Something I believe:

Happiness isn’t something that “just happens” to us.

It’s a way of being. Something we can step into when we get dressed in the morning. Almost like a power suit that we don through deliberate action.

What kind of action?

One of the best ways I know is to express gratitude.

Even just the simple act of sending a card or gift to someone, and showing that you’re thinking of them — it spreads ripples of kindness and joy, ripples that, in my experience, can often come back to you multiplied.

I know this might sound somewhat “woo woo”.

(Even for me, the hypnotist who wakes people up.)

But it’s true.

Anyway, with this in mind — below are five of my favorite “excuses” for sending cards and gifts to people, especially prospects and clients.

(Now that we’re all stuck indoors because of the shutdown, you can bet that I’ll be sending even more cards and gifts to my personal contacts. Thanks to online services like Banner Season — and others that I’ll tell you about some other time — it’s possible to send these out at the click of a few buttons.)

Here they are:

1. Congratulate them on a book launch, product launch, anniversary, etc. Don’t just send a card, though. Do what my friend Jim did to me, and print a card and envelope that has a photo of the thing you’re congratulating them for — i.e. the new product, new book, or whatever.
2. Birthdays. Be creative. For example, if they like golf, send them a pack of custom-printed golf balls with a photo of your smiling mug for them to hit.
3. Thank you gifts. Lots of people send notes. Go a step further.
4. Obscure and unknown holidays. I love this one. HolidayInsights.com is great for this. Almost every day of the year has at least 3-4 holidays. (Do you know anyone who loves wearing tweed? April 3rd is, apparently, Tweed Day. And April 5th is officially “Go For Broke” day — a day for your prospect to take a chance and hire you? You can never run out of great ideas!)
5. “Just thinking of you.” This works best with someone you already know, and are friends with on Facebook. Look for a photo of them and their dog, or cat, or even their car. Whatever their pride and joy is. Send a card with that photo on the envelope and card. Oh — and if you’re trying to grab the attention of someone you’ve never met, like a powerful business person who’s insulated by a team of guard dogs, send them a personal card! Guaranteed to get past the gatekeeper.

That should keep you busy for a while.

You can send one of these gifts out for less than $20.

Not only will it make you feel happier, you might also open a few doors too. And isn’t that a great way to make the most out of this shutdown?