With Gratitude

The Thanksgiving holiday holds a special place in my heart.  It is a day to celebrate and be grateful with family and friends.  This is a day where the only gift necessary it that of thanks.  Looking back on the year, we have had challenges as well as wins.  We have mourned tragedy and celebrated triumph.  On this day, we have the opportunity to halt the roller-coaster that many of us ride throughout the year and revel in our blessings!

I have so much to be thankful for, it would be an endless task to document everything.  In this post I share my blessings to honor you, and all those around me who support my pursuit of a life of both success, and significance.

Among so many things, I am thankful for

1. A wonderful family. So much is said around the holidays about the importance of family.  That’s because it cannot be overstated!  I receive so much love and support from my husband and family and could not say enough about how special this is and how much it means. And combining family and business can often be difficult, but I would not have it any other way!
2. Living a life following my passion.  Adopting the philosophy of “why not” so early in my career was such a huge step in creating the mindset that drives me to follow my heart, take the road less traveled and dedicate my profession and my life to the values and principles that I feel passionately about.  I am tremendously thankful that I have been able to stay on this path for so many years and to be able to serve others.
3. Amazing friends and associations.  I often share about the importance of associations and it is because I know how important they have been in my own success.  Having friends that are supportive to your purpose and goals is a critical element to success.  That is why I often ask people to consider if the 5 people they spend the most time with are lifting them up.  I have friends that are more like family and am honored by their friendship.  In addition, the organizations and associations that have entrusted me with their brands, their messaging and their audiences have shown faith in me that drives me to improve every day.
4. The ability to touch the lives of others.   Being of service is a value that is so important.  It was instilled in me by my father from a very young age.  Having so many people that allow me to become a part of their businesses, their family and their lives is amazing.  Having a team around me that is passionate about financial literacy and inspiring others to take control of their futures has been equally amazing.  I am blessed by each thank you note, email or message from those who share they have been touched by my work.  There is no higher honor that I could receive!
5. 2014.  Looking back at 2013, we’ve done great things.  We had a successful 2nd year of our ThriveTime Challenge program.  We saw the passage of Arizona Senate Bill SB1449, creating greater emphasis on financial literacy in Arizona schools, and after launching Save Wisely, Spend Happily in association with the AICPA, I excitedly looked ahead at writing Think and Grow Rich for Women.  Continuing to build off of the momentum that you helped create by supporting our mission to be of service is our greatest blessing!

On behalf of Pay Your Family First and the ThriveTime Challenge and from the bottom of my heart, I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

To your success,

Sharon Lechter