https://youtu.be/mye1aCskFcM

We all know that MC Hammer is the place to go when looking for wisdom.

Ok, maybe not, but he got this one right.

Many of the conversations I’ve had with others in the last year fall into the category of “worried about the future”.

The future of country…

The future of our family….

The future of our business….

The election. The economy. The environment. Violence. Racism.

Lots to worry about.

Hammer says we have no choice but to pray – every day. Our ability to change the future feels so small and insignificant. The proper response – make ourselves smaller. Get on our knees and admit our inability to control everything and reach out to God for the strength and wisdom to do our part.

You’ve got to pray to make it today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Don’t think, just do. – Horace

Simple and sweet.

What popped into your head after you read that quote?

Something nagging in the back of your mind?

Something you’ve been meaning to do?

Something you wish you could do?

Get started. Take a step today. Take two if you’re feeling ambitious.

Make it a great day.

Jake

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough. – Meister Eckhart

Gratitude is a great way to get started on a new day and a new year.

Find something to be thankful for today.

Say it. Out loud.

I’m thankful for….

If it’s a person – tell them.

Make it a great day.

Jake

If you would be loved, love, and be loveable. – Benjamin Franklin

Simple, straightforward advice from Mr. Franklin on this one.

We all desired to be loved.

In order to be loved we should love others.

In order to be loved we should endeavor to become loveable.

Start working in this direction. Today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things a man needs to believe in the most. That people are basically good; that honor, courage, and virtue mean everything; that power and money, money and power mean nothing; that good always triumphs over evil; and I want you to remember this, that love… true love never dies. You remember that, boy. You remember that. Doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. You see, a man should believe in those things, because those are the things worth believing in. – Hub McCann – Secondhand Lions

We watched Secondhand Lions with the kids over the weekend, and these lines stuck out to me as they do every time I watch the movie.

The movie is about a young boy who has been let down by his mother who has to learn to believe that there may, in fact, be good in the world.

We are all like this boy from time to time. We need to be reminded that there is good in the world. That some things are worth believing in.

Today it’s all too easy to go through our days full of cynicism and suspiciousness. It’s true that evil forces are at work against us.

But joy and love are worth fighting for.

Good will win out in the end.

God loves us.

Choose to be a believer today. Act as if true love never dies.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/DT4kQlM5xuE

Sometimes when everything is so serious you just need to dance and laugh.

Find something to make you laugh today.

Belly laugh.

Send it to a friend you know will do the same.

Make it a great day.

Jake

A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed. – Henrik Ibsen

I’ve often gotten the parenting advice – “more is caught than taught”.

Our actions ring much louder than anything we say. We develop a respect for those in our lives that consistently act in a certain way.

I believe this is a mostly involuntary process.

Meaning we catch the habits and traits of those around us whether we want to or not.

Hang out with a bunch of losers….you’re going to catch some loser habits.

Hang out with a bunch of winners…you’re going to catch some winner habits.

Be careful who you spend time with and how much time you spend with them.

Be on the lookout for mentors that have arrived where you want to go.

Avoid the people who have ended up where you don’t want to go.

Make it a great day.

Jake

To see things in the seed, that is genius. Lao Tzu

We all must learn to be patient with ourselves a little.

Be kind and compassionate to yourself.

The new seeds in you require your belief and patience.

Be patient with yourself and the new habits you desire.

Be kind to yourself when things don’t go well.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – Unless you need a kick in the pants….then do that and get on with it. (I wish I always knew which one needed to be applied when.)

I looked through some old daily attitude emails and found this one from the last inauguration day. It feels like it could have been written yesterday, only with more pleading this time.

My prayer for our great country and its citizens is that we can all catch the love bug instead of the COVID bug. That an epidemic would start where we all were so overwhelmed with love towards one another that problems started disappearing, one after another. I know this is idealistic and far-fetched, but I just can’t wrap my brain around anything else that would work.

The funny thing is that I can’t explain to you the “how” it would work part. It seems obvious to me though that what we are doing is not working so well and that a different plan might be worth looking into.

It starts with you (and me) choosing love more today than we did yesterday. Then doing it again tomorrow.

I’m in. Who’s coming with me?

Today is Meaghan’s birthday. One of my favorite days of the year.

It’s the day we get to celebrate the awesomest person around.

It is a day when our little family gets the chance to honor and thank Meaghan for all she does for our little family.

It’s humbling to think she would stick with me through so many birthdays (she should write a daily attitude email about how to put up with your husband).

It’s also a great reminder to celebrate the important people we have in our lives – every day, not just on their birthday.

We all have much to be grateful for. Someone to be grateful for.

Let’s make sure they know it. Let’s make it crystal clear.

Make it a great day.

Jake