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Carol, my producer, said her Thanksgiving was great, and that she enjoys it more than Christmas because there\u2019s no gift buying. She said the hardest part of gift buying is getting something for the person who has everything.

Well today we\u2019re going to talk about that, and hopefully solve that problem for Carol and our listeners. Today\u2019s episode is about giving a gift that you can\u2019t buy online, or in any store. And it starts with a story about a gift given to me years ago.

Bullet point outline of today\u2019s show.

• My wife Janet watching TV one evening, while I was working in my office
• I walked into our TV room. Another one of those never-ending Hollywood Award shows about someone getting a lifetime achievement award.
• I then said, while walking out of the room, \u201cI think everyone should get a lifetime achievement award at some time in their life.\u201d
• While I soon forgot what I said, Janet did not. She was listening to me. Little did I know her listening skills started her creative juices flowing to take my throw away comment \u201cI think everyone should get a lifetime achievement award,\u201d and turn it into something.
• I discovered several months later what a good listener she was, when for my birthday, she and my son and daughter, and their spouses, presented me with a Lifetime Achievement award.
• It looks like this:

16 x 13 inch horizontal frame - matted with a 7and \xbd x10\u201d sheet of paper

The top of which reads \u201cOn this day in history (my birthday) in 1999 John Michael Certalic is hereby awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for attaining the following accomplishments:\u201d

List of 30 \u201caccomplishments\u201d all inside family stuff, some serious, mostly funny. There\u2019s a family story behind each one. Here are a few of them:

Most Courageous Piano Student, 1982
Best Franklin Little League Dad, 1980\u2019s
Best source of late-night after travel pizza - 1988-94
Parent of the Year - Grace College - 1991
Best speech given by father at daughter\u2019s wedding - 1993
Best father-in-law, 1993-1997
Most organized home office - honorable mention - 1998
Home of the best travel destination for birds - 1990\u2019s
Most sensitive to the thirst level of UPS man - 1998-99
Blizzard-Driving Safety certification - 1999
Faithful supplier of dumping flowers - 1990-91

\u201cAnd most importantly\u2026Boy could that man dance!

You can do this too. You can give a \u201cLifetime Achievement Award\u201d to important people in your life

Results a listener will experience when he/she implements the solution

Here are 7 results you\u2019ll experience when you give a Lifetime Achievement award to someone who has everything - and to someone who has nothing

1. You will save money. Lifetime achievement awards costs very little money, if any at all. You can print it from a template on your word processor.
2. Your family, or mutual friends, will be brought close together, as you ask \u201cWhat are some serious and funny things we can give our friend an award for?\u201d
3. You\u2019ll become a better listener and observer of the important people in your life, as you think about what to note in your award
4. You will connect on a deeper level with recipients whose love languages are words of affirmation - gifts - acts of service. That\u2019s 3 of the 5 love languages right there in one gift (physical touch and quality time being the missing two). It will be especially meaningful to these kinds of people
5. You\u2019ll create a historic record of a several points in time about a relationship. It can become an heirloom
6. You\u2019ll have a lot of fun doing this,
7. It can repeated. You can give a Lifetime Achievement Award many times for many things.

Show summary in a sentence, the \u201cThe Big Idea\u201d of today\u2019s program.

One way of transforming a relationship into the best it can be is by doing what it takes to give someone a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Here's a way you can respond to today\u2019s show

Think about a relationship you would like to honor, and begin listening to, observing, and reminding yourself of the good qualities of that person. You can it individually, but it\u2019s more fun to do it collectively.

Next Week

I hope you come back next week to listen to the next episode of \u201cYou Were Made for This.\u201d The easiest way to listen is to subscribe to wherever you get your podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play and others. That way you\u2019ll be notified each week when a new episode comes out to help you transform your relationships into the best they can be.

Quote of the Week

Take delight in honoring each other.

- Romans 12:10, New Living Translation Bible