oriented man, loves hispeople, loves his organization,
loves his family, loves hiscommunity.
Family loves his community,does the things that he doesn't
quote probably have to do, butgoes above and beyond and does
the little things that AI can'tdo to make the business, the
(21:40):
community and people better.
I wish that this serves as aninvitation to you to write a
letter to somebody that has hadan impact on your life.
Don't overcomplicate it.
Hey, such and such.
Here's how I start mine outusually.
Hey, name.
Thank you for the influencethat you've had on my life.
When you first told me about Xyears ago, it impacted me in a
(22:09):
way that you may have neverimagined.
When you shared that advicewith me, and here's how I've
used it.
I'm so grateful that you gaveme that advice and that it's had
such a profound impact on me,and I do my best to impart that
wisdom upon people everyopportunity that I can.
(22:32):
Now that's somewhat of a similarnote that I sent to one of my
mentors, bill, who startedmentoring me going into my
senior year of college.
We first linked up in 2014, so11 years ago now and Bill, in my
graduation letter, wrote at thevery bottom do things right and
(22:56):
do the right things.
And that has become a mottothat I do my best to live my
life by.
But then I've also now that'smy, that's my motto with my
little brother, josiah, throughBig Brothers, big Sisters.
I always ask him what's thegolden rule and he tells me do
things right and do the rightthings.
So I let Bill know recently ina letter that that, right there,
(23:20):
what he probably thought at thetime was just simple advice.
11 years later, over a decadelater, continues to be the thing
that I use to inspire peopleand also guide people and my
mentees in life.
It's the simplest things thatoften have the most profound
(23:42):
impact, and it's my invitationto you to think about.
Maybe it's a letter, maybe it'snot, but how can you remain
genuine in a world whereautomation isn't going away, ai
isn't going away, and that'sokay, but how do we maintain our
(24:10):
genuine sense of self andauthenticity?
There will always beopportunities to do that, and
it's my wish that this helps toget you thinking about that.
Write a letter to somebody thisweek and win today.
Thank you so much.
Welcome to the Wednesday podcast, a weekly
resource thoughtfully crafted tohelp people build and refine
discipline, accomplish theirgoals, fortify their mindsets
and be of service to somebody inthis world.
My name is Ryan Cass and I amyour host, and it is my mission
and commitment to deliveramazing episodes to you every
week where you'll learn frommyself or renowned expert in
(00:26):
their field.
We love helping people win inevery aspect of their lives, and
you can help us win by sharingthe show with somebody that you
believe will benefit from it,subscribing and leaving a rating
and review.
We believe that everybody inthis world is meant to do
something great with their lives, and we're here to help play a
(00:47):
role in that.
Thank you for tuning in andlet's win today.
One question that I've beenexploring is how do we stay
genuine in a world where it'sbecoming more difficult or it
appears to become more difficultto maintain authenticity,
(01:14):
meaning, how do we come acrossas genuine when we have so many
tools at our disposal that cando things for us that used to
take a lot of time, whether thatbe writing an email response or
, heck, even sending a textresponse, coming up with unique
(01:38):
copy for your business or anexciting event that you have
coming up your business, or anexciting event that you have
coming up writing your ownthoughts about something that is
important to you without theassistance of anything else.
How do we remain genuine whenit feels like perhaps that's not
(02:04):
what's the most appreciatedthing right now in this society?
And I'm wrestling with thisquestion as we explore one thing
that I've been using that hasbeen making a difference in my
life.
I've found it to be verytherapeutic, making a difference
(02:28):
in my life.
I've found it to be verytherapeutic, and also it's
something that is, I believe,creating joy in the lives of
others, and it's something thatAI or automation can't do.
So, as this likely evolves intosome sort of series or
something, I'm going to expandmore on this as my thoughts
(02:48):
become more clear.
What are things that AI can'tdo and won't be able to do that
will allow us and enable us tomaintain a sense of genuinity
and authenticity, things thatcan still genuinely reflect our
(03:13):
hearts and minds and beings thatare of no assistance of
technology?
Now, it's awesome to see allthese things that are being
developed, whether it's ChatGPTand the additional AI tools,
many of which we're using, manyof which I'm using in the
(03:35):
podcast and in my businesses,but I often again it begs the
question is this going to be thefuture of our lives?
Is everything going to be AIdominated?
Not every little thing, but howmuch of our lives, if we had to
(03:58):
offer a percentage, is going tobe AI driven versus not?
Is going to be AI driven versusnot?
As we grew up, we're at 0%.
Now it feels like it's at least50% and probably even more for
those that are really using it.
So here are a few things thatAI can't do that I believe will
(04:21):
help us, but then I'm going tofocus on the last one and the
one activity that I absolutelylove and I'm going to encourage
you to test out yourself if thisisn't something you're already
doing right now Things that AIcan't do and things that allow
us to maintain our sense of selfand authenticity.
(04:43):
Ai can't get your ass out of bedat four o'clock in the morning,
five o'clock in the morning togo and work out when you don't
want to.
Ai is not going to be able todo that.
Ai cannot build discipline foryou.
I'm sure AI can set your alarmclock, but AI cannot wake you up
, get you out of your bed, intoyour car, into the gym
(05:05):
downstairs, into the home gym,whatever you need.
Ai is not going to be able todo that, and that's something
that we can still, we'll alwaysbe able to do to maintain our
sense of self.
Ai is not going to be able topick up the phone and call your
loved ones.
I understand now a lot of AIbots are able to imitate voices
(05:30):
pretty damn close to where youcan't really tell if you're
actually hearing from me or not,but AI is not going to be able
to pick up that cell phone andcall somebody that you love and
have a genuine conversation withthem, tell them meaningful
things, how much you love themand appreciate them.
(05:51):
They can't do that.
Ai is not going to be able tolose weight for you or pick up
weights.
It might be able to build yourworkout plan, but it can't do
the work.
But it can't do the work.
And lastly, in expanding uponthis, ai cannot create life
experiences.
(06:11):
Second to last one AI cannotcreate life experiences for you,
to where you'll then be talkingabout it for the rest of your
life.
I was just at the be talkingabout it for the rest of your
life.
I was just at the YankeesMariners game in Seattle a new
(06:36):
ballpark this past week.
One thing that I love is goingto see all of the MLB ballparks
in the country, ideally when theYankees are playing, and that
is something that AI would notbe able to reproduce Going and
seeing the world going andwatching a sunset, going and
just listening to the birdschirp, going for a nice walk.
Ai cannot recreate lifeexperiences.
(07:00):
And the last thing, and this isthe one we're going to expand on
, ai cannot create genuineconnections.
Ai is not going to be able tolook someone a nice heartfelt
(07:28):
hug and express empathy.
Ai is not going to be able toreach out to the person that you
like or you love and wish thema good day.
You like or you love and wishthem a good day, coming from
your voice, where it's just, ittruly comes across from the
(07:51):
heart.
Ai is not going to be able tosit in the friend circle and do
all the conversing for you andget a bunch of people to
gravitate toward you.
And get a bunch of people togravitate toward you.
When we think about genuineconnections one thing that I've
(08:16):
been exploring with now for thelast about six weeks, and this
is something that is going tostick is writing handwritten
letters to people Handwrittenthank you or just gratitude
letters.
Over the past six weeks, I madeit a priority to write at least
three letters per week topeople that I truly appreciate
(08:38):
and have made an impact in mylife.
Some of these people I haven'tspoken to in a long time, but I
have a list, a growing list, ofnames of people that have made
an impact in my life since Istarted my goals, my goals
binder, in 2011.
(08:59):
And so 14 years worth of people, because I know, when I look
back on my life, there's a lotof people responsible for where
I am right now.
Nobody is a one man show, andso some of these folks on the
(09:22):
list, I've sent them lettersjust from the heart, thanking
them for the influence thatthey've had in my life and how
much I appreciate them.
Not an AI prompt AI can't goback into the history and the
memories that I have with thesepeople and write the letter for
me.
Ai certainly can't replicate mytiny ass handwriting that
(09:46):
sometimes looks like chickenscratch, but let me tell you
what this has done and then alsoshare a little bit of research
behind this and, lastly, sharethe inspiration for this.
So what this has done.
(10:08):
I'll start with the personalbenefit first.
Every time I write one of thosethank you letters and while I'm
writing it, it excites me, it's,it makes me feel good, it makes
(10:28):
me feel even more grateful that, wow, there's this Thank God
for this amazing person that isin my life that I even get to
write this letter to.
I feel this unwavering sense ofgratitude for the people that
(10:50):
have entered my life, and then Ialso feel I find it to be
rather I experience it to bequite therapeutic In that for
that two minutes of time sothat's really all it takes to
write a two to five minutesBecause that's really all it
takes to write two to fiveminutes, because that's really
all it takes to write aheartfelt letter those two to
(11:12):
five minutes I feel like I'mputting a good service out into
the world and truly pouring myheart out to this person as to
what they mean to me.
And it's got me thinking, man,why didn't I do this earlier?
(11:37):
But there's no better day tostart anything than today, and
maybe this is enough to get youto think about writing a letter
to somebody Now, on the flipside of that, hearing back from
some of these people so far andseeing the impact that something
(12:01):
so simple has made on theirlives.
Think about that made on theirlives.
Think about that Two to fiveminutes of your time can make
someone's day, their week, theirmonth, their year from
something so simple and it'ssomething that no piece of
(12:23):
technology will ever be able todo is to pick up a card, tell
someone thank you or that you'regrateful for them, and get to
make such a big difference intheir life.
(12:44):
You never know, when that cardarrives in their mailbox and
when they open it, if that couldhave been the thing that they
needed to hear or see rightthere in that moment, because
maybe they were in a low point.
I do feel like the universe andthe big man upstairs has a
(13:06):
magical way of delivering theright messages to the right
people at the right time, andit's.
I feel that doing this, it issomewhat addicting.
Like I'm looking, I lookforward to writing these thank
(13:28):
you letters.
Now here's some research thatbacks it.
There was a study at theUniversity of Texas, at Austin
UT Austin Go Longhorns for someof you folks that may be
listening from Texas or areLonghorns fans, and in this
study there were.
They wanted to get a betterunderstanding of the effects of
(13:54):
writing a handwritten gratitudeletter or a thank you letter.
They surveyed 334 people thatwrote letters to one person that
was meaningful to them in theirlives.
And what was interesting is,before the letter was sent,
(14:16):
whoever was writing the letter?
They asked the person well,what do you think such and such
is going to feel?
And the majority of therecipients wrote well, maybe
they'll feel.
Okay, I guess they'llappreciate it.
I'm not sure.
(14:36):
My grammar is not too great.
So basically there was moreuncertainty, because we also
live in a world where we createstories in our minds of man.
Is this person really going toenjoy this letter?
This isn't my best writing.
What if I didn't spellsomething right?
What if they're not going toappreciate my articulation or
(14:59):
lack thereof?
Right?
We make all these things up.
Then they surveyed all thepeople that received the letters
and how they felt.
Then they surveyed all thepeople that received the letters
and how they felt, and what theresearch showed is people
consistently underestimate howmeaningful a thank you letter or
a gratitude letter really is,because each of these recipients
(15:20):
expressed that they wereextremely grateful, so excited.
This made their day, their week, their month.
They were so much happier thanthe writers could have ever
expected, and I also had thiskind of writer's block at first
(15:42):
too, just like with a lot ofthings in life, where that doubt
creeps in, that story creeps inof man.
Is this really going to make adifference?
Is this what if I'm not aletter writer?
I'm not.
This isn't what I've been doingfor years.
What are people really going tothink?
(16:03):
Not once has there been anegative response, and I've also
seen quite overwhelmingresponses in that wow, these
people love this way more than Ithought they ever would have.
So there goes to show both apersonal testimony.
Research and then I'm a bigbeliever in success leaves clues
(16:28):
.
One person that I love to studyand follow and embody in
certain areas of life is JesseItzler, and that name may be
familiar to some of you.
If you haven't heard of JesseItzler, I highly recommend go
and spend some time researchingthis man and what he's done.
(16:54):
As an entrepreneur and as afamily man, he has launched
several businesses fromliterally sometimes from a back
of a napkin idea and then justshowed that with unrelenting
grit, hustle some creativitythat you can create just about
(17:20):
anything you want, even afteryou're told no a thousand times
or kicked out of an office andtold how stupid your idea is.
Jesse is now amulti-billionaire, and also
thanks to his wife, sarahBlakely, who women listeners
y'all may recognize SarahBlakely as the founder of Spanx,
but Jesse Itzler?
(17:40):
He talks about how he has beenwriting thank you letters and
gratitude letters for years, andevery week and it might even be
every day, but at least everyweek he sends out three letters
to people that did somethingthat was meaningful or someone
that he is thinking about,someone that he loves, someone
(18:02):
that's important in his life.
He sends out those letters andthe responses he receives are
overwhelming.
But then also, from a businessstandpoint, these are the things
that keep people coming back toJesse's businesses and to
Jesse's brands, because whatJesse does that's different from
(18:27):
many.
And especially, again goingback to how do we remain genuine
in the world of technology andautomation and AI?
Not every company or founder orleader is doing something like
this.
Not to say that a letter is thesole separator or if you don't
(18:50):
send a letter, then you're nevergoing to be as successful as
XYZ.
But when we think about it andhow meaningful it is the act of
doing something so simple.
It makes sense why people thatdo this would succeed more in
the business world and otherrealms.
(19:13):
Think about some of yourfavorite brands or places you've
stayed.
What stands out about them?
In some cases it could be thatyou just love their product, but
I'd be willing to bet becausemy audience is much like me you
(19:35):
appreciate the brands that showtheir heart and are more
service-oriented.
Meaning company A and company Bsell the same product, but
company A as opposed to companyB donates X percentage of their
(19:57):
profits to service-orientedorganizations.
Or company a as opposed to bwill occasionally send out a
thank you letter for being arepeat customer, and you may
hear from somebody in theircustomer service department.
Or there was somebody that justtook really great care of you,
(20:22):
even though they probably didn'ttechnically have to on paper,
but they went above and beyondfor you.
Those are likely the companiesand the brands and the products
that you resonate with the most.
I know that one thing that keepsme coming back to certain
companies is I look at theirfounder and what does he or she
(20:44):
believe in?
What do they stand for?
How do they lead their lives,their families, their businesses
, their people.
Sure, I can buy other enduranceproducts out there, but one of
the things that keeps me comingback to Bear Performance
Nutrition is the fact that theirleader, nick Bear, I know is a
(21:10):
service-oriented man, loves hispeople, loves his organization,
loves his family, loves hiscommunity.
Family loves his community,does the things that he doesn't
quote probably have to do, butgoes above and beyond and does
the little things that AI can'tdo to make the business, the
(21:40):
community and people better.
I wish that this serves as aninvitation to you to write a
letter to somebody that has hadan impact on your life.
Don't overcomplicate it.
Hey, such and such.
Here's how I start mine outusually.
Hey, name.
Thank you for the influencethat you've had on my life.
When you first told me about Xyears ago, it impacted me in a
(22:09):
way that you may have neverimagined.
When you shared that advicewith me, and here's how I've
used it.
I'm so grateful that you gaveme that advice and that it's had
such a profound impact on me,and I do my best to impart that
wisdom upon people everyopportunity that I can.
(22:32):
Now that's somewhat of a similarnote that I sent to one of my
mentors, bill, who startedmentoring me going into my
senior year of college.
We first linked up in 2014, so11 years ago now and Bill, in my
graduation letter, wrote at thevery bottom do things right and
(22:56):
do the right things.
And that has become a mottothat I do my best to live my
life by.
But then I've also now that'smy, that's my motto with my
little brother, josiah, throughBig Brothers, big Sisters.
I always ask him what's thegolden rule and he tells me do
things right and do the rightthings.
So I let Bill know recently ina letter that that, right there,
(23:20):
what he probably thought at thetime was just simple advice.
11 years later, over a decadelater, continues to be the thing
that I use to inspire peopleand also guide people and my
mentees in life.
It's the simplest things thatoften have the most profound
(23:42):
impact, and it's my invitationto you to think about.
Maybe it's a letter, maybe it'snot, but how can you remain
genuine in a world whereautomation isn't going away, ai
isn't going away, and that'sokay, but how do we maintain our
(24:10):
genuine sense of self andauthenticity?
There will always beopportunities to do that, and
it's my wish that this helps toget you thinking about that.
Write a letter to somebody thisweek and win today.
Thank you so much.
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