Becoming an Encourager

Michael Bungay Stainer is an author and speaker who lives in Toronto. I subscribe to his email newsletter, which always ends with the same signature: “You’re awesome and you’re doing great.”

Totally corny. He really has no idea how I’m doing. And yet I find that even a somewhat generic encouragement makes me smile. We’re so starved for encouragement that we sometimes don’t mind getting it through an email blast.

I have a friend who has consistently encouraged me. I went through a h...