https://youtu.be/79DijItQXMM

This song is catchy and kind of fun and it illustrates the main characters downfall – pride.

CS Lewis identified pride as the major obstacle in becoming our best self.

Here’s a quote:

What but to thank God for the “excellent absurdity” which enables us, if it so happen, to play great parts without pride and little ones without dejection, rejecting nothing through that false modesty which is only another form of pride, and never, when we occupy for a moment the centre of the stage, forgetting that the play would have gone off just as well without us . . . This is the spirit which ought to govern even the smallest and most temporary assumptions of the higher place . . .

Every time I read his thoughts on pride I am reminded that I still have work to do.

Challenge yourself – take a hard line on pride.

Work to remove its effects completely in your life.

Maybe start by reading some CS Lewis….

Make it a great day.

Jake

Below is Rudyard Kipling’s “If”.

Quite a long and difficult list.

But quite the payoff in the end as well.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Rudyard Kipling – “If”

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Ultimately love is everything. – M. Scott Peck

When I see quotes like this I am reminded of the old definition of charity.

St. Augustine described it as “charity is a virtue which when our affections are perfectly ordered, unites us to God, for by it we love Him.”

In the Christian faith, God is love. Love is a core and unwavering part of God’s being.

We all have the choice to approach others with this feeling of charity/love. The option to look at others as their creator does.

It is tempting to think of love only in the vein of our significant other (or our search for the special person), but it should be part of every interaction with every other person we interact with daily.

We can choose to think the best of them, to treat them well, to show kindness, to put their needs before our own, and to work towards making their lives better.

When we choose to pour ourselves out in service with love towards those around us, we find true joy. We find peace. We find the kinds of relationships we were made for.

Love is ultimately, everything. And it’s a choice we can make it every day.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Jake tip on how to do this more: imagine others as someone’s wife/daughter/husband/son/grandparent. Treat them how you would want someone to treat your own wife/daughter/husband/son/grandparent.

Teach self-denial and make its practice pleasure, and you can create for the world a destiny more sublime that ever issued from the brain of the wildest dreamer. – Sir Walter Scott

Make its practice pleasure.

To me, this is why attitude is important.

Our attitude or philosophy about something often determines our enthusiasm level.

I often think of ice cream vs exercise (I do this because I’m not a huge ice cream fan so it is easier on me).

Our attitude towards the two can make a big difference.

If we can choose to embrace exercise as a pleasure and relegate ice cream to something less, we’d probably make some better health choices.

To paint the picture of how that might go, think about a few scenarios….

Had a rough day…..a little exercise will perk me right up.

Had a great day….let’s top this off with a run.

Out of energy….man, I need to get my blood pumping – better get moving.

Time to celebrate…..let’s get out and go for a run together.

To be sure, if you said these things out loud most people would think you are a little strange. You wouldn’t be normal.

But that is the rub, do you really want to be normal?

If this analogy (ice cream vs exercise) isn’t useful for you, try to think of another one. Shopping vs reading. Watching TV vs praying. Stressing vs planning. I’m sure there are tons of good examples where an attitude or perspective change might do you some good.

Talk about it with someone. Write it down somewhere where you can see it. Practice some self talk to reprogram your mind.

Make it a great day.

Jake

It’s the world, dear. Did you expect it to be small? – Mrs. Beaver from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

This is one of my favorite lines from the movie.

One of the main characters, Peter, had just been complaining about how far they still had to go on their journey.

Mrs. Beaver’s quote is a great reminder – changing the world isn’t easy. It’s not small.

As you seek out purpose and the place where you can be of greatest value, don’t expect it to be small.

There is greatness within you.

You were built to change the world.

It’s going to be tough, but you got this.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/v8P_go_vj00

I like the idea of “be the change you want to see in the world”.

And the idea of “do for one what you wish you could do for all.”

Want people to be nicer? Be nice!

Want people to complain less on social media? Post something positive!

Want your family to quit being so weird? Love on them anyway!

Our lives are full of moment by moment choices. We can choose to move towards where we’d like go or away from it. No sitting on the fence allowed!

Make it a great day.

Jake

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

Obvious, right?

Including the word “should” at the end of this really hits the nail on the head.

Are there people that get older but not wiser? Yes!

Are there people who don’t learn along the way? Yes!

Are there people who mature and get wiser? Yes!

The should part makes a difference. Age does not equal wisdom. Experience does not equal skill.

Practiced experience creates skill.

A life thoughtfully and reflectively examined can lead to wisdom.

Are you examining your life’s experiences? Are you carefully and consistently building skills and experience towards something useful?

Make it a great day.

Jake

“God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. He knew it already. It was I who didn’t. In this trial He makes us occupy the dock, the witness box, and the bench all at once. He always knew that my temple was a house of cards. His only way of making me realize the fact was to knock it down.”

― C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

What a powerful thought.

Regardless of where you stand on believing in God and whether or not God places trials in our lives to test us, life will test you at some point.

The older I get the more I wonder how many of my "temples" are really houses of cards.

We see others whose metaphorical card houses have been toppled and quickly jump to conclusions about what they may have done wrong, not noticing we are balancing precariously in a card house ourselves.

But where’s the positive spin, Jake?

First, showing empathy for the weaknesses and follies of others can help us from meeting that same fate.

Second, seeing our house of cards for what it is before it falls can save us a whole lot of heartache.

Take a look at what you are building your beliefs and habits from to make sure they are built on solid footing.

Make it a great day.

Jake ​

One of the great things about writing this email every day is that I am forced to try and articulate my thoughts on some of the difficult areas of life.

Whether it be the balance between risk and reward or the balance between contentment and aspiration, the topics discussed are not easily defined and most days I’m not sure I understand what I am trying to write about.

But enough about the trials and tribulations of writing daily attitude emails, how is this applicable to others?

Forcing yourself to wade into and have the difficult philosophical discussions of life is an important part of understanding yourself and the world around you.

Stepping and leaning into the harder conversations is a big part of breaking through into deeper and stronger relationships with those around you.

Breaking old and established lines of thought by forcing them through the ringer of logic and language will also serve to grow us both in intelligence and maturity.

Are you having the difficult conversations?

Are you getting to the point of understanding those around you on a deeper level? Do they feel the same about you?

I know it can be hard, frustrating and maybe even make things worse for a short time, but it is worth it in the long run. One of the biggest benefits of having written these emails for so long is that others in my life have gotten insight into my thought processes.

I’m not suggesting you send out an email every day (only a crazy person would think they have something to say that often), but maybe some conversations could be had that aren’t happening right now. Maybe a meaningful email to someone on your team explaining your point of view would help bring closure to an outstanding issue.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Maggie turns 14 today. I found this email I sent out a few years ago and it’s still true today.

Today is Maggie’s birthday! Hard to believe we have a 10 year old in the house. We have officially gotten a child into double digits.

I can just hear all of the applause right now.

The biggest lesson that Maggie has taught me so far….enthusiasm makes the difference.

For some reason, God blessed us with one of the most enthusiastic people I have ever met.

She just radiates it.

It comes across in the class room at school.

It shows up at church on Sunday.

It shows up at the dinner table.

What if we could add just a little bit of that to our attitudes?

What if at the next meeting your first response to every idea was “That sounds awesome!”?

What if the next plan your spouse shared with you was met with “Great idea, babe, can we start right now?”

What if working out tomorrow morning could be met with a smile and a “This is gonna be fun!”?

What if we could be a little more like Maggie?

To quote a typical Maggie response, “Gee, Dad that sounds like fun!”

Make it a great day.

Jake