Get Your Gratitude On!

Gratitude is a critical component of financial contentment.

This week on Crazy Money, I interview four-time New York Times best-seller and Esquire's Editor-at-large, A.J. Jacobs about his new book, Thanks A Thousand (link to chat in bio) in which he chronicles his mission to thank a thousand people related to the production and delivery of his morning cup of coffee.

Taking a page from his book (almost literally), here is my list of 50 things for which I am grateful (non-exhaustive and in no particular order, after about the first five) from my recent 50th birthday post on some other social network.

1. I am grateful to be alive.

2. I am grateful for my health.

3. I am grateful for my wife and children.

4. I am (even more) grateful for their health.

5. I am grateful to the doctors, nurses and other medical support staff who take good care of us.

6. I am grateful to my wife for her deliberate love, unfailing support of my creative efforts, and tolerance of my not-sleep-apnea-but-still-horrendous snoring.

7. I am grateful to my parents who dedicated their lives to raising good children.

8. I am grateful to my brothers and sisters, all of whom have shared—and continue to share—in the physical care and emotional sustenance of our parents.

9. I am grateful for clean air, pure water and a plentiful supply of food.

10. I am grateful to live in the United States of America, which—for all its faults—remains a glorious effort to provide its citizens self-determination and a say in their own government.

11. I am grateful to the men and women who have fought and died to protect freedom.

12. I am grateful to the men and women here and abroad who have fought to establish and extend liberty and justice to all.

13. I am grateful for the free press, even if provides a platform to Sean Hannity, Kanye West, and the Real Housewives.

14. I am grateful to have the financial wherewithal to raise my children while pursuing a life as an artist. (yes, “artist”)

15. I am grateful to LAUNCH.com, #Yahoo! , and #Facebook for giving me the opportunity to earn a living, to grow as a professional, and to work with some of the greatest colleagues anyone could ever have.

16. I am grateful for a large and vibrant group of friends who have loved me, protected me, advised me, and in general made me a better person.

17. I am grateful to the #comedy bookers, show-runners and club owners who permit me to get better at my craft on their shows and stages.

18. I am grateful for the Calm app and #meditation, which may be the best thing to come into my life in the past twelve months.

19. I am grateful for the people who make the Olly Nutrition Kids Protein shake that nourishes my picky daughter every morning.

20. I am grateful to Yuval Noah Harari for Sapiens, to Ron Chernow for Alexander Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton!) and to Jim Gaffigan for King Baby to which my son and I listen when it’s just him and me in the car.

21. I am grateful for 'Weird Al' Yankovic whose hilarious song parodies make my children and me laugh out loud all through the season.

22. I am grateful to Ben Affleck. Aww, do I even need a reason?

23. I am grateful to the teachers and staff at The Schenck School who are unparalleled in their dedication to children with #dyslexia.

24. I am grateful to everyone at The Galloway School for encouraging my son to be himself as he discovers just who that is.

25. I am grateful to the schools that educated me: St. Jude the Apostle Grade School, St. Pius X High School, Rhodes College and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and to the generous donors who helped pay the bills.

26. I am grateful to the teachers, administrators and service workers from all of those schools. Sorry for talking back and for writing on the desks.

27. I am grateful to the authors and journalists whose books and articles have challenged my thinking, opened my mind, or pissed me off.

28. I am grateful to the nannies and babysitters who have taken care of our children for nine+ years.

29. I am grateful to the housekeeper, yard guys, plumbers, and everyone who helps take care of our home.

30. I am grateful to the organizations that employed my parents, enabling them to pay for my shelter, education and twenty+ years of Tostinos Pizza Rolls, Big Six cookies, and smelly sneakers.

31. I am grateful to my friends who listen to my jokes and listen to / share my podcast, Crazy Money (available on iTunes, Spotify an Stitcher, for which I am also grateful).

32. I am grateful to the guests who offered their time to be on my podcast, Dr. Drew, Ed Roland, Anna David, Ron Lieber, Turney Duff, Jean Chatzky, Alfred Lubrano, Chanel Reynolds, Mike Carano, Jessica Mah, Brendan O'Connell, Yancey Spruill, Susan Nicholas, and my dad.

33. I am grateful to the Buckhead Lions Club, which invited Stacey and me to share the good news of Year Up Greater Atlanta at last month's meeting.

34. I am grateful to Moby, Zero 7, Thievery Corporation, and Air, whose music is playing as I write this list and never fails to soothe my busy brain.

35. I am grateful for Journey (with Steve Perry), REO Speedwagon, R.E.M., Save a Prayer, Ten Years Gone, Rattlesnakes, The Final Cut, Trip Through Your Wires, I Want It That Way, and Call Me D-Nice.

36. I am grateful for the laughs provided by Dennis Miller, Gary Gulman, Dave Chappelle, Jim Jefferies, Ricky Gervais, Chris Rock, Norm Macdonald, Dave Attell, and Joe Matarese for his laughs and help.

37. I am grateful for wi-fi.

38. I am grateful for my in-laws (Steve and Sue) who tolerate me when I am grumpy, hold their tongues when I am wrong, and take care of our kids when we travel to exotic locations.

39. I am grateful to Raymond Jackson who helps me stay strong while he gets the words, but never the names, of the artists wrong, while we work out in the dojo.

40. I am grateful to Mike Carano who pushes me to get better and extend myself creatively.

41. I am grateful to Jesse Dwyer for his generous efforts to help me become a better writer (you owe me an email).

42. I am grateful to the people who made these Beats by Dre X Bluetooth headphones without which I would have trouble living.

43. I am grateful for the mistakes I’ve made that haven’t killed me.

44. (speaking of which) I am grateful for the relationships that didn’t work out but made me smarter, stronger and more emotionally aware. (tags and awkward emojis omitted intentionally...Thank you. And, sorry :- ))

45. I am grateful for pollen, even though it makes me sneeze and sullies my otherwise sexy automobile.

46. I am grateful for almond milk, coffee, and red wine (not all together, and certainly not in that order).

47. I am grateful to the workers who put the coffee in the bag, the wine in the bottle, and the lotion in the basket.

48. I am grateful to Mike Nichols, Oliver Stone, and Francis Ford Coppola for directing my favorite movies. And for the writers, actors, crew who helped bring their vision to life.

49. I am grateful to Delta Airlines for taking me to work and on vacation, and to all the Uber and Lyft drivers for getting me to/fro the airport.

50. I am grateful for all the honest professional coaching I’ve received over the years, including:

• “consider keeping your mouth shut,” 
• “everyone can see you picking your nose in your cubicle,” and...
• “the next time you come in here, know what you want.”