Message from the CEO - Gratitude

Hello FinGym Family!!

This week we celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S. When I was younger, Thanksgiving was all about food and family. As I got older, it became about food and family drama, then it became about preparing the food and hosting the family drama. This year, as I reflect on Thanksgiving, the only word that comes to me is gratitude. This is truly the only holiday that is focused on gratitude, so much so that it’s in the name of the holiday “giving thanks.” 

Gratitude is an important word in The Financial Gym culture. In early 2018, I went into an emotionally dark place for a few months. At one point, I literally said to myself words that I thought I’d never say, “I don’t want to be the boss anymore.” It seemed like everything was going wrong and this dream that I wished so hard to become a reality was feeling like nothing but a nightmare. I tried a number of things to get back into an emotionally better place; and for me, the best cure was a Gratitude Journal. 

The journal forced me to write five things everyday that I was grateful for. There were days that the five things freely flowed from my brain and days where I struggled to complete the list. The more I practiced this, though, the easier I found gratitude to flow and it literally saved me from myself. Gratitude is definitely the best attitude in my opinion.  

Not long after this, my CEO mentor, Melanie Whelan, shared with me how she starts her team meetings with a moment for gratitude. I instantly “stole” this idea. After all, gratitude saved me, why shouldn’t I encourage my team to do it more? And since then, every team meeting at the The Financial Gym starts with a moment of gratitude. I don’t know what my team thinks about, but in those moments, I always hope that no matter how bad their day or week might be, that they have a brief moment of joy in their gratitude. 

So what am I grateful for this Thanksgiving holiday? A number of things, but the main thing is my team. As I reflected on what I wanted to write, all I could think about was my team. The Financial Gym started as my dream, and six years later, I feel so fortunate to share this dream with 43 other people. I always knew I would need to find others to make my dream a reality; and I’m beyond grateful for the team that I’ve found to do it. Each and every one of them is special and contributes something unique to the business. 

Three years ago I started hiring people to build this company with me; and over the past three years, I have laughed the hardest I’ve ever laughed with them, I’ve cried the hardest I’ve ever cried with them, I’ve worked late nights, traveled thousands of miles, eaten hundreds of lunches, had thousands of conversations, made hundreds of mistakes, received and gave countless hugs, argued with, danced with, karaoked with, and have grown into a leader around this team. As most founders experience, I have little life outside of the company I’ve created, but I couldn’t imagine a better life than the one I’m living, surrounded by the amazing human beings that I have the great fortune to be surrounded by every single day. 

For anyone who is traveling this week, I wish you safe and happy travels. I hope that you enjoy the people you’re surrounded with on Thanksgiving, and that you take time to practice gratitude this week. No matter how hard it is, there’s always a way to find at least 5 things to be grateful for. This Thanksgiving week, my list includes, my team, my 13-year-old son Will, my family (drama and all), business opportunities and you for supporting, encouraging and cheering my team on in the various ways that you do. Happy Thanksgiving and remember to keep your Black Friday and Cyber Monday spending under control and preferably within budget. 

Warmly,

Shannon McLay

Founder and CEO of The Financial Gym