It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. – Confucius

Don’t give up.

If it was worth starting, it is worth finishing.

Get back on track with some small, forward step today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Real happiness is cheap enough, yet how dearly we pay for its counterfeit. – Hosea Ballou

Think about how dearly we pay for the fake versions of happiness.

All the material stuff.

All the wasted time.

All the health and vitality.

Spent in pursuit of fool’s gold – popularity, vanity, greed, temporary stuff (and other traps).

Take a moment to take stock and look at what you are paying for what you are getting.

Is it worth the cost?

Make it a great day.

Jake

We have all the light we need, we just need to put it in practice. – Albert Pike

This one hit home.

How many times have I spent time researching something or over analyzing something when I already knew what I needed to do.

How many times have I put off that new habit or kicking that bad habit waiting for some new information when I already knew what I needed to do.

Most of our goals and aspirations really aren’t that complicated.

Losing weight, saving money, eating better, exercising really aren’t rocket science.

Can they be optimized? Sure.

Is there a plan or strategy that might work better than another? Sure.

Will we be better off if we put what we already know into practice? Probably.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Resending this daily attitude email from a few years ago…

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.

St. Francis of Assisi

Meaghan has this hanging in the office at home where I was working yesterday.

I had the thought, “What if I could really keep this thought in my heart? What if I could actually make this my priority each day?”

It’s easier to spend the day thinking about yourself.

Our own needs and desires are so close and powerful, they are hard to ignore.

This prayer reminds me that true peace, joy, love and happiness happens when I can retrain myself to focus instead on others.

Our opportunities for greatness lie in our ability to serve and love others.

I believe this more and more every day.

I fail at this every day as well, but I’m getting better.

My challenge for you today is to read this prayer out loud to yourself. Then to move on to your day with as much of a focus on others as you can muster. Then try to do better tomorrow.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/2RHTiXvELNg

Couldn’t resist sending this one out while on vacation.

Can’t help remembering all of the mishaps and misfortune that happens during the movie.

It happens to all of us on family vacation – tempers run short, we get on each other’s nerves, things don’t go as planned….and yet we manage to create some fun family memories.

It’s hard to do in the moment, but the goal is to take a deep breath and focus on the good stuff.

Sounds like a good plan for every day….

Make it a great day.

Jake

Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal. – E. Joseph Cossman

As I get older I realize that a key ingredient to peace and joy is to keep your eyes on the goal.

To not let others or distractions get in the way.

That’s the easy part. The hard part is to pick the right path.

We can follow a path of selfishness. This will lead to heartbreak and disappointment.

We can follow a path of selfless love and service. This will lead to joy and peace.

Choose wisely.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little. – Edmund Burke

Andy Stanley says it this way “do for one what you wish you could do for all?”

He talks about it in terms of needs and “what breaks your heart?”

Children going hungry breaks your heart? Feed a kid.

Single mothers with small children make your heart ache? Find a way to help out one mom.

People with special needs inspire you to want to help? Find someone to help.

There are so many opportunities to help. That’s why this concept matters – you can fix them all. In fact, trying to work on too many at once actually wastes your talents and time.

Find something that matters to you and pour into it. Money or time or talents – do for one what you wish you could do for all.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – this can be as small as you want. $1 or 1 minute can make a difference.

Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves – to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today. – Stewart Johnson

When we look at our todays and how they are spent, comparing to others is not the benchmark.

Our benchmark should be the inherent possibilities and opportunities that lie within ourselves.

One of my favorite things about sports was the process of finding out that I was actually capable of more than I thought.

I could always run faster or play better than I thought I was capable of.

I’m sure there were points in time where I thought this was because I was so special and talented, but a little maturity and age has cured me of that.

We ALL are capable of so much more than we can imagine.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way." — Mary Anne Radmacher

One of the interesting little quirks of life is that we find our way when we get out of our own selfish desires.

When we are in service with love the path becomes clearer. The obstacles easier to avoid or overcome. The goals easier to obtain.

Focus on the service.

Service isn’t some once a year couple of hours at a charity thing kind of event.

It’s an all day every day kind of thing. Breakfast for the kids. Helping a client. Double checking that thing to make sure it was done right for a coworker. A kind word to the waitress at lunch. The dishes after dinner. Tucking the kiddos in tight.

Opportunities to serve abound.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/WeaMULzWUo8?si=9ZW1847WHO2RAx2F

St. Patrick’s day is also a holiday to celebrate St. Patrick himself.

To celebrate his influence in bringing Christianity to the Irish people.

This song is one of my favorites in an Irish style.

Make it a great day.

Jake