My Mom was Right

Welcome back to another version of Jared’s One Minute Blog:

Over the last two weeks, we were reminded it’s possible to freeze the entire workforce of the United States.

And there’s more than one way to do it…

It can be done either through a global pandemic or by placing Christmas on a Wednesday. With New Year’s falling on the same day next week, you just killed two weeks.

With that, happy return to work, 2025, for all who celebrate.

During the two-week shutdown, I stayed in San Francisco. While it was nice and quiet in the city, I was quietly losing my mind due to the lack of people and things going on.

Despite not personally celebrating Christmas, I still enjoy spending time with people who observe. I find it more of a collectively festive holiday than a religious one. Nothing wrong with immersing yourself in someone else’s cultural traditions. I was lucky to share a Christmas dinner with my friend Pat and his family.

As I returned home in my Waymo (sick brag, I know), I couldn’t stop thinking about how generous Pat was to invite me to spend such a special holiday with his family. I felt extra thankful.

I’d just listened to a podcast about the power of handwritten letters. Turns out some really successful people—Warren Buffett, Oprah, Taylor Swift, Jesse Itzler—still do it.

I was in a thankful mood. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, opened Amazon, and ordered some stationery and envelopes. I started listing people who had an impact on me in 2024. As the list grew, so did the feeling of gratitude.

The stationery arrived, and I had a list of 32 people I wanted to write notes to. I stayed in on a Friday night and knocked out a dozen handwritten thank-you notes. The next morning, fueled by espresso on an empty stomach post-workout, I cranked out another 20.

The whole thing took 13 hours.

You’re probably thinking, “that’s way too much time.” But here’s a secret: these were supposed to be short and quick—5-7 sentences long. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. Gratitude was pouring out of me more than that one drunk aunt at Christmas dinner.

Honestly, it felt great. When I was growing up, my mom used to tell me to write handwritten thank-you notes. Naturally, I rejected it. But when some random guy on a podcast says he does it, suddenly I’m all in. Funny how that works.

Only a couple of these notes have been received so far, and I’m already seeing how much they mean to people.

Showing gratitude is contagious.

It’s not as hard as you think. Don’t email or text—it’s easy, but a thank-you note goes way further. Trust me. Make a list of 10 people you want to thank for something. Don’t overthink it. It could be as simple as:

• “Thanks for referring me to that role. Out of 5,000 people, you picked me—that’s awesome.”

• “Thanks for hosting that dinner I know you worked so hard to plan. I met some incredible people thanks to you. Of all the people you could’ve invited, thanks for choosing me.”

• “Thanks for your support on ____ project. It wouldn’t be where it is without you.”

If you’ve got 5 minutes, grab a pen and write one note. Just one. You don’t need fancy stationery or perfect words. What matters is taking a moment to say, “Hey, you made a difference in my life.”

Try it. You might be surprised by how you feel after. Let me know how it goes 🙌🏻

You’re Awesome,

Jared

I Dig So You Don’t Have To

1 Set:

2 IDs:

Gentlemen’s Agreement 🤝🏻

If you made it to the bottom of the newsletter last week. You would have caught that I promised to give anyone a shoutout who refers a friend to subscribe. Well, Eric Dalpe didn’t read that part but still got 2 people to subscribe last week. A deal is still a deal. So shout out to you Eric, AKA: Big E - the prolific proof reader.

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