E767 | A Thanksgiving Message

Gratitude, Presence, and Perspective: Lessons for Thanksgiving and Beyond

Thanksgiving is a time for reflection, family, and gratitude—a day to pause and appreciate what we have. Yet, for many of us, especially entrepreneurs and go-getters, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and forget to be present. In this post, I want to share some thoughts on the importance of gratitude, being present, and embracing the progress you’ve made, not just in business but in life.

The Challenge of Being Present

As business owners, it’s easy to let work consume our thoughts. Even on holidays like Thanksgiving, when we’re surrounded by family, our minds can drift to tasks left undone, goals we haven’t reached, or the next big idea. I’ve been there. For years, I struggled with fully enjoying moments like Thanksgiving because I couldn’t turn off the mental chatter about work.

But here’s the thing: your business isn’t the most important thing in your life. It’s easy to lose sight of that when ambition drives you, but days like today remind us to refocus on the people we’re working so hard for—our family, friends, and loved ones.

Small Gestures Make a Big Impact

This Thanksgiving, I was reminded of the power of small acts of kindness. During a Ruck March with friends, we followed up with breakfast at Waffle House, where we each left a generous tip for our server. The look of gratitude on her face was a powerful reminder that little things can have a big impact.

Having financial freedom is great, but the true joy of wealth comes from using it to make a difference, even in small ways. Whether it’s leaving a larger tip, helping someone in need, or simply being kind, these moments add richness to your life and the lives of others.

Reflecting on Progress

Many of us are constantly striving for the next milestone, whether it’s in business, fitness, relationships, or personal growth. While ambition is a good thing, it’s equally important to pause and reflect on how far you’ve come.

Take a moment today to consider the progress you’ve made. Maybe it’s in your career, your relationships, or your health. Celebrate those wins, no matter how small they seem. Gratitude isn’t about being complacent—it’s about being content while continuing to strive for more.

Contentment vs. Complacency

Being content doesn’t mean giving up on your goals. It means appreciating the present moment while maintaining the drive to grow. Complacency, on the other hand, is settling for less than your potential. Most ambitious people will never face complacency as a real threat, but we do struggle with being present. That’s the challenge: to find joy in the here and now while still working toward the future.

Live Generously

Gratitude and perspective go hand in hand. When you recognize how fortunate you are, it’s easier to share your time, resources, and kindness with others. Living generously isn’t about grand gestures; it’s about small, meaningful acts that ripple outward, creating a better world.

A Thanksgiving Challenge

Today, take some time to:

• Be fully present with the people you care about.
• Reflect on the progress you’ve made this year.
• Think of one small way you can make someone else’s day better.

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Podcast Transcript

 Danny: You can be content. You can be happy. You can feel good about that. And it doesn't, you don't sacrifice the desire and drive that you probably have to move forward and into the next thing. Hey, are you a physical therapist looking to leverage your skillset in a way that helps you create time and financial freedom for yourself and your family?

If so, you're in the right spot. My name is Danny Matta and over the last 15 years, I've done pretty much everything you can in the profession. I've been a staff PT, I've been an active duty military officer, physical therapist. I've started my own cash practice. I've sold that cash practice. And today my company, physical therapy business helped over a thousand clinicians start growing scale, their own cash practices.

So if this sounds like something you want to do, listen up, cause I'm here to help you. Going on. Dr. Danny here with the PGI and today's Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving. I hope that, uh, you are enjoying the day. with your friends and family enjoying turkey football, maybe three to four different variations of pies.

Uh, and, and generally just enjoying time around friends and family. Um, you know, for me, this is something that, uh, today, at least on this podcast, I wanted to take the time and, um. You know, just talk a little bit about, uh, nothing tactical in business, nothing, uh, specific about how you can, whatever, improve your cash based practice, but, but really ultimately the significance of the day.

And whenever you're listening to this, uh, that you should keep in mind the fact that business is not the only thing, you know, uh, business is something that Is, uh, is a fun game. It is a great way to generate potentially, you know, uh, life changing time and financial freedom for yourself and your family, but it's also something that's like easily, uh, it easily traps you and consumes your attention and it doesn't allow you to, uh, be present around the other people around you that are watching you.

You know, you say you're doing these things for right that you are, uh, working so hard for, as you tell yourself that whenever you, you know, are, are, um, uh, putting in a ton of hours trying to start something. And for me, I know I struggled quite a bit for years with just being present. Um, around friends and family, you know, a day like Thanksgiving for me was, it just was a nuisance.

It was a day that I couldn't do something a day that I couldn't, you know, get a task done or make, make a positive, uh, improvement in the business somehow, or the next step or whatever it might be. And, um, I just couldn't even enjoy it. I couldn't, uh, I couldn't stop kind of thinking about my business and the things I needed to do and what I was trying to accomplish, uh, at the detriment of presence, right.

Of being there physically, you're there, but mentally you need to be there too. And the only way you can do that is really to be able to realize that, that the business is not that important, right? It's not your, your business is not. The most important thing in your life. I can feel like that many times.

Uh, and, um, you know, and, and it can consume your thoughts. It consumes your time. It consumes your effort. Um, but on a day like today, you know, being able to really take a step back and be thankful for where you're at, I think is really important, you know, and, and something you can do and, uh, something that I try to do every time that there's an important holiday that comes up, or maybe it's a birthday or, um, You know, uh, a trip that we might get a chance to take is really just reflect on, you know, how thankful I am for the opportunities that, uh, you know, that, that I have, uh, that I've, uh, had a chance to, to, uh, you know, actually work on to, um, take a chance on myself and, and, and a lot of people, you know, They may not be in the same place to build, to do so, and to have perspective for that.

You know, I'll, I'll give you a good example today. I'm recording. This is actually not Thanksgiving. It's the day before Thanksgiving, but, uh, on Wednesdays I have a, I have a group that I rock march with. So we, uh, put some weight in backpacks. We go for about four miles. I think it's about an hour to go around the neighborhood, uh, you know, and this morning we had six people come out to rock and four of us then went to Waffle House afterwards, which is, uh, that is usually doesn't happen, but my friend has a tradition where, uh, The day before Thanksgiving, he goes to Waffle House and you know, you'll get him, your breakfast is like 10 bucks or whatever it's, it's not, um, it's not incredibly expensive to go to Waffle House.

Uh, but then, you know, leave the, uh, the waitress a 50 tip. You know, on, on that. So we all did that. And what was, what is, is fun is obviously, right? Like this, there was four of us that went and this waitress, she made like 200, uh, off of a 40, uh, tab that we had. And, you know, for her, it's just like to see her just like be so surprised and thankful for this, you know, a hundred bucks or whatever that, uh, you know, 100 is probably not going to change most people's lives that are listening to this right now.

But for somebody that's working at, you know, um, uh, waffle house and, uh, you know, it's probably going to be there on Thanksgiving, probably gonna be there on Christmas. And, you know, like it's a meaningful thing to them, right. It's a, it is a, a positive thing. It's, it's a, it's something that is a little thing you can do, obviously, like that, that allows you to.

Make a improvement in somebody else's life, which is frankly all that having money, uh, one of the most important things is having money actually lets anybody do, you know, time and financial freedom is, is great. Um, but being able to make other people's lives better is, is, is. Even better, honestly. And it can be little things like that, right?

So you can take the time, uh, as you listen to this today, whenever, whatever day it is, and it's cliche. I think you sit there, you're like, Oh, it's Thanksgiving. What, what are you thankful for? Right? This is not necessarily just one day a year. You should be thinking about this stuff. The more you can keep this present in terms of what you are thankful for and the progress that you've made.

And this, this is where I think many of us get, get really challenged. Is we are constantly trying to do more, trying to get to the next thing. We're trying to make progress in whatever area. And we lose, we lose sight of how far we've actually come in the process and being able to take. You know, I guess like ownership and stock of where you're at and how far you've actually come.

That's a really powerful thing that allows you to really feel much more at ease with, um, the, you know, the, the maybe lack of progress you feel you've made, but the actual true progress you've made can be pretty significant when you really think about it. And it doesn't have to be just your business either.

It could be your personal life. It could be your relationships. It could be, um, you know, health. All these other areas that are just so important, right? So if you're listening to this, think about that. Think about where you're at. Think about the progress you've made and honestly, just be really thankful for that.

I'm not saying it to be complacent by any means, because there's a big difference between being content and being complacent. You can be content with where, where you're at while still trying to progress to achieve more, to do these other things. Um, So you can be content, you can be happy, you can, you can, you can feel good about that.

And it doesn't, you don't sacrifice the desire and drive that you probably have to move forward and into the next thing. Um, you know, so you, you can be content without being complacent. Complacent would obviously be something that many of you probably will never, ever have and get to that point. Um, so your, your challenge is probably presence, right?

It's being content, is being happy, is being able to sit and be still. And, and enjoy the people around you that maybe that's like way easier for them to do. Uh, because if you're, if you're a go getter, right, if you're, if you're a, uh, achiever, like you, that's what you do. And being, um, right, relaxing sometimes is hard.

So that's all I have for you today. Enjoy the day, you know, enjoy the time with your family. Uh, think about the accomplishments that you have. Think about the things that you're proud of. Think about the things you're thankful for, make somebody else's, you know, life better, even in the smallest way. Uh, and, uh, with, with the, um, you know, resources that you have with the, the, the abilities that you have, like little things like that, I think they go a long way and they really help us put in perspective, uh, how fortunate we really are.

And that's the key, I think, you know, really perspective of where you're at and being thankful for that. Um, You know, allows you to, uh, to live a very generous life. And, uh, I think ultimately that's what most of us really, really, really, uh, we want in the end. Uh, you just have to make sure that you're present enough to enjoy it.

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