Extend Your Reach! A Newsletter for Acceleration, Issue No. 38

Welcome to Extend Your Reach! A newsletter designed to bring you the best tips, tricks, and resources to help you grow and succeed in both your personal and professional life. In this newsletter, we will be highlighting five different areas of focus to help you extend your reach and accelerate your growth.

NOTE: To link to the recommendations you just need to click the images.

A Book You Should Read - Astoria by Peter Stark. Astoria is the thrilling, true-adventure tale of the 1810 Astor Expedition, an epic, now forgotten, three-year journey to forge an American empire on the Pacific Coast. Peter Stark offers a harrowing saga in which a band of explorers battled nature, starvation, and madness to establish the first American settlement in the Pacific Northwest and opened up what would become the Oregon trail, permanently altering the nation's landscape and its global standing. This book was awesome and I can’t believe that I’d never heard of it before.

A Small Business You Should Support - Three Feather Studios. Native American artist Jeremy Salazar is a contemporary painter based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He specializes in vibrant acrylic portraitures with a combination of abstraction and realism. Having been born and raised on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico, Jeremy has never received any formal art training and is consequently a self-taught artist. Yet his humble upbringing on the reservation has helped shaped his artistic paradigm and purpose for art. Using a bold and vibrant color palette in every painting, Jeremy has come on scene as a promising emerging artist. Making both a statement of reclaiming authentic native artwork done by native hands and also painted stories of color and faces of the Native American people.?If you’re into southwestern style Native American art then this is a place to check out.

A Person You Should Follow on LinkedIn - Scott Duncan. Since transitioning from the Marine Corps in 2012, he has successfully concentrated energy and commitment to workforce development strategies in support of transitioning military service members and veterans. Those outcomes have led to their successful transition, recruitment and employment into the civilian workforce. Over time, his advocacy for those who served) has become his passion - it's his WHY. He’s committed to helping others by shining a light on the path to a better life...helping people discover --> What's Next-Beyond Service.

Even if you’re not a veteran, give him a follow. Great content.

A Podcast You Should Listen To - A great podcast that explores themes of gratitude and thankfulness is "The Gratitude Diaries" hosted by Janice Kaplan. This podcast is based on Kaplan's book The Gratitude Diaries, where she explores the science and personal stories behind the practice of gratitude. It’s a thoughtful, positive, and uplifting listen that can help you reflect on the power of gratitude in everyday life.

If you're looking for something a bit more diverse in perspective, "The Happiness Lab" by Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos also delves into gratitude as part of the broader topic of well-being. While it's not exclusively about thankfulness, it often covers research-backed strategies for increasing happiness, including practicing gratitude.

Both podcasts are great if you're interested in cultivating more thankfulness in your life!

A Verse From the Bible -? Finally, let’s get to the best part of this newsletter and the Lord’s word.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

This verse encourages believers to be thankful in every situation, regardless of challenges or hardships. It emphasizes that gratitude is part of God's will for those who follow Christ, highlighting the importance of maintaining a thankful heart even when circumstances are difficult. The verse reminds Christians that gratitude aligns with God's plan for their lives and reflects trust in His sovereignty.

All in all, I hope by looking into one or all of these five areas of your life, you can extend your reach and accelerate your personal and professional growth. I hope this newsletter has been helpful and I look forward to sharing more with you next time!