When it comes to the holidays, every family has its own traditions. Year after year, we get together and do what we always do. Without these traditions, it probably wouldn’t even feel like a holiday, right?

As big of a deal as Christmas is, I think Thanksgiving ranks just as high. For me, it’s the perfect holiday.

There’s always a lot of food, so no one says anything if I go back for seconds and thirds. There’s a full day of football games, so it’s almost expected that we’re going to watch football all day… even during dinner! And of course, it always falls on a Thursday, so it’s a good excuse for trying to extend the weekend a little as well.

But mainly, the real tradition of Thanksgiving is to pause and recognize what we’re thankful for. That sounds really cliché, doesn’t it? Nonetheless, let’s think about that.

Besides close friends and family members, who are three people that you’re thankful for, yet no longer play an active role in your day-to-day life?

Can you picture them? Okay… so, what made you pick these three? Regardless of whether these influential people are alive or deceased, what is it about them that made an impact on who you are today?

For me, these are people who taught me, people who inspired me. They encouraged me to reach further than I thought I could go. Ultimately, these people challenged me to move beyond where I was comfortable.

They didn’t do it because I asked them to or because they were paid to. It turns out that my ‘three people’ simply gave me a gift. Ironically, they probably don’t even realize how much their words and actions influenced me… until now.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, this week I’m going to make sure these three people know how much of an impact they made on me while I still can. And hopefully, you’ll take some time to do the same.

You see, gifts aren’t just something we give at Christmas. And gratitude isn’t something that we only save for Thanksgiving.

You’ve got a lot of gifts to share, and thanks to give… what a great year-round tradition.

As always, thanks for taking the time to read my email each week and sharing it with others. And to all my customers… Thank You. Your ongoing support makes this column and everything else I do possible.