Author: jakedavis1910

Daily Attitude Email 07 22 25

The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it. – Jean Paul

Classic old person quote today.

This seems more and more true to me as I age.

Experience creates clarity.

Or at least the appearance of clarity.

For some, this leads to the trap of crankiness and skepticism. Nobody else gets it and can’t see they are doing it wrong?

For others, it leads to tenderness, peace and contentment.

Just because we can see more clearly, doesn’t mean we have the right perspective. We must still carefully choose how we respond to the clarity.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 07 21 25

“It’s not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can’t tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself.”

– Joyce Maynard

Maggie turned 19 yesterday.

It’s funny, as she gets older I think about all of the life lessons I wish I had a chance to talk to her about.

But then I realize how many I have left to learn myself.

It’s a new kind of challenge – being the kind of parent and father that she deserves.

This is so true of all of our important relationships in life – we work on ourselves so that we become and be more for those we love. Not for our own selfish desires.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 07 17 25

Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself. – Henry Ward Beecher

Part of becoming someone better is raising your standards for yourself.

Learning to become the kind of person who does x instead of y.

It becomes part of your identity and something you couldn’t go against if you tried.

We must choose carefully. Attaching our identities to fool’s gold like money or physical fitness has its own risks.

Choosing to be honest or loving or selfless on the other hand will pay off in the end.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 07 15 25

History is a vast early warning system. – Norman Cousins

History is full of lessons on what to do and what not to do.

We can learn about those who have succeeded and those who we would not like to follow in their footsteps.

Personally, I’ve learned a lot from reading a few biographies and autobiographies.

Usually I pick up a few “what not to do’s” each time I read one.

I try not to get too judgmental, but I also try to weigh their values and priorities vs mine and see what I might do differently.

When is the last time you read a good book that could teach you some of these lessons?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Friday Morning Toe Tapper

Resending this old 4th of July toe tapper since we missed the chance last Friday…

https://youtu.be/S6InAX5IAQM?si=xNG9tAnymgX8kznY

We are all free to do what we want, any old time.

We have the freedom to organize and shape our lives in the way we see fit to get the results we want.

But there is a second part to this equation: responsibility. Norman Vincent Peale said that since we have the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast we should have the Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.

Freedom is great.

Freedom with responsibility takes things to a whole different level.

As you think about the 4th of July and all of the great things about America and all of those troops who have and continue to fight for your freedom, ask yourself a couple of questions.

Am I making the most of the freedom being given to me?

Am I taking responsibility for my life?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 07 10 25

Below is a list of grade school kids answers to the question – “What does love mean?”

I send a lot of these emails with the theme of “love is the answer’ and I think the answers below show how to put that into practice.

The list is both funny and sweet, but the main themes are basic things like kindness, humility and putting the other person first.

Find some way to show love today. Take an idea from the list and make it fit for someone important to you today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.” Rebecca- age 8

“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” Billy – age 4

“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.” Karl – age 5

“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” Chrissy – age 6

“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.” Terri – age 4

“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.” Danny – age 7

“Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss” Emily – age 8

“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” Bobby – age 7 (Wow!)

“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,” Nikka – age 6

(we need a few million more Nikka’s on this planet)

“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.” Noelle – age 7

“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.” Tommy – age 6

“During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.” Cindy – age 8

“My mommy loves me more than anybody . You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.” Clare – age 6

“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.” Elaine-age 5

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.” Chris – age 7

“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.” Mary Ann – age 4

“I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.” Lauren – age 4

“When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.” (what an image) Karen – age 7

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross.” Mark – age 6

“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” Jessica – age 8

And the final one — Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing, I just helped him cry”

Daily Attitude Email 07 09 25

We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear. – Martin Luther King, Jr.

There’s a lot to be afraid of. Life is full of dangers.

I like this mental picture – build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.

If we let it, fear will overwhelm us and stop us from doing and becoming what we were meant to.

Instead we can use the solid, unchanging parts of our lives to build dikes to hold back the fear.

Focusing on our loved ones, our faith and the other blessings of life allow us to have the courage to move forward despite the fear.

Make it a great day.

Jake