Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud. – Sophocles

History is full of people whose honor was only recognized after the fact.

And plenty whose fraudulent success was exposed.

And plenty of both never noticed by others.

But the person knew….and had to live with it.

Honor seems like the better path…

Make it a great day.

Jake

“What’s done is done. There is no need to speak to Edmund about what has passed.” – Aslan from “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”

This is one of my favorite movies/books.

In the movie, Edmund’s character had just made it back after committing an act of treachery. Aslan gave him a “talking to” and then told everyone else the lines above.

We all need someone who can give us the stern talking to when we’ve stepped out of line.

But that isn’t what really stuck out to me.

What stuck out to me in particular was the idea of letting the past be the past. No need to talk about it again.

From both perspectives.

If we are the one needing forgiveness, to let things go and move forward. Not to dwell on our mistakes but to learn from them and move forward.

If we are the ones forgiving, to not bring it up again. To let our loved ones grow and move forward from their past.

Let go of past transgressions. What’s done is done. No need to speak of it again.

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

What a great reminder.

Be action oriented.

Be of service, however small or seemingly inconsequential.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“We are all a great deal luckier that we realize, we usually get what we want – or near enough.”

― Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

A great reminder to start off the week.

We all have quite a bit to be thankful for.

Maybe not everything has worked out the way we wanted, but it really isn’t too bad.

I would wager to say that if you are receiving this email you have at least one thing in your life that is going well.

Focus on something to be thankful for as you start this week.

And tell someone else about it.

Spread it around.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/fOZ-MySzAac?si=oDmgzvYZ51MatirE

Between 9/11 and the assassination of Charlie Kirk – a lot of people need somebody to lean on.

Regardless of where you are in your faith journey or where you are on the political spectrum – we need to lean on each other.

And maybe lean into what we have in common and what we all want for America and our families.

Make it a great day.

Jake

America’s National Churchill Museum | Winston Churchill’s Do Your Worst; We’ll Do Our Best Speech

This is a Winston Churchill speech that is particularly poignant on the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Two quotes in particular stood out to me:

“But there was one thing about which there was never any doubt. The courage, the unconquerable grit and stamina of our people, showed itself from the very outset. Without that all would have failed. Upon that rock, all stood unshakable.”

In the face of all the evils of the world we must have faith and belief that courage, grit and stamina from those on the side of good will win out. No matter the test, no matter the difficulty, that which is good and worthy will prevail.

“You do your worst – and we will do our best.”

When faced with the evils of the world it can be tempting to lower ourselves to those standards. Instead we need to raise ours.

The best way for us to honor those who have fallen and those who have sacrificed is to do and be our best. Others have given up their lives that we may have the opportunity to exercise this freedom. Don’t let it slip by.

Make it a great day.

Jake

There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root. – Henry David Thoreau

Challenging quote alert…

It’s so easy to get distracted and focused on all the little trivial things in our lives while ignoring the root cause.

We let selfishness, greed, laziness, and anger win out while we try to keep up with the Joneses.

We argue with others about political differences and complain on Facebox about all the losers.

We shop and spend and adorn ourselves while ignoring a hole in our hearts.

We hack at the branches of the injustices of the world and ignore the root in our own hearts (and of those we care about).

What can you do today to hack at the selfishness in your life?

What can you do today to hack at the consumption obsession?

Let’s get to work on tackling the right end of the problem.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – You’re pretty great. You are one of a kind that was built for doing and becoming the best version of you. You’re probably much further down the path of working on the right end of the problem than me and I’d love to hear how you did it.

It is the struggle itself that is most important. We must strive to be more than we are. It does not matter that we will not reach our ultimate goal. The effort itself yields its own reward. – Gene Roddenberry

It’s always been a struggle for me to enjoy the journey and not to focus mostly on one task after another.

I forget to celebrate the wins. To dissect the losses. To enjoy the process.

A consistent theme in a lot of the books and podcasts has been the idea of mindfulness. Of being present.

I try to do this through taking a deep breath or by focusing my attention on others.

I try to pray for those around me. To wish them well and to hope for the best for them.

I don’t always remember and I’ve still got a long way to go.

I’d love to hear what works for you.

Make it a great day.

Jake

It is not love that should be depicted as blind, but self-love. – Voltaire

Burn. That one stung a little.

It’s hard to accept how blind we can be to our own faults and idiosyncrasies.

Something happens and we say “why didn’t I see that coming?”. The answer probably lies in our inability to see our own faults.

We set up all these defense mechanisms to protect ourselves from others and we end up blinded by them.

Not sure that I’ve figured out a solution but a couple of quick suggestions:

Journal – write it out. Your thoughts and feelings in writing will help illuminate the situation.

Ask someone you trust. They know. Trust me, they know.

Pray. The Bible talks a lot about the Holy Spirit and it’s role in guiding us and leading us away from our own selfish desires.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/JW5UEW2kYvc?si=SEVROppY6_K5qMSl

Country music has never been my thing.

But these emails aren’t about what I like.

I’m 46 years old and I still have to (constantly) remind myself that life isn’t about me.

It isn’t about me or what I want. It isn’t about how comfortable I am or how can I best avoid being uncomfortable.

It’s about how I can best impact others and help them get what they want.

It’s about pointing people to Christ as the true source of what they want out of life.

Make it a great day.

Jake