"Don’t find fault. Find a remedy." – Henry Ford

Finding faults in ourselves and others is the easy way out.

If you look for them, there will be plenty.

All of us are imperfect in our own ways. All of us fall short at one point or another.

What if we looked for the good in ourselves and others?

What if we looked for solutions instead of making excuses?

Focusing our efforts on improvement and progress instead of excuses and complaints will make us happier, healthier and more successful.

Take care today to focus on the positive.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Resending this toe tapper from last year….

https://youtu.be/PEAIJV6CmtA

This is an Irish tune that gets played a lot at our house.

Each time I hear it I am reminded of just how lucky I am (and believe all of us to be).

For some reason that I can’t completely fathom, God is working this wonderful plan for the world that He wants us to be a part of.

He has a special place in that plan for each and every one of us.

He wants us all to be a part of this wonderful dance. To lean into it and live it to our fullest.

St. Patrick’s Day not only celebrates Ireland and Irish culture, it also celebrates St. Patrick himself and the work he did to share God’s love.

Make it a great day.

Jake

St. Patrick’s Day is tomorrow.

Each year at some point for St. Patrick’s Day we attend a parade somewhere.

Every time I’m reminded of what a unique mix we’ve created here in America.

We’ve created a place where we can all get together and celebrate the culture of another country.

We can put our differences aside for a little bit and focus on something good.

That our country welcomed (mostly) a bunch of immigrants from a small island and those immigrants have impacted how we live together today.

We get to laugh and be together for a few moments.

We can make Irish food and drink Irish drinks.

We can poke fun at the silly parts of being Irish and remember the good.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Watching some YouTube of a golfer playing on Bay Hill (a famous Arnold Palmer course) and remembered this email I had sent a few years back when he passed away…

Arnold Palmer passed away on Sunday.

If you don’t know, he was a famous golfer and golf person in general.

Being a golf fan I have heard quite a few Arnold Palmer stories and with his passing they are being told again and again.

But in the interest of trying to help all of our attitudes and our chances of success at life, I noticed something that maybe we can all learn from (since we are unlikely to become professional golfers any time soon).

If you consistently make an effort to make the day of those around you, you will make the world a better place.

Arnold Palmer consistently took time to talk with someone or take a quick picture or sign a quick autograph.

He had a smile or a laugh to share with everyone.

And it made a difference. Everyone from the most famous golfers to the janitor have a story about how Arnold positively impacted them.

Maybe you don’t have quite the reach that Arnold had.

Maybe you don’t have as much money as he had.

But you can make an impact, one person at a time, just like he did.

Smile.

Talk to people.

Try to make their day.

Work to make the world a better place each day simply by interacting positively with those around you.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"It’s never crowded along the extra mile." – Wayne Dyer

We feel a tremendous pressure to “fit in” and “be normal”.

We fall into the trap of “doing what everyone else is doing” only to find ourselves disappointed.

We try to be like “most people”.

Only to find out that:

“Most people” are overweight.

“Most people” are in debt.

“Most people” hate their job.

“Most people” are ruled by their stuff.

It’s taken me a long time to realize this, but I don’t want to be like “most people”.

And I don’t think you should either.

What is something you could start doing today to move away from trying to be like “most people”? What’s a small, positive step away from the crowd that makes sense for you?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Courage is the ladder on which all the other virtues mount. – Clare Boothe Luce

The good stuff of life requires courage.

Courage to stick with it.

Courage to stand against the crowd.

Courage to believe it will all work out in the end.

Be courageous. Climb the ladder to building the virtues that matter.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/kZf3Byq8oLA

Stevie Wonder amazes me.

He’s created so many great songs over such a long period of time.

He also had a lot of excuses as to why he could have given up or not pursued the greatness he was made for.

Stories like his are a great reminder that our excuses are really just that – excuses.

Make it a great day.

Jake

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

I try to think of this verse every day.

The point of this verse is that if you have filled yourself with the Spirit you will then bear this fruit.

It bears repeating – when we are filled with a proper attitude our lives will be characterized by the following: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Would those who know you best describe you like that?

Make it a great day.

Jake

It’s been feeling a little springish lately so I found this old daily attitude to send again.

A good laugh is sunshine in the house. – William Makepeace Thackeray

This is a great reminder for a spring day.

Let the sun shine in and the laughter abound today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Talent is like electricity. We don’t understand electricity. We use it. – Maya Angelou

Jim Rohn talks about how some people spend their time studying the roots when they could be picking the fruit.

Some of life is like this – it’s hard to understand why or exactly how it works, it just does.

Sowing and reaping.

Seeking and finding.

Giving and receiving.

Joy and suffering.

Love and selflessness.

The basic relationships seem straightforward by why it works one way one time and another the next remains a mystery.

You get to choose to have faith in the basic equations.

Make it a great day.

Jake