This is my first contribution to Dad-O-Matic (Howdy Everyone!) I realize everyone is busy with Holiday planning,but please take a moment and wander down this thought with me for a second.

As a social media guy, I wanted to help everyone take a moment of thought and finalize it with a moment of action. This is a great way to understand the “why” of life and learn a little bit about yourself. The whole holiday of Thanksgiving is actually a very amazing example of why social media reaches across so many different cultural and social boundaries: in my industry you find enthusiasm, gratitude, common goals, and inspirational people every single day.

Looking at the real world:

As individuals, we may not have a lot of strength. As a group, we have untold might. Here in America, our forefathers understood this with the statement of “United We Stand”

This is an amazing lesson to teach our children.

Many people, both here and abroad are having rough and difficult times. Many have lost jobs or are working late hours to earn a few extra dollars to afford a memorable holiday season. Some of them are quietly standing behind the counter of check-out isle as we plan our own day of thanks.

There are those of us doing the most difficult of jobs: our soldiers, doctors, emergency workers, police, construction workers, cell tower workers, fishermen, customer service reps…the list goes on and on. They do jobs that we do not want to perform ourselves, but that make our lives possible.

Are we giving thanks? Have you taken the action to give back? Have you thought about how you can impact your community and the world around you?

• I have my son: a wonderful little boy who proves to me on a daily basis that you can change the world and we each have a spot in it.
• I have my outlook on life: we (us, you, them, I) have truly wonderful gifts that we often ignore. I cherish them, and often find them to be of great comfort.
• I have my friends and family: people I know love me, regardless of the distance between us or the amount of time that has gone by without us realizing it.

Being thankful, being grateful, requires both thought and action: the mindset of being thankful for what we have in our lives is essential to sharing wealth.

• Don’t focus on what you don’t have. Focus on what you do have.
• Don’t focus on people who have helped you. Focus on people you can help.
• Don’t focus on what you haven’t done. Focus on what you have done.
• Don’t focus on “me”. Focus on “we”

Take a look at helping out someone in need this holiday season. Focus your efforts on someone around the world or across the nation. There is probably someone you can help today, right across the street, or even in your very own home. It is a matter of reaching out to those less fortunate than us and sharing our prosperity.

If you are a reader of my blog and have ever found any of it useful I am going to ask you to do three things:

1. Let everyone else know about it. If you want a quick link use: http://twurl.nl/4yqm8p
2. If you are local to the Seattle/Puget Sound area, volunteer some time and effort to a good cause. I am especially fond of www.mammashands.org: a group that helps the homeless in Seattle find hope and self-respect to get back on their feet. (You can contribute directly to them here) If you are somewhere else in the world, take a look at www.justgive.org and they will help you find a local group that you can help using your own prosperity.
3. In the next twenty-four hours, do something purposely kind for a stranger. Take a few moments of your time to talk with them, buy them a meal, give a child a gift, and make them smile.

In all of the above requests, have a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving.

~Barry Hurd