A baby is born with a need to be loved – and never outgrows it. – Frank A. Clark

With Valentine’s Day this week, there will be lots of talk about love.

This quote is one my favorite reminders that we all need love.

Everyone is looking for love all around them, every day.

This quote reminds me of the tremendous opportunity each day represents.

The opportunity to show love to others.

We all need it. We are all seeking it.

And we have the chance each day to be loving towards others.

In so doing, we are given the chance to be loved.

Make it a great day.

Jake

In honor of Valentine’s Day coming up soon, I thought I would share this old daily attitude email with one of my favorite quotes on love.

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”

― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

I’ve listened to most of Brene Brown’s books over the course of the last year or so. She spends a lot of her effort explaining the truth that CS Lewis talks about in the quote above.

In particular lately, I’ve been thinking about how this quote applies to our work.

At Mavidea and Maxlider, we are in the service business. We work for our customers.

And they break our hearts all the time.

By not taking the good advice.

By cancelling and switching to another provider.

The same with our coworkers and teammates.

But these relationships are what make our work so worthwhile.

Only when we make ourselves vulnerable and open to the relationships around us do we get to experience the joy of our work.

At the risk of being a little sappy and corny, I’m going to ask you all to do something.

Open your hearts. Step into the scary situations and be yourself.

Lean in to the special place reserved for you in this world.

With our customers, with your teammates, with your loved ones.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Courage, dear heart. – CS Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

This is one of my favorite lines from the Narnia books.

To set the scene a little, this line comes in when they are on the island of nightmares and everyone is facing their worst fears. One of the main characters hears this as a whisper in her ear.

It made me think just how powerful three words could be.

Imagine this the next time you are troubled, worried or things just aren’t going your way: a whisper in your ear that simply says "courage, dear heart."

Make it a great day.

Jake

“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Monday morning reminder.

In order to find, we must look.

We must actively work towards finding what we desire for our lives.

It doesn’t just come to us.

We must find the relevant information.

We must ask others who might know where it is.

What are you looking for?

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/mzDVaKRApcg

Your love keeps lifting me higher.

My initial reaction to songs like this is to think of Meaghan and how wonderful she is and how lucky I am to have her.

But then my thoughts turn to figuring out how to be this person for her.

That’s the real challenge.

To love someone in a way that lifts them higher. For them. Not for what it does for you.

Each day we have the opportunity to once again lay down our life in love and service to those around us.

Find a way today to lift a loved one higher.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.” – Francesca Reigler

This goes for complaining too.

It takes the same amount of effort to complain as it does to say something positive.

Given these simple truths, we must ask ourselves a simple question.

Why think negative any more?

Why complain?

Jake’s answer – we’ve allowed ourselves to be poorly trained.

By ourselves, others, the media, whoever. We’ve allowed ourselves to get into mental habits that won’t get us where we want to go.

Pay attention to your thoughts today.

Don’t leave any room for complaining or negativity.

Crowd them out with positive thoughts and action.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

This a quote used a lot in “Daring Greatly” by Brene Brown.

She uses this quote as a centerpiece to her idea that daring greatly by being vulnerable is the key to living a wholehearted life.

What pops into your head when you read this quote?

A conversation you need to have with someone?

A bad habit that needs to be kicked to the curb?

A new habit that needs your focus?

Find a way to dare greatly today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew. – Marshall McLuhan

We all have our part to play.

Whether it is a small part or a big part.

There are no passengers. No free loaders. No one gets to do nothing.

Embrace your crew membership. Take pride in the roles you play, however small.

Do your best with whatever role you are playing today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Last night was the big game. The Super Bowl.

We don’t watch many sportsing shows at the Davis house, but we try to watch the Super Bowl every year.

There’s a lot wrong in the world of professional sports, but there’s also something magical about it.

We all can appreciate the excellence and hard work represented by those at the top of their profession.

But I think the real magic lies in the shared experience.

The shared experience shared by the teammates.

The shared experience of knowing so many others are watching the game.

The shared experience of a little family watching the game in their home.

Shared experiences have power.

Pay attention to your days and your moments this week.

How can you create a better shared experience with teammates, family and friends this week?

What can you do to bring the group together?

What part can you play in making things better.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/_7xMfIp-irg

The Beatles get played a lot in our house.

This song is a great reminder that love is all you need.

Each day is an opportunity to prioritize and lean into love.

Whether it be with our spouse or a waitress taking our order, we have the chance to infuse our interactions with love.

Andy Stanley talks about making decisions based on the question “What does love require of me?”

We can choose to treat others with love and make that our priority each day.

In the end, love will lead us to the good in life.

Make it a great day.

Jake