Award-winning Park City-based author and public speaker Joel Zuckerman pounces on the concept of being thankful in his new book, “Gratitude Tiger.”Within its 21 chapters, Zuckerman outlines what he calls “proactive gratitude.”“There are two types of gratitude — reactive and proactive,” he said. “The entire world practices reactive gratitude. It’s when you stop short before crashing your car. It’s when a turbulent flight lands safely and doesn’t flip over or you get a benign medical diagnosis. But proactive gratitude is when you make the conscious decision 10, 20 or 30 times a day to be grateful for the circumstance you’re in. And that’s what I’m an advocate for.”Zuckerman will further detail this idea during a series of book signings April 4-6 in the Park City area. (See accompanying schedule.)The author’s foundation for proactive gratitude comes from a nightly ritual he calls “Count your blessings.”“It’s a daily time for reflection where I’ll recall dozens of things when I crawl into bed at the end of the day,” he said. “I’ll think about everything that has happened in chronological order.”Zuckerman doesn’t feel like anything is too little to be grateful for.“I’m grateful I went skiing,” he said. “I’m grateful that when I pulled into the gas station that a pump opened up, and I’m grateful I had green lights all the way down (S.R.) 224. Doing this has a calming effect on the nervous system when you recount moments of grace.”There is a second part of proactive gratitude, according to Zuckerman.“It’s called expressive gratitude,” he said. “There’s a great expression by Gertrude Stein: ‘Silent gratitude isn’t very much use to anyone.’ So, it’s one thing to think about being grateful to you or your wife or cousin, but it’s another thing to tell them.”Zuckerman’s gratitude philosophies are the result of his devotion to writing letters of gratitude, something he began in 2013.“My jam is writing letters of gratitude to people who have helped me, and I’m up to 270,” he said.Zuckerman confessed that writing those letters are not only to show people how grateful he is they are in his life, but also to help him feel good, which he lays out in his new book.”Parkite and award-winning author Joel Zuckerman will sign his new book, “Gratitude Tiger,” in a series of apprearences this weekend in Park City. Credit: Photo courtesy of Joel Zuckerman“The gist of ‘Gratitude Tiger’ is in the last 10 words of the first chapter that says, ‘Write letters of gratitude. It will make you feel good,’” he said. “I have written those 270 letters, and I imagine all of those recipients have taken a small amount or great amount of pleasure from hearing me express my gratitude.”“Gratitude Tiger” is Zuckerman’s 10th book — and the third about gratitude.“I am also a golf writer, and because my golf-writing career had some decent amount of attention, I was asked to speak at country clubs, cruise ships and corporate retreats,” he said. “While some guys can build a treehouse or bird house, or play piano by ear, a couple of years ago, I realized from what the world tells me, that I can stand up in front of a group — doesn’t matter if it’s 20 people or 200 people — and speak without fumbling, stumbling, bumbling, mumbling, stuttering or stammering. So, having a decent amount of success speaking about golf, I thought I should write a presentation about gratitude.”Zuckerman thought if only 1% of the world cared about golf, everyone should care or could care about how gratitude could enhance their lives.“So, I set about writing a keynote speech called ‘The Seven Pillars of Expressive Gratitude,’” he said.Those pillars are: Writing letters of gratitude makes you feel good. It makes the recipient feel good It makes the recipient feel good about you It’s a creative process It turns your focus outward The ripple effect  The legacy effect “The ripple effect comes when someone you wrote a letter of gratitude to is inspired to write a letter of gratitude to someone they know or someone they haven’t thought about for years,” he said. “And the legacy effect comes when someone remembers you after you die or that you are so glad you wrote a letter to someone before they died.”In addition to being an award-winning author, Parkite Joel Zuckerman is a moitvational speaker who came up with the “The Seven Pillars of Expressive Gratitude.” Credit: Photo courtesy of Joel ZuckermanAfter Zuckerman set up his keynote speech, he thought he could legitimize his experiences by  writing books.“I’ve been coached by people who have told me if I want people to take me seriously, that I should write a book,” he said “(‘Gratitude Tiger’) exists to show meeting planners, corporate executives who ask, ‘You want us to hire who to do what, talk about gratitude?’ see what I’m doing. If they look at this book, skim it, glance at it or read it, they will see who ‘this guy’ is. The book ‘s subtitle, ‘Creating Joy Through the Art of Impactful Letters,’ shows I’m legitimate in the eyes of potential clients.” Zuckerman says the book is a reference point to his presentations and shows people how simple it can be to write a letter of gratitude.“People can write lovely letters in seven sentences, and Emily Post says, ‘A thank-you note is three or four sentences,’ so seven sentences is magnificent,” he said. “You can to the same thing in seven words (when you say) ‘You are the cog in the machine.’ ‘This department would not run without you.’ ‘You are the best hire we’ve made.’ These sentences are all pointed, powerful and simple.”Joel Zuckerman ‘Gratitude Tiger’ Book SigningsApril 43-5 p.m., St. Regis Deer Valley Lobby, 2300 Deer Valley Drive E., accessible by the funicular at Snow Park April 53-5 p.m., Dolly’s Bookstore, 510 Main Street April 61-3 p.m., Barnes & Noble, 1678 Redstone Center Drive, Kimball Junction 4-6 p.m., Stio Mountain Studio Boutique, 556 Main StreetFor information, visit gratitudetiger.com.The post Local author Joel Zuckerman is a ‘Gratitude Tiger’ appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less