“Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenge, wish for more wisdom.” – Jim Rohn

I’ve been listening to some Jim Rohn again. This quote of his has always been one of my favorites.

It’s easy to get stuck wishing away all of the difficulties of life.

To wish things were easier.

Jim would say the opportunity of life is to become something better through these difficulties.

When I’m feeling frustrated, I try to think of the fruits of the spirit verses – “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

I figure that regardless of the situation those will see me through.

If I can just become the kind of person that has all of those, everything will turn out just fine.

Make it a great day.

Jake

There is room in the smallest cottage for a happy loving pair. – Friedrich Schiller

Love creates room.

Room for grace.

Room for patience.

Room for kindness.

Room for strength.

Room for peace.

Room for joy.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Finally talked my dad into sending me a daily attitude email to send out.

My dad (Jake’s grandpa) passed away February 18, 2022. He was 91 and he was ready for his eternal home.

With the passing of a parent, there is work to do to close out their affairs and distribute their possessions. If that person was a bit of a packrat and lived in the same home for 55 years there can be a lot of stuff!

Being born in 1930 and growing up in a family of 7 during the depression impressed on my dad the “waste not, want not” philosophy. He kept almost everything. While cleaning out the basement, I emptied a jar of springs labeled “miscellaneous springs” into a bucket of scrap metal and I mentally asked my dad, “why did you keep those springs dad?”.

Then I thought about the many things my dad had created over the years and looked over and saw the 2 presses he built that used little bottle jacks and 2×4’s to press down on old Bibles while the glue set on the new covers he put on them.

You see, he volunteered at a ministry called Love Packages in Butler Illinois which sends shipping containers of Christian literature and Bibles oversees. He saw all these Bibles without covers so he created the equipment he needed to put new covers on them. He also took partial bibles and put them all together so whole Bibles could be distributed to those who wanted them.

I concluded that if you can make something of anything then everything has value. I’m sure my dad would have found uses for all of the things he saved if the inevitability of slowing down with age had not overtaken him. As human beings we all have chips and cracks and need little “repairs”. Fortunately, our Father in heaven can make something from anything because everything has value to Him.

Ken Davis

Packrat, tinkerer, and Grandpa extraordinaire

WWJD

What would Jesus do?

This simple abbreviation that has made its way onto everything from bracelets to tattoos is a reminder of an important part of the success process.

In order to become successful and achieve something we have yet to accomplish, we must act in ways that are different than how we currently act.

One of the ways of understanding how to act differently is to think in context of how someone else would act in a similar situation. In this example, Christians work to act in a way similar to how Jesus would in a similar situation.

Think about something in your life that you would like to achieve or do differently than you do today.

Want to lose weight? What would a skinny person do?

Want to become physically fit? What would an athlete do?

Want to become wealthy? What would a wealthy person do?

Want to become more self-disciplined? What would an achiever do?

Whatever your goals in life, I can assure you that there is someone out there who has done it before.

We need only seek out the stories of those people and emulate what they have done in order to have similar results. Find a book, an audio recording or a training course from someone to model yourself after and study it. Don’t just read or listen, study it.

Start the journey today of studying someone that has been succesful where you want to be successful.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/U9t-slLl30E

This is a favorite silly/goofy song at the Davis house.

I’ve never been a big fan of the April Fool’s prank, but I am down for being a little silly and having some fun.

Find a goofy song or dance to do today and laugh and enjoy yourself.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature. – Saint Augustine

Miracles are all around us.

We are so spoiled in our day and age that we ignore the magnificence of the technology and lives we lead.

We complain about slow planes, slow internet connections, clothes that take more than 2 days to show up, access to thousands of hours of millions of dollars of entertainment that is just so boring…..the list goes on.

We miss the miracle that we were ever born to begin with.

That we have loved ones and friends that ignore the long list of shortcomings and spend time with and love us anyway.

I am so very grateful for all the miracles in my life.

Make it a great day.

Jake

It’s always too early to quit. – Norman Vincent Peale

So much of the good stuff in life depends on our ability to see things through. To stick with it even when things aren’t easy.

This is a great reminder this time of year.

Don’t give up on your goals yet.

Even if you are behind, stick with it.

Even if you’ve fallen flat on your face, stick with it.

It’s always too early to quit.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – If you haven’t read any of Norman Vincent Peale’s books – you should!

Avoid popularity; it has many snares, and no real benefit. – William Penn

What a great word to describe some of the downfalls of chasing popularity – snares.

It’s a trap!

It’s so easy to go with the flow and fall right into a trap.

To spin our wheels, chase the wind and get nowhere.

To worry more about what other people think, what other people wear, and what other people drive (etc.) instead of what has real value and meaning.

We were born with a desire for acceptance and love. We seek it out naturally. That’s how so many of us end up snared.

Step and think carefully. Examine your thoughts and actions. Are you headed for a trap?

Make it a great day.

Jake

"You should never be proud of doing what’s right. You should just do what’s right." – Dean Smith, former University of North Carolina basketball coach

A long time ago I read a biography of Dean Smith. What has stuck with me from that book was that he had a few simple rules and stuck with them.

It seems to me that part of his success was built by having unwavering discipline on certain things but flexibility in others.

Think about your own life and what is most important.

Maybe you make a rule limiting the amount of work hours each week so you can spend more time with your family.

Maybe you make a rule around physical activity or diet.

Maybe you make a rule to never let a month go by without doing a budget.

Whatever your rules, stick with them. Pick just a few, but don’t let them slide.

If you are having a really hard time with discipline, pick just one. Make just one simple rule and stick to it. Just for a day to start. Then for two, then for a week. Just get started.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/EHV0zs0kVGg

On Sunday, Pastor Ted said “Everybody needs God, everybody needs somebody, somebody needs you.”

Not sure about you, but the first two were pretty easy reminders.

The third one caused me to pause for a second.

Somebody needs me.

Somebody probably even needs the best of me.

And the same goes for you.

Make it a great day.

Jake