Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.  

J. Calvin Coolidge,

30th President of the United States of America

In all the stories of success there is a moment when they decided to keep going.

Despite the odds and obstacles they pressed on.

I think the key to being able to press on is having big goals.

Big goals pull you through the problems you will inevitably face along the way.

Make sure you have big goals for yourself. Make sure it is big enough that you are almost embarrassed to say it out loud to your closest friend.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Livin on a Prayer by Bon Jovi

I chose this song not only because it’s a good song but also because there are millions even billions of people who really are living on a prayer and it reminds us to live life to the fullest (YOLO, Carpe Diem, whatever you want to say) and to take time to give thanks for life’s little things because you never know when they could be taken away.

Maggie Davis

Great job, Maggie!

Make it a great day.

Jake

Yesterday Andre came over and we played a little basketball.

I’m a little old and not very good at basketball but it was fun.

It was a great break from worrying about the corona virus or who the next president is going to be.

We laughed and had fun even though we aren’t getting recruited to the NBA any time soon.

We shouldn’t give up on our ideals or stop fighting to keep our families safe, but we could spend a little more time having fun.

What’s something fun you could do in the next week?

Make it happen.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The uncertainty of 2020 continues….

The unknowns and worries sure have piled up this year.

Focus today on something you are sure about.

God.

Loved ones.

Friendships.

Nature.

We can’t be certain about everything, but can be about a few important things.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Election day today. I’ve been trying to think about what the proper response from a mature citizen should be regardless of the outcome and the best I can come up with is:

Love thy neighbor.

Jesus states this as the second of two great commandments when asked what is the highest and most important commandment.

Notice he also didn’t mention any exceptions….

Love thy neighbor….unless they are a Democrat.

Love thy neighbor….unless they voted for Trump.

Love thy neighbor….unless they shared a Black Lives Matter post on the FaceBox.

Love thy neighbor…..unless they are wearing a MAGA hat.

What does loving thy neighbor look like in this situation? What would it look like to live out Jesus’ command?

A few ideas to get you started:

Get to know and care about someone with different views than your own.

Bake a casserole and bring it over to that neighbor’s house with the signs in the yard you don’t agree with.

Offer to stay late for that co-worker that was crazy enough to vote for Joe/Trump so they can make it to their kid’s game.

Show some love. Take some kind of action.

The best part?!? You’ll be better off for it. You won’t lose some kind of political rightness or give in to the dark side. You’ll feel better. Your heart will be lighter.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Bonus point – the other commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart. Not a lot of room for hate or political anger if your heart is filled with love for God and your neighbor. Might be worth trying.

November is here!

The rest of 2020 is going to quickly from here. Election day tomorrow, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas right around the corner.

It’s still going to be a weird end of the year, but I’m sure it will be like most years and this time will go quickly.

When you look forward and see that the time is going to quickly, what should you do?

Set some priorities. Decide ahead of time what is important to you and make sure that gets the time it needs.

Whatever your goals or aspirations are – they will require focus and intentionality through the end of the year.

Make a list. Make it a clear and intentional list. Check them off as you go.

Make it a great end to the year.

Jake

https://youtu.be/Fe93CLbHjxQ

I’ve never been a fan of the dark and scary version of Halloween.

I’m more a silly, goofy version of Halloween kind of guy.

And this song falls in to the goofy category for me.

Do something silly and goofy for Halloween this year.

Don’t take things to seriously and have some fun.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Chapter 26 of "How to Stop Worrying" by Dale Carnegie is titled "Four Good Working Habits That Will Prevent Fatigue and Worry".

First up on this list is to: Clear your desk of all working papers except those relating to the immediate problem at hand.

To modernize this for today’s world, imagine things like email and tasks instead of working papers and imagine your desk and your desktop on your computer/laptop/tablet/phone as your desk.

This has two positive results.

First, there is something about having a clean and clear workspace.

Everything on our desks carries with it a little bit of mental weight. If your desk is covered, it carries a lot of mental weight.

Second, there is magic to being able to focus on the task at hand. Having only the information relevant to your most important task in front of you immediately makes you much more productive.

Take a look around today.

Is there a mess?

Is there clutter?

Is it overwhelming and demoralizing to look at your work area/inbox?

Spend a few minutes before you get started today clearing things up. Give yourself a fresh start.

Make it a great day.

Jake​

One of the great parts of "How to Stop Worrying" by Dale Carnegie is that it includes a bunch of real world stories from people and how they have dealt with worry.

I have attached one of these sections of the book.

There are two important lessons included in this short story.

First, the idea of writing down your worries and putting them away for later. His realization that most of his worries never came to pass is such a fundamental truth that can help any of us worry warts.

The second lesson was learned from watching his wife do dishes. He realized she doesn’t mind washing the dishes because you only wash one day at a time. You can’t wash tomorrow’s dishes today.

Is there something worrying you that you need to write down and put away for a little while?

Are you trying to wash tomorrow’s dishes today?

Let’s make it a great day, full of joy and absent of worry.

Jake

PS – You should read this book. It is filled with powerful stories and practical tips on an area of life that most of us struggle with.

Well, it’s official, cross country season is over for Maggie. Last night was the first night of no practice for Maggie.

Cross country has been a great sport for Maggie so far.

But in a way I didn’t expect.

Running is good for you and being outside is good too. This much I expected.

What I’ve been surprised by is the positivity of the sport.

Youth sports have become rampant with overbearing parents yelling at the refs and over competitive kids (and parents).

But cross country parents and fans haven’t been like that for us. Everyone is supportive and cheers on the last place runner as much as the first place runner.

Encouragement and positivity abound.

What does this have to do with you?

Find something like this to get involved in. Surround yourself with positive people and cheer on others as they do their best.

Life is more about competing with and becoming your best self than in conquering and defeating others.

Make it a great day.

Jake