Hello,

Welcome to another issue of Appreciation in Action. I hope that you, your family, your friends, your co-workers, and everyone around you are appreciating and enjoying this holiday season. What a great time of year for us to reflect on the good stuff in our lives.

As a way of acknowledging you and the people around you, we are launching a holiday promotion for my book Focus on the Good Stuff this coming Monday, 12/17. You will be able to buy discounted copies of the book as gifts and receive hundreds of dollars of free bonus products from other speakers and authors in the process. Stay tuned for an official announcement next week (on Monday). If you want to take part in the holiday promotion early, click on www.focusonthegoodstuff.com/holiday. I am grateful to be able to connect with you like this each month. Thanks for being on my list.

Give Them What They Really Want - Your Appreciation

During the holiday season, it's easy for us to get caught up in the stress of decorating the house, preparing for parties, and rushing around to buy gifts for everyone.  Many of us will spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on holiday presents. 

Instead of just giving the important people in your life lots of "stuff" this year, give them the best gift of all; your appreciation.  Your spouse, parents, children, friends, co-workers, or other family members, will be thrilled when you let them know what you appreciate about them and how they positively impact your life. 

In the midst of our holiday “madness,” we often forget that what most people want, more than anything else, is to be truly appreciated by us. The best gift we can give to the people in our lives is the gift of our true appreciation. This is not to say that material gifts are meaningless. However, I think we often get so caught up in the material gifts and the activities of the holidays that we forget that the most important gift (our appreciation) costs nothing at all.

If we stop for a moment and think about the people around us, there is so much to appreciate about them. Maybe they are not “perfect” and maybe we get annoyed and frustrated with them at times. It seems that we often get the most frustrated with those closest to us.

However, as Werner Erhard said, “In every human being there is both garbage and gold, it is up to us to choose what we pay attention to.” I believe we find exactly what we look for. If we look for “gold” in others, we always find an abundance of treasures within them. Then, when we have the courage to honor and acknowledge their gold in a heartfelt way, we give them one of the most powerful and meaningful gifts of all…appreciation!

Here are three simple suggestions to make your holiday gifts and your holiday season special:

Suggestions:

1)  In addition to (or instead of) giving gifts, take time to write heartfelt thank you cards.  Let the important people around you know what you appreciate about them and how they have impacted your life. 

2)  Ask people what they want.  Getting something specific that they really want will have them feel appreciated and valued.  It doesn't have to be expensive, as long as it is personal to them. 

3)  When you gather with your family, friends, or co-workers to exchange gifts, as you pass things out to each person, take a moment to let them know what you appreciate about them publicly.

Make this holiday season one of connection and transformation for you and those close to you by taking the time to express your appreciation. The people around you will be grateful and so will you!

Holiday Promotion for Focus on the Good Stuff: The Power of Appreciation:
As I mentioned above, on Monday, 12/17 we will be launching a holiday promotion for my book. It will be a great opportunity to buy copies for friends, family members, co-workers, and yourself. In addition to getting discounted copies of the book, you will also receive hundreds of dollars in bonus products from authors and speakers like Marianne Williamson, Jack Canfield, Jeffrey Gitomer, and about 25 others. For details and to take part in the promotion a few days early, click on the link below:
http://www.focusonthegoodstuff.com/holiday

Transformational Software – My Mind Makeover:
I am excited to introduce you to a powerful new product called My Mind Makeover - a simple software program that allows you to select and record personalized affirmations that can be listened to again and again for life-changing results. This new innovation was the #1 selling product on The Secret’s website (besides “The Secret” itself) when it came out. The Mind Makeover team has assembled a collection of bonus gifts from the masters of the Law of Attraction, including Bob Proctor, T. Harv Eker, Loral Langemeier, me and many others. For details and to purchase this amazing new product, click on the link below:
http://www.mymindmakeover.com/mmm_promo.asp?Affiliate=74

How to have a Miraculous Retirement – Free Report
My friend Steve Little just released an enlightening special report called "The Secret to an Abundant, Joy-Filled Retirement.” In this report you will learn:

- The secret that the most successful people in the world use to create financial security for themselves and their loved ones

- Three keys that guarantee your achievement of your plan for a perfect retirement

- Five steps to manifesting the abundant, joy-filled retirement you desire

To receive this report for free, click on the link below:
http://thesecretforretirement.com

A Wonderful New Book – The Greatest Secret of All, by Marc Allen:
Marc Allen has written a powerful new book called The Greatest Secret of All. It is filled with methods that are surprisingly easy to implement that show you how you can use the mental and physical abilities you were born with to create not only wealth and success, but to discover the great secrets to a life of happiness, inner peace, ease, and fulfillment as well. As an internationally renowned author, seminar leader, composer, and entrepreneur -- founder and president of New World Library-- Marc Allen has certainly put the laws of manifestation to work in his own life. To find out more about his new book and to receive lots of great free bonuses with your purchase, click on the link below:
http://greatestsecretofall.com/specialoffer

Media Exposure for Focus on the Good Stuff:
I am so grateful to have been on the Oprah and Friends radio network, featured in Forbes and the Washington Post, and on almost 60 radio and TV stations all over the country talking to people about my book and the importance of appreciation. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you can see me on NBC11’s Bay Area Vista (12/16 at 3:00 PM) and then on NBC11’s The Bay Area Today (12/18 at 11:00 AM). For some recent clips of me on TV, radio, and in print, check out:
http://www.focusonthegoodstuff.com/media.html

Where I’m Speaking:
Below is a list of where I am speaking and traveling for the next few months. Most of these events are for my corporate or organizational clients (i.e. not open to the public). Others of them, in bold text below, are at bookstores and other pubic venues which anyone can attend. If you live in any of these cities, I would love to see you at one of my public events. And, if you know people who live in these places – feel free to let them know I will be in town. Thanks! For more detailed information about the public events, feel free to visit:
http://www.focusonthegoodstuff.com/publicevents.html

12/11/07 – San Francisco, CA

12/13/07 – San Francisco, CA

1/4/08 – Mountain View, CA – public event (East West Books – 7:00 PM)

1/5/08 – Mountain View, CA – public event (East West Books – 1:00 PM)

1/7/08 – Atlanta, GA

1/8/08 – San Ramon, CA

1/14/08 – Tuscaloosa, AL

1/15/08 – Lafayette, CA

1/22/08 – New York, NY – public event (Learning Annex – 6:45 PM)

2/1/08 – Omaha, NE

2/4/08 – Tallahassee, FL – bookstore event – TBD

2/5/08 – Tallahassee, FL

2/12/08 – Sacramento, CA

2/14/08 – San Francisco, CA

2/16/08 – San Francisco, CA

2/21/08 – San Francisco, CA

2/27/08 – San Francisco, CA – public event (Learning Annex – 6:45 PM)

2/28/08 – San Francisco, CA

Again, for more detailed information about my public events, feel free to visit: http://www.focusonthegoodstuff.com/publicevents.html

About Mike Robbins
Mike Robbins is an expert in success, teamwork, and the power of appreciation. As a former professional baseball player and Internet advertising sales executive, as well as a life-long student of personal development, Mike brings a varied and impressive background to the clients with whom he works. Through his keynotes, seminars, writing, and consulting, Mike empowers individuals, teams, and organizations to be more productive, appreciative, and successful. He is the author of the audio program, The Power of Appreciation, a contributing author of Chicken Soup for the Single Parent’s Soul, and the author of the new best selling book, Focus on the Good Stuff (Hardcover, Jossey-Bass/Wiley). Mike has been featured in Forbes, on the Oprah and Friends radio network, and on NBC. He is a member of the National Speakers Association (NSA) and is a Certified Speaking Professional (C SP), NSA’s highest earned designation. Mike lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife Michelle and their young daughter Samantha.

Feel free to contact Mike for more information about his speaking and coaching programs, as well as his books and products.