We won’t be deep-frying a turkey this year.

Ah, Thanksgiving. My favorite holiday. Between the much-needed time with family and the 1,001 ways to reinvent turkey leftovers, there’s a lot to love about this late-November ritual. Here are a few things I’ll add to my thankful list this year:

• That More Marketing People Know About Content Strategy Than Don’t– Just two years ago, I was creating new business presentations for my former employer, making the case to our clients that we needed to do more with the content we were creating for them. My audience at the time (most of whom had “marketing” in their title no less) needed a good four or five PowerPoint slides filled with definitions and boxes and arrows just to explain this thing called “content strategy.” Getting buy-in on the importance of content marketing was difficult. Getting money for the work was even harder. It was kind of like telling a hilarious joke to someone, and then needing to explain why it was funny.
  From my perspective, things have changed quite a bit. When introducing Headwaters Content and the work we do nowadays, I can skip a few chapters with many people. Somewhere along the line, this emerging field has gone mainstream and advertising agencies, PR firms, web developers and publishers are all paying attention.
  So, as I contemplate another helping of cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving, I might just give a quick “thank you” that I don’t need those five ugly ass PowerPoint slides anymore.

• America! – There may be good reason to question Uncle Sam’s mojo these days — a $15 trillion debt, a dysfunctional government, that Nancy Grace is still on television — but I am definitely thankful for a country that has entrepreneurialism in its blood. I left my employer of nearly 10 years to start my own business this year, and being able to chase that dream is something I don’t take lightly. 
• Word of Mouth Marketing – Here’s a “hell yes” to the old fashioned way of doing things. Headwaters Content began because several intelligent, friendly and thoughtful professionals were willing to have lunch with me, hear my idea, encourage me to go for it, grant me great advise, and then think of me for new business down the road. SEM never bought anyone a cup of coffee.

• The New Black Keys Video – It’s impossible to watch this and have a negative outlook on life.

• Legos – Has there ever been a better toy invented? So simple, so endless in its possibilities, and so good for young brains. My 20-month-old spends hours per day connecting them, disconnecting them, and increasingly showing off her ever-evolving mind. Yesterday she went into her room, clanked around with the Legos and emerged five minutes later with a perfectly symmetrical four sided-tower. Thanks to the Danish toymaker for reminding me daily that my daughter is always a step ahead of my perceptions of her intelligence.

• The Tablet Hotels website – Branded travel content at its best. This site has inspired me and helped me overcome writer’s block on more than a few occassions.
• These Folks, Whose Insight and Encouragement Helped Headwaters Launch This Year – Hailey Day, Eric Greene, Angela Berardino, Dan Sullivan, Steven McKenzie, Nate Frick, Scott Coe, Peter Webb, Stacey Stegman, Peter Koclanes, Karin Mast, Marv Rockford, R.A. Burrell and most importantly, my entire family.