Yep. You read that right. I’ve decided to start a blog.

There are several reasons for starting a blog, but in the end, it comes down to sharing good information. Information that can help people. Especially salespeople.

Throughout my sales career, I’ve always been a collector of good information. In my earlier years, I freely shared information that I’d found useful to others and wanted to pay it forward by helping others.

Over the past 10 years, I’ve gotten away from that. I’m not sure if it’s being in corporate America, where everyone is concerned with ladder-climbing and jockeying for position over others, or if it’s from the ultra-secrecy of being in the medical industry.

Regardless, I want to get back to helping people by sharing information they can take and use immediately.

As the year winds down, I find myself reflecting a lot and feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude. I feel extremely grateful and proud of where my family and I are in life and everything we have.

In the craziness of life and its events, it’s easy to focus on the challenges and struggles of life and lose sight of reality and what’s most important.

For this first post, I’d like to share some of the things that are going through my head during this holiday season, especially the things in my life that I’m most grateful for.

1. Jessica

I have the most supportive, devoted, and committed wife I could have ever dreamed of marrying. When life is busy and we have a lot going on, it’s easy for me to get caught up in my “to-do list of life”. I need to force myself to make sure I put my wife and our marriage first, above anything else in this world. There’s no sense in making a bunch of money if you don’t have anyone to share it with. I’m grateful to be married to such a great woman and vow to remind her that daily.

2. Our Kids

Addisen, Parker, and Gage have taught me more about life than I could ever have imagined. I’m proud to be their father and vow to continue enjoying every minute of watching them grow. I know these days will be gone before we know it. We need to soak it up and hope that we don’t screw them up in the process.

3. Our Family & Friends

We are blessed with great parents, grandparents and friends who share the same values and beliefs that we do and who are there whenever we need them. With the busyness of life, I hope we can cherish the time we spend with them.

4. Great Health

I’ve had a family member and a few close friends diagnosed with some serious health issues this year, and people you’d never think would have a single health issue. I’ve been woken up to continue living healthy and staying active, and also to never take my good health for granted.

5. Our beautiful home

We have a nice house, but my wife has turned it into truly a beautiful home with a welcoming, cozy feel to it. I’m grateful to have a great place to live when there are so many who aren’t as fortunate.

6. To live in America

This is a hot button in this country right now, for obvious reasons. Despite the recent turmoil in this country, I still believe America is the best place in the world to live. No other country has the amount of opportunity we have in America, regardless of who our President is.

7. My education, in all forms

The late Jim Rohn used to say, “Formal education will earn you a living. Self education will earn you a fortune.” I’ve been incredibly blessed with both throughout my life, as well as countless mentors who have helped me along the way.

8. My ability to sell

I used to say I was grateful for my job, since that’s the main vehicle that puts food on our table. I am grateful for my job, but I’m even more grateful for the skills I’ve built that make me successful at it. Of those skills, my ability to sell an idea, product, service, or even a job to people, is the #1 skill that has put my family and me where we are today.

9. The Game of Baseball

Being thick-skinned and emotionally level-headed is essential in business and in life. No other activity has taught me that value more than the game of baseball. When the best fail 7 out of 10 times, that builds a lot of humility and emotional toughness.

10. Books

I firmly believe if there’s something you want to learn, someone has written a book on the topic. One of the proudest things for me as a parent is to see our children overachieve their reading goals in school. I know they are laying a foundation that will serve them well throughout their lives.

As we get caught up in end-of-year budgeting, hitting yearly sales quotas, Christmas parties, tree-decorating, and all the melee of the holidays, let’s make sure we take the time to remember all we our grateful for this holiday season.

My family and I are looking forward to a great holiday season and an even better 2017. I hope the same for you and yours.

Bret Barrie was a Hall-of-Fame and Presidents’ Club-winning sales rep and is a top-producing sales leader in the medical device industry. He is also the author of The Selling Edge: How to Reach the Top in any Sales Industry. A baseball enthusiast and fitness junkie, he is happily married with three children and lives in the greater Sacramento area. For more information, visit bretbarrie.com.