January 2, 2008

Hi Gang:

And Happy New Year!

As 2008 slips into our lives and we make resolutions to do this or not to do that in the coming months, I want to share something with you that has helped put it all into perspective for me. It came in a holiday letter from a dear and special friend of mine.

She wrote, “When I was a student at Brown Institute of Broadcasting in Minneapolis, I was working a nighttime job at a radio station in St. Paul.

“I was eager to do a good job, of course, and I never really thought too much about it when one of the DJ’s regularly spent a few minutes every night visiting in my office. I remember vividly him sliding back in his chair and putting his boots up on my desk while he proceeded to politely talk with me every night. And quite honestly, I never felt like it was anything out of the ordinary.

“I was doing my job. And he was doing his…or so I thought.

“Years later, after I came to Nashville and learned more about the country music industry, I was astonished to discover that the guy who had been so nice to me was the phenomenal Dave Dudley.

“I took him for granted. And never even said thanks. Not then. Not ever.

“So today…as I close the books on 2007…I am thinking about the people who have gently impressed me with their special “boots on the desk” type of kindness throughout my career, and I urge you to pull out your pen, crank up your computer, or get on the phone to say THANKS to those people in your life who have given you that extra special gift of their time. (Especially when you weren’t really looking or listening!)

They don’t need to be celebrities. They only need to hear you…before it’s too late…before some country song on the radio makes you wish you had said, ‘Thank you. I sincerely do appreciate what you have added to my life’.”

Need I say more?

Read Bill's Archived Letters here