Now that I’m getting a little older, it’s harder and harder to ignore all the times that I’m wrong.

It’s been a bit of a wake up call, but hopefully I’ll finally learn something.

I recently received an email with these questions:

4 questions he recommends to test our intellectual humility:

– Do I tend to think more like a soldier or a scout? (A soldier’s job is to defend; a scout’s is to explore and discover.)

– Would I rather be right, or would I rather understand?

– Do I solicit and seek out opposing views?

– Do I enjoy the ‘pleasant surprise’ of discovering I’m wrong?

The Book of Beautiful Questions by Warren Berger

I especially liked the last one.

What a pleasant surprise how wrong I was?!?

Man, I wish I was that mature.

I bet Meaghan wishes I was that mature too. And my kids. And my business partners. And my friends. And my family.

Kind of seems like a lot of people might benefit from a little more humility on my part.

I’d better get to work.

Make it a great day.

Jake

As of Sunday, 2019 is half over already. It reminded me of this email I sent a couple of years ago. Maye it’s time to hit the reset button on a few goals and get to work.

Instead of one day….think day one.

Meaghan mentioned reading or hearing this somewhere, she probably just came up with it on her own but wanted to sound modest.

We are all good at putting off until tomorrow something we should be doing today.

We’re going to start that diet some day.

We’re going to come up with that budget some day.

We’re going to start exercising some day.

No time like the present though.

Just get started.

Take one small step….today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Yesterday we went to the Brewers game and they had the number 42 up to honor Jackie Robinson. It reminded me of this email below that I sent out previously.

We started watching “42” (the story of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball) and I have been listening to Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning” the last few days (in it he tells the story of his experience in a concentration camp).

Both stories include more than their fair share of difficulty and suffering.

The important thing was how each used their difficulties and suffering to find meaning and purpose in their lives.

We each have the same opportunity.

Sure, our suffering is not on the scale of theirs, but the lessons are the same.

Maybe you are having a hard time with your diet.

Maybe you are battling an addiction.

Maybe you are just having a hard time finding happiness.

Jackie and Viktor would both tell you to stick with it.

The hard part is worth it.

We can embrace our difficulties with the enthusiasm and energy that comes with recognizing that they serve a purpose. They refine us and mold us into the person we are capable of becoming.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/rblt2EtFfC4

Tonight is our party for Mavidea’s 12th anniversary.

As I get older and a little sappier I look forward to our team get togethers more and more.

Every time I am reminded of how lucky we are to have built all of these relationships.

The relationships between staff.

The relationships between our families.

The relationships with our customers.

Tonight we celebrate all those relationships.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work. – Richard Bach

Motivation. It seems to be the difference maker.

When we have a purpose strong enough, all the stuff in the way starts to seem inconsequential.

In a recent podcast from Andy Stanley he talked about a way to change this idea around in our heads.

Think about from the perspective of looking for the biggest way to serve.

In what way can you be of service?

Maybe a way to reword the quote above would be this:

The more I am of service to others, the less I call it work.

Whether you are serving one or one million, find a way to be of service.

Make it a great day.

Jake

God doesn’t want anything from us, he wants things for us. – Andy Stanley

Andy said this in his latest podcast and it really stuck out to me.

Some of my best moments have been when I have gotten myself to have this attitude towards others.

When we can get ourselves to the point of not wanting something from those around us to wanting something for those people we are at our best.

I try to specifically do this in sales and negotiation situations.

I imagine the other person as another child of God’s and imagine what He wants for them and then I work to try to get them there.

Don’t read too much into this, it doesn’t take long in those conversations to get back to worrying about what I want or something else, but I’m working on it.

If you are already great at this, turn it up a notch today.

If you aren’t, try it in a couple of small interactions.

If you think I’m a little weird, thanks for reading any way.

Make it a great day.

Jake

All the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action. – James Russell Lowell

One of my favorite ideas from Andy Stanley (although I’m sure he isn’t the only one to say it) is that love is a verb.

Love requires action.

Sentiments and nice words won’t do it.

We are all born with a desire to love and be loved, but we don’t get either without taking action.

In the Bible it commands us to “love our neighbors”.

Sounds nice, right?

What if instead it said “consistently act in a loving way towards your neighbor”?

Andy Stanley says that “love is a verb”, it requires doing; and then prompts us to ask the question “what does love require of me?”

What loving action could I take today?

Towards my spouse.

Towards my neighbor.

Towards my coworker.

Towards the strangers at Wal-Mart (or Target or wherever you shop…).

Find a way to take action today. Act out of love.

Make it a great day.

Jake

You may delay, but time will not. – Benjamin Franklin

Good reminder for a Monday morning.

Don’t delay.

Get to work.

Make some progress.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/_7xMfIp-irg

Today officially marks our 17th anniversary (and also Flag Day).

Sending this song out in hopes of making Meaghan smile.

It’s taken a lot of love to look past all my shortcomings and stay married to me for this long.

I’m sure it is a daily battle of putting love first and herself second.

Thanks, Meaghan!

Make it a great day.

Jake

Meaghan and I will be married for 17 years as of tomorrow so I was out reading a few of the DAEs from past anniversaries and found this one that I liked….

Today is Meaghan and I’s tenth anniversary.

Hard to believe that she has put up with me for the last ten years. In thinking about what to write today I figured that someone who can stay married to me for ten years has a few things to teach us about attitude.

So, in honor of our tenth anniversary, here are 10 things about Meaghan that might help us with our own attitudes.

1. Be creative. Meaghan loves to create things and gets joy from it.

2. Have a good sense of humor. She still makes me laugh (and even laughs at some of the things I say).

3. Put family first. As a stay at home mom, she does this every day.

4. Enjoy the small treats of life. Whether it be an ice cream cone with the kids or a special dinner made for someone’s birthday, learn to enjoy “the small stuff”.

5. Embrace God in your life.

6. Enjoy the outdoors. Nature is such a wonderful part of the world, enjoy it.

7. Grow something. She loves to work around the yard growing things.

8. Grow yourself. She is committed to reading, studying and doing other things to become a better mom, wife and person.

9. Be generous. Be generous with your time and your money.

10. Be humble. She will most likely have mixed feelings about this list, but that is just another great thing about Meaghan.

I could go on and on, but these are just a few that I thought I would share this morning.

Thank you for a great 10 years, Meaghan. Here’s to another 10.

I put Meaghan’s email address in the cc line for anyone that would like to send her some consolation of some kind for being stuck with me.

Make it a great day.

Jake