You know what the happiest animal on earth is?

A goldfish.

You know why?

10 second memory. Be a goldfish.

Paraphrase from Ted Lasso.

It’s so easy to stew and fret over all of our little mistakes in life.

What if I…?

What if I didn’t….?

Why didn’t I….

Why did I….?

Be a goldfish. Forgot all that BS and live, love and serve like it never happened.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – This goes without saying but some things are worth remembering. Mostly the good stuff. Weddings. Kids being born. When you met your spouse. That time you did great at that thing. Keep that stuff close and don’t ever forget it.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdVGbVvhn86/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

What if you believed (like really believed) that it will all work out?

What a great question to think about.

What would do differently if you believed it will all work out?

How would act?

How would you pray?

How would treat others?

If we could adopt this as a core belief, I think a lot would change. For the better.

God is for you. He wants what is best for you.

It will all work out in the end.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/xVOJla2vYx8?si=weSi_O_ZCRoq2RYu

Fall is starting here in Central IL.

The leaves will begin falling and the temps will start to lower.

Life is full of changing seasons.

We don’t get to pick the seasons, but we get to choose how to respond.

We can learn the lessons and adjust our plans or we can fight against it and complain about it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. -The Princess Diaries

One of my favorite things about movies is that they can use fiction and fantasy to show us what something like courage looks like.

Courage is a lot easier to notice when a noble knight is battling a dragon.

But the quote above reminded me of the courage that happens everyday that we don’t even notice.

We don’t notice that the waitress at dinner is a single mom picking up a second shift to make ends meet.

We don’t notice the stranger in the grocery store who lost 75 pounds and changed his life forever.

Courage is all around us. Each and every one of us must face up to our fears, and decide that something else, is more important.

Make it a courageous day.

Jake

Stop worrying about what other people think about you. Starting working on what you think about other people.

I wrote this down a few months ago, I’m sure I got it from someone else but forgot to write that part down.

We fall into the trap of worrying and considering too much what everyone else thinks about us.

We’d be better off thinking more about what we think of others.

Thinking thoughts of love, grace and gratitude will yield much better results.

Figure out ways to serve and put others first.

Find time to pray for others.

Make it a point to add joy and peace wherever you go.

In turn, you’re life will be so much more full.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Better to fight for something than live for nothing. – George S. Patton

What’s something in your life worth fighting for?

Family? Faith? Friends?

Working to improve ourselves is a fight. The natural current of life is towards what’s easy. Something has to be worth fighting against that current.

I think that’s why so many of our goals are easy to give up on.

Attention, vanity, money, power – all of them don’t really satisfy and aren’t worth fighting for. So when we pick a goal in that direction we give up. It’s just not worth it.

But your family? Worth it.

Reframe some of your goals and point them in the right direction.

Save the money to bless your friends and family.

Workout to build the energy and stamina to enjoy your time with your family.

Get more skills so you can be of better service.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Today marks the 16th anniversary of when I started sending out these daily attitude emails.

It all started as a quick email to the sales team to get us started off right for the day.

And now it’s been long enough for someone to get a driver’s license.

Small habits build up. Over time. If you stick with it.

What’s something small you could start today?

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/F9IAY6upi0E?si=cwt4zGsRJLnrEctb

Reminder time – stop worrying so much about what other people think about you.

Life is way too short to spend it worrying about stuff out of your control.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Silence is a source of great strength. – Lao Tzu

I feel like this is something God has been trying to remind me about lately.

Quiet is good.

Silence is a source of strength – what a great way to put it.

Whether it be just talking less, letting let distract you, or a mindful meditation practice – we could all use a little more silence.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank

Simple thought to start the day.

Don’t wait. Do something nice for somebody.

And then do it again.

And keep doing it all day.

Make it a great day.

Jake