For content creators and entrepreneurs who want more meaning, freedom and wealth. Sent to 60k+ every Friday morning.
Share
Gratitude as a Business Advantage
Published 26 days ago • 4 min read
It's Thanksliving, right?
Like you, I saw many friends and family last week over the Thanksgiving holiday in the US.
I kept noticing two very different kinds of people. One group carried a quiet sense of gratitude, even while dealing with real challenges. The other moved through the world convinced everything was falling apart. Same circumstances. Two very different mindsets. It made me think about the role gratitude plays in how we show up, what we build, and how far we go.
Well, I did some research on this topic and had literally NO idea how linked gratitude is to real success (hint...it's significant). I also made a prescriptive list of "to-do's" so the article would be truly helpful for you.
Enjoy!
JP
P.S.: This newsletter is ad free because of a generous contribution from Lulu.Three years from now, the most profitable creators will be the ones who have direct audiences. A physical book helps you do that. If this thought resonates with you, Lulu will help.
Welcome to The Tilt — actionable ideas every Friday to help you create with purpose, own your freedom, and grow real wealth.
Ann Handley calls my latest book "the manifesto every frustrated employee and aspiring entrepreneur needs. Stop playing someone else's game and start building something that truly matters." Order it today and get my four worksheets as a bonus.
On Monday my wife and I had a wonderful lunch with my parents. Before we left this incredible little Asian restaurant in Sandusky, Ohio, I asked my dad what I should write about this week for the newsletter. He said, “you should write about what a great time you had at lunch with your parents.” I said, “that is a really good idea Dad.”
If you read last week’s newsletter, you know that my father has Alzheimer’s disease. Even though he is almost always in a good mood, he has good days and bad days. On the good days he is great with social cues and stays involved in the conversation. On the bad days he asks the same question over and over again in just a few minutes.
Regardless, I am thankful to spend time with him.
A few months ago I was complaining about my dad’s issues to a close friend of mine. After a few minutes she simply said, “at least he is still in your life.” Her father passed away over a decade ago, so the comment hit hard.
Over Thanksgiving week I spoke with two camps of people. The first camp was grateful. They had a deep appreciation for the gifts they have been given and, in general, understood that they hit the life lottery. Many of them were dealing with health issues in and around their families, yet the gratitude was still there.
The second camp I will call the complainers. Life, to them, was going to hell in a hand basket. Nothing was going right. Everything felt unfair and out of control. Same world. Two very different responses to it.
Gratitude the Advantage
Most people think gratitude is soft. A nice idea. Something you practice when life is already going well. But the research tells a different story. When scientists have tested the difference between grateful people and complaining people, the gap is enormous. And it has nothing to do with luck or circumstance. It has everything to do with what you choose to notice each week.
A study by Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough divided participants into three groups. The first group listed a few things they were grateful for at the end of each week. The second group listed their hassles and irritations. The third group listed neutral events. Everything else in their lives stayed exactly the same. Same jobs. Same stress. Same responsibilities. The only difference was where they directed their attention.
By the end of the study, the gratitude group had pulled ahead in every way that mattered. They felt more optimistic. They slept better. They reported fewer physical symptoms. They even exercised more without being told to. Most interesting to me, they made more progress toward their most important personal goals. The hassles group, the people who rehearsed their complaints, did noticeably worse on those same measures.
This is why I say gratitude is a competitive advantage. Not because it makes life easy. It simply gives you back the energy you lose when you fixate on everything that is broken or unfair. Complaining drains you. Gratitude fuels you. Same life. Different lens. Very different outcomes.
If we want to build something meaningful in the next few years, this is the habit worth practicing. It will not eliminate problems, but it will put you in the best position to face them with clarity, resilience, and momentum.
The Gratitude Checklist
Here are simple, practical, low-friction ways to build a daily or weekly gratitude habit. These do not require journals, routines, or big life changes. They are small shifts that compound quickly.
Daily
• List three things that went right today. • Reframe one complaint into something that is still working. • Thank one person out loud for something specific. • Use a small routine as a gratitude trigger, like brushing your teeth or waiting for coffee.
Weekly
• Send one short note to someone who made a difference for you. • Celebrate one tiny win you would normally overlook. • Write down one lesson you learned from something hard.
When life gets tough
• Ask yourself, “What can I still control?” • Find one part of the situation that can make you better. • Notice one physical ability you still have and appreciate it.
Practicing just a few of these can make you a happier person. It can also improve your business outcomes. Gratitude helps you think more clearly, recover faster, and build stronger relationships. Those are advantages any creator or entrepreneur can use.
What's worth your time...
Protect Yourself from AI. I sat down with the team at Content Byte to talk about AI survival. A fun and frank conversation. Worth your time. Take a listen here.
Your 2026 Book List. Ann Gynn (former editor of this newsletter) put together a great list of 37 books for marketers and creators to read for the next year.
Google Takes the Lead. OpenAI (ChatGPT) may be getting lapped by Google's AI strategy. Who knew? Check it out here.
Content Inc. Podcast
Need help reaching your next goal? Try a Misogi quarter. It's a can't miss strategy IMO.
Until next Friday, keep building something that matters.
JP (Joe Pulizzi)
Forwarded this email? Sign up here. Share The Tilt Newsletter with other content creators. Your unique link: https://www.thetilt.com?rh_ref=[RH_CODE GOES HERE]
Crystal Ball Time My wife loves it when I do my predictions every year because she says being wrong about something is good for my ego. In this case, she's probably right. Still, I do this exercise for a reason. The goal isn’t to predict technology. It’s to think through how people behave once the technology becomes unavoidable. This year, my predictions are different. Instead of “more, more, more,” the word I keep coming back to for 2026 is constraint. Just go with me here. And I’d love to...
I'm the Problem, It's Me I've been thinking about that line a lot lately. Not in a dramatic way. In a quiet, uncomfortable way. My wife and I have been talking about a few things we keep doing that we no longer want to do. Things that have been with us long enough to feel permanent. What got me was a comment I made. I said "I have to go do this" when I was leaving the house.First...the wording was all wrong. I "get" to do it. And if I don't "get" to do it, why am I doing this in the first...
A different kind of talk... For those of you in the US, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. While traveling last week, I gave a keynote that was very different from my usual marketing talks. It was more personal and, in many ways, more important than anything else we are facing right now as creators. I go through that speech in detail...but the core is about dealing with change. Seems like a lot of that is going around. I'm approaching it as an opportunity. I hope you go into the holidays...
