When was the last time you received a handwritten thank you note in the mail from a friend or client? I bet you that you can tell me exactly when you received it, who it was from and why they sent it. Do you know why? In today's world of e-mails, voicemails, text messages and instant messages, the path of least resistance is to thank someone electronically or not thank them at all.

I remember vividly my childhood and the month of December. My birthday is December 14 and, with it being so close to the holidays, I would try to get away with thanking grandparents and other relatives with one note for birthday and Christmas gifts. However, my mom made me sit down on the evening of the 15th and pound out all my thank you notes for my birthday gifts and the same occurred two weeks later after the holidays.

I now want to thank my mom formally for instilling in me the value of thanking someone with a note. It is a lost art. I think we have forgotten how much a nice note means to someone. On several occasions I have walked into the office or home of a friend or client that I have written a note of congratulations or thanks to and the note is pinned to the wall or on their fridge (even weeks or months later). I have even had people call me as soon as they receive my note to let me know how much it meant to them. So why don't we take the time to do it?