This afternoon I was walking into a store and an elderly woman in one of those motorized handicapped scooters was also walking in at the same time so I said to her, “I’ll hold the door open for you.”

As she was steering through the door, the side of her scooter nicked the door jam.

I smiled at her and said, “Young lady, have you been drinking and driving?”

She laughed, smiled at me and with a twinkle in her eye she replied, “I’ll never tell.”

When she was out of earshot a lady who had observed our interaction said to me with a stern look on her face, “I can’t believe you said that to her.”

I replied, “Why? Her legs are handicapped, not her sense of humor.”

When people know that you sincerely care about them, there’s no need to worry about political correctness or any other stupid social constructs.

Don’t be afraid to bring some humor and personality also into your biz life.

People are starving for it.

A long, happy life is a lot to think about.

Focus on having a great day.

Then do it again.

And again.

And before you know it, you’re having a pretty amazing life.

An often overlooked component of a successful business is gratitude. Anyone who has had some success in biz understands that you better make the customer or client happy through the sales process. And for most businesses, that’s where they end. Once the deal is consummated, product purchased, etc., they probably couldn’t pick their client out of a line-up.

How do you show your gratitude to your clients on an ongoing basis? Do they feel the love? If so, for how long? What if you expressed your gratitude in some way and continued to do so over time? I’m not talking about in a weird, stalker-like way. I’m talking about in a way that’s sincere and keeps you top of mind. What if after they became your client, you remembered something unique from the sales or on boarding process and politely reminded them of that and thanked them for it. What if you thanked them again for being your customer long after the money has exchanged hands? And then again?

What if you took some time to sit quietly and think about something regarding your client that you’re thankful for? And if you can’t think of something, perhaps that’s an indication that you really don’t know your client, which means you don’t have a relationship with them, you had a transaction with them. Which means you’ll have to replace them with another client whom you’ll have a transaction with until you figure out that it’s better to build stronger relationships with your clients and retain them, and receive and exchange referrals with them instead of just refilling the pipeline with more transactions.

The more you can find to be grateful for in every client relationship and the more you share that with your clients, the more you’re going to be grateful for. Because all things being equal, people do business with and refer business to people they know, like, and trust. And it’s real hard to not be knowable, likeable, and trustable when you’re expressing gratitude.

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way trying to persuade you to pretend that there aren’t bad things which happen to good people or that everyone is a nice, kind, compassionate person. This post isn’t intended to gloss over the fact that life can be difficult. This isn’t a kum-bah-yah, group hug moment. If you’re cool with that, read on.

Grab a cup of coffee or tea and sit for a minute. Now realize that you just sat on something. And you’re probably someplace with heat. And you’re drinking a cup of coffee or tea. And you have hands to hold the cup. And you’re alive. Alright, you get the point. We can be so busy that we miss just about everything. And I do mean everything.

Compared to the majority of the world, we’re pretty fat, dumb, and happy. Did that offend you? Analyze that offense. Things which are close to the truth tend to offend, things which are preposterous don’t offend, they’re just preposterous.

Most folks complain about Obama-this or Romney-that. Wildfires in Colorado, floods in New Jersey. My spouse doesn’t appreciate me, my boss is a jerk. Pick your negativity – we’re surrounded by it.

In the big scheme of things, you’re so blessed that if you truly get your head around it, you’ll probably need a nap to recover. Whatever your political leanings, we still live in the greatest, most free nation on Earth with the greatest opportunity for personal fulfillment. Don’t take this for granted like 98% of the population does.

There has never been a better time for you to succeed. My definition of success is “the progressive realization of a worthwhile goal, dream, or ideal.” Which means success isn’t a Rolex or Mercedes. It’s a process of determining what you want and exerting the effort to get it. If you’re doing that, you’re a success. Plain and simple.

We’ve all got crap in our lives. We always will. So what. You’re too blessed to be focusing on that stuff. You’re a mosquito in a nudist colony of opportunity. Get moving.

I travel a lot. As a Professional Speaker/Author, I probably meet more people in a few weeks than most folks meet in a year or more and I’ve noticed something over time. There’s a lot of men who look like they’ve been sucking on a lemon since they were three years old. What’s with the dudes? I don’t find this so often with women.

The Bible (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth) says to be sober-minded, not sober-faced. Smile more. Dale Carnegie taught this as one of his thirty instructions in his timeless classic, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” back in 1936. Matter of fact, in HTWFAIP, all of his chapter summaries are written as simple sentences, and the only instruction he gives which is only one word is the instruction, “Smile”.

We tend to get what we give. Give a smile. It breaks the ice. And it usually leads to a relationship. And that’s what everyone needs more of in their business and personal lives.

My brothers and I recently sent our parents on an all-expense paid trip to Oahu and Maui where they stayed at two Four-Star waterfront resorts for their 50th wedding anniversary. Although my folks had the time of their life and they were very grateful for the present, I think I was the one who really got the gift. I’ve been able to have the greatest parents on earth for my 48 years of life here on this awesome blue ball. I didn’t always think my parents were that great, but that’s normal when you’re younger. Now I know better.

Ever think about your clients kinda the same way you think about your parents? Your parents gave you life. Your clients gave you business. Your parents could have given you away and found or had some other kids. Your clients can give you away any time they like. We have limited windows of opportunity to show our gratitude. Express your ongoing appreciation to your clients. Because it’s the right thing to do. And because it just makes good business sense.

You can read tons of books on success, and I suggest you do.

I’ve read about a book a week on personal development for almost twenty years, so I’ll save you some time.

Here’s the Knebl Thirty Second Success Seminar:

1) Define your dream.

2) Determine the price in terms of time, effort, resources, etc.

3) Pay the price.

Everything else is window dressing.

Now go invest the thousands of dollars I just saved you on books.

We know we’re supposed to show our love on Valentine’s Day. We’ve been sold this by Hallmark, Nestle and others since we were kids.

If you’re in business, every day is Valentine’s Day. Your customers, clients, boss, colleagues, networking partners, and referral sources better be feeling the love. All the time.

How are you ensuring they feel special?

There are many things we can learn about how to build, enhance and maintain client relationships from marriage. If you’ve had any long-term success in business you realize it’s all about relationships.

If you want your spouse to treat you better, treat her or him the way you treated them when you were dating. This isn’t difficult math.

After money is transacted in your business and you deliver your value. What do you do then? How do you show your client that it wasn’t a one night stand? If it takes you more than a few seconds to answer this, you may be leaving skid marks in a lot of motel parking lots….

According to many studies, the third week of January is the time when most people abandon their New Year’s resolutions. So, if this is accurate, perhaps some of the things you had hoped to create as new success habits in 2013, may seem unattainable to you now. While I’m all for taking massive, deliberate action and having short, medium, and long-range goals, for some folks, that’s just too much.

Perhaps a good approach to sustained change may be setting New Day’s resolutions versus New Year’s resolutions. When you get up in the morning, set a resolution for the day. And if during the course of the day you drop the ball, don’t beat yourself up. Get up tomorrow and resolve it again. Over time, you’ll start to notice where you’re dropping the ball and course correct. Just don’t beat yourself up. Perhaps put a sticky note on your bathroom mirror that say “What do I resolve today?”

You are a beautiful, divine creation of God, designed for greatness. Nothing great is ever accomplished overnight. Small efforts repeated over time produce massive results.