SHOUTING OUT 02: Gratitude
In this entry of Shouting Out, Shout PR founder Erika Klein discusses gratitude and the role it plays in her everyday life.
with the holiday season in full swing, shout pr founder erika klein reflects on gratitude.
Having run Shout PR for over 23 years, I can tell you the industry and lifestyle has changed so much. Everything’s so much faster, and you always have to be “on.” There are a lot of other companies out there, other agencies that we compete with, and why do people want to work with us, why do they come to Shout? Well, because we are available and we are really good at communicating, and – on the topic of gratitude – we are grateful to the clients that we work with, the new ones, the ones that have been with us for a long time and the ones that come back to us too. We’re super appreciative of them and we always want to do the best job we can for them.
Another huge thing I’m grateful for, professionally, is the team of women that I work with. We wouldn’t be able to achieve our successes without each other. We all work hard, we all know when to come in, jump in on something, and I’m so grateful for that too. I always try to say thank you or let someone know I appreciate them, because when someone works hard, or spends extra time and really puts in the effort, they want to know that it means something. Everybody wants to be recognized for that, more than anything. I know how difficult and exhausting things can get, and I’ll get in there, just like everybody else. I’m never going to not get my hands dirty. There’s never going be a point when I say or act like I can’t do something because I’m “the boss.” That’s never going to be my mentality, ever. If people are working late, I’m going to be there too.
On the more personal side of things, this past October, I was helping a client with a breast cancer awareness campaign, and we were working with recipients of support and services from a wonderful non-profit that helps women and their families during treatment, and all 3 of the women had stories of how they had ignored signs, or doctors had ignored signs, of their health changing, and now they’re all being treated for Stage 4 cancer. It made me reflect on how, I really need to be proactive for myself. Working with those women really made me stop and think about life and how short it is, and how important it is for us all to take care of ourselves. I’m also so thankful I got to be a part of that campaign and do something to help those women, and hopefully help reach women like them out there.
The truth is—I work a lot. I work long hours, so I’m incredibly grateful to my family for understanding that. I recognize that sometimes it’s hard to be forgiving of me, especially if I’m not there for something, or I’m late for something important to my daughter or husband. I understand how and why that’s frustrating to them, and even though I know that they understand, I don’t want to take their understanding for granted. So I am sure to tell them how thankful I am, as much as I can—not just at this special time of year.