People need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed. Samuel Johnson

This quote reminds me of the daily attitude emails.

It reminds me that when you read this in the morning (I can just picture everyone anxiously looking at their inbox with anticipation every morning), you most likely already know more about what I am writing about than I do.

Hopefully I am providing a reminder of those things you already know.

I know this to be true because of some of the emails and comments I have received in response to daily attitude emails.

“Did you write that one for me?”

“That was just what I needed.”

“Thanks for the reminder this morning.”

As much as I would like to pretend that I am brilliant in writing these emails, they are really just my own version of some already existing concept.

And my sincere hope is that they can serve as a reminder or inspiration for you to move your life in a positive direction.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Last week they sent out an 8th grade graduation video for Maggie’s school. In it they announced some award winners for the school and Maggie got the Shawn Twyford award for being positive and a good friend to all.

I’m sure this is just a proud dad moment, but if I could have picked an award for her to win it would have been that one.

Math is great, attendance is great, and sportsing is great, but I’m convinced that in the end the relationships and our attitude matter more.

But this isn’t an email just to brag about how awesome Maggie is.

The award was a reminder of all the awards that are easiest to chase in life.

Most money.

Best stuff.

Handsomest husband.

Best behaved children.

Looks the best in a swimsuit.

Coolest.

We get sucked into running around and chasing awards that maybe shouldn’t be on the top of our list.

What really matters is how much we have served others in love. How much of ourselves we have gladly given up for others. The relationships and love we have fostered.

What awards are you trying to win? What has your focus and attention?

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – All of the made up awards above are not bad awards. Some might even be the most important to you right now, but make sure you are choosing them on purpose with purpose.

Found the list below in an old daily attitude emails and thought now might be a good time to share.

It’s corny….but maybe we need a little corny right now.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.

It is the most requested column I’ve ever written”.

“My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more”:

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time.

42. You already have all you need.

43. The best is yet to come…

44. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift."

https://youtu.be/vYQkONw8PYs

Sending this one out in honor of “The Last Dance” that a few of us are watching.

Watching the show has reminded me again of the special place that sports can play in our society and lives.

It’s more than just the money, advertising or shoe sales.

Sports at its best pits worthy competitors against each other. Each one doing their best. Each one doing something they couldn’t have done without the sharpening effect of competition. The competitors finding something inside themselves that is transcendent.

That’s probably a little too philosophical for a rap song with “Bulls!” cut in a whole bunch of times.

Even so – think today about what doing your best really means.

What it means for your family.

What it means for your coworkers.

What it means for you.

The Bulls team and the show about them has reminded me that doing our best matters. Doing and being the best version of ourselves is worth it. Hiding and shirking are to be avoided. Striving and trying are to be pursued.

Make it a great day.

Jake

My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me. – Winston Churchill

This is definitely true for me as well (not sure that I’ve had many other “brilliant achievements” though).

When our time is up and our life is over, the meaningful relationships of our lives are what will stand out.

We are built for relationship.

Not the FaceBox friend relationships either. Deep, meaningful relationships that enrich our lives in ways we couldn’t imagine.

Our higher and best self reveals itself in our ability to foster these relationships through love and service to others.

Each day is an opportunity to lean into this wonderful opportunity – to put others ahead of ourselves in order to strengthen and nurture the important relationships of our lives.

What’s your plan to invest in your relationships today?

Make it a great day.

Jake

This daily attitude email from a few years ago seemed appropriate this year.

Let’s bounce back to a positive attitude.

If you have a bad minute, that’s ok. If you have a bad day, it’s because of your attitude. – Jeffrey Gitomer

I was listening to a Jeffrey Gitomer video on attitude yesterday and this little quote stood out.

For some reason we tend to hold on to negative feelings and attitudes for too long.

Many Mavideans have heard me say some version “It’s ok to be angry about this for tonight, but tomorrow we need to shake it off and move forward.”

Maybe my suggestion lasts longer that Mr. Gitomer’s, but the idea is the same.

Feel the emotion. Let yourself be upset when something is upsetting. Let yourself be frustrated when things are frustrating.

But hold on to it too long and you become an upset person. A frustrated person.

Our attitude is the place we bounce back to after something good or bad happens.

Hold on to a bad thing too long, maybe you bounce back a little lower.

Let go of that negative experience real quick and the bouncing back becomes much easier.

As you might have expected, I suspect the opposite is true for the positive side.

Something good happens, hold on to it.

Keep moving forward, but don’t let it go. Add the next one right on top of it. Keep them in your mind, piling them up so that the bad stuff seems small in comparison.

Imagine a giant pile of positives next to a single negative that you pick up and put in the trash.

Seems small and easy to do now. But that also makes it easy not to do.

The choice is yours and it is important. Don’t let yourself be lazy with it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. – CS Lewis

Not sure about you, but there have been a few times where 2020 hasn’t felt like the best year…..

But it’s also not over.

We can still write the ending.

CS Lewis lived and wrote during and after World War I and II. He lived and experienced tremendous hardship on a global and terrifying scale.

In this, he still saw the power to change the ending. To redeem mankind from the horrible atrocities and come together in order to build a better tomorrow.

This opportunity exists for us, right now.

Whether it be Mavidea and Maxlider and the difficulties we are facing or humankind as we face a global pandemic that reminds us all just how little control we really have.

We can choose to start where we are and change the ending. We can choose to work together – through love in service to one another – to write an unbelievable story together.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The natural state of motherhood is unselfishness. When you become a mother, you are no longer the center of your own universe. You relinquish that position to your children. – Jessica Lange

What a great quote about motherhood.

I’ve never been a mother, but it seems to me that there is a magical moment (it happened with our three the moment they were born) where a mother stops being a regular person and starts being a mom.

A moment when a woman makes a decision to always put their little ones needs before their own, or at the very least realizes that that’s how it should be.

In this way, motherhood serves as an example of what human beings are capable of.

By placing the needs of their children first, mothers are capable of amazing things.

Getting very little sleep.

Always eating last.

Eyes in the back of their head.

Holding down two jobs.

Monumental acts of strength while protecting their children.

Mothers serve as proof of how great each of us can be when we live and love selflessly.

Make it a great day.

Jake ​

https://youtu.be/PQazF6jUt8M

I liked the simple message in this one.

Every day is sunshine if I count my blessings.

It’s hard to argue with that.

Count your blessings today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

But the story of the golden calf also reminds us that without rules we quickly become slaves to our passions—and there’s nothing freeing about that. – Jordan Peterson

Jordan is talking about the story from the Bible when Moses comes down with the Ten Commandments.

It’s part of human nature to push back and bristle when rules and limitations are pushed on us.

We tend to fight back when told we have to or can’t do a particular thing.

We also tend to be happiest with clear boundaries and rules.

We know instinctively that if left to our devices things will get out of hand quickly.

I wonder if the mature person is someone who figures out which rules really matter.

Which ones you can really, truly build a life around.

And they avoid the surface level trappings of the rules and limitations of “fitting in” or “being cool” or whatever expectations are placed on us that aren’t good for us.

Knowing the difference is key.

Spending time learning from other wise people is a good way to get there.

Make it a great day.

Jake