After spending a day in DC learning about CEB's (now Gartner) latest sales research, I popped over to visit Steve Richard's office, which was just a few blocks away. He's the CEO of ExecVision.io, a new sales coaching app.

Being a nice guy, he asked me how things were going. I told him it'd been a tough year with my husband's death and my aging parents' ongoing health issues. I confessed that work seemed trivial by comparison and that I was struggling to stay focused/motivated. He was a good listener.

.... and then, a couple weeks later, Steve sent me an email with the subject line: Surprise!

It read:

Lori Richardson [President, Score More Sales] and I put something together (with a few others) called a Tribute. Hopefully you'll love watching your tribute as much as your friends loved making it. Sit down for this!

Love, All Your Pals

When I clicked on the link, I was taken to a video montage on the Tribute.co website. (Please check this company out! Their tagline is: The Most Meaningful Gift on Earth.)

Steve kicked off the tribute by saying:

Jill, you have inspired, motivated, entertained, challenged the thinking of so many people in the sales community and we wanted to pull together your friends to honor you. … This tribute is for you. We hope you feel the love.

What followed were 20+ video segments with colleagues I've worked with over the years. Each shared my impact on their lives. I was humbled. I was honored. I was in tears.

Power of Gratitude

After watching it twice, all I could think about was the power of expressing gratitude. As a recipient, it's life-changing. I can attest to that!

Amazingly it's just as transformative for the giver. People who regularly share what they're grateful for are happier. And, aaccording to Shawn Achor, former Harvard professor and author of The Happiness Advantage, being happier makes you better at sales.

Why? Because it elevates your IQ, enhances your creativity, increases your resilience, deepens your relationships and makes you more productive.

Who Can You Give a Tribute To?

This is the real reason I'm sharing this story. Because we all have people in our lives who make a difference to us. People we love and cherish. Many times, they don't even have a clue as to the impact they're making.

Right now, I have one person in mind who I want to create a tribute for. She deserves it. And she'll be blown away by it.

Is there someone who you can impact and make ther day (and life) better by creating a tribute? Perhaps you have a co-worker, a former boss, a parent, a teacher, neighbor or volunteer who you'd like to recognize. But don't just just think about it ... do something!

Start Thinking about How You Can Make Someone's Day

To leave you in the right spirit ... I urge you to take a moment to listen to the song, Happy by Pharrell Williams. It's guaranteed to make your day even better!