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
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
Here’s a great reminder for the day:
"Slow Me Down Lord"
Slow me down Lord. Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind.
Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal march of time. Give me amid the confusion of the day, the calmness of the eternal hills.
Break the tension of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory.
Help me to know the magical restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art of taking MINUTE vacations, Of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pat a dog, to read a few lines of a good book.
Slow me down Lord and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life’s enduring values that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny.
Author: Wilfred A. Peterson
Make it a great day.
Jake
Travel does not exist without home. If we never return to the place we started we would just be wandering, lost. Home is a reflecting surface, a place to measure growth and enrich us after being infused with the outside world. – Josh Gates
Packing up the family truckster again this morning to head home.
Even after a fun trip, it’s always good to be heading home.
This quote reminded me that we don’t have to go far from home to use it as a reflecting surface and place to measure our growth.
When you head home today, reflect on how lucky you are have a place to call home and goals and aspirations to reflect on.
Be thankful for what you have and all that you have ahead of you that is worth working towards.
Rest, reflect and replenish yourself for another day of tackling life and all its wonders.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Found this old daily attitude email, figured we could all use a reminder to be a little weird where it counts.
“Some are born weird, some achieve it, others have weirdness thrust upon them.” ― Dick Francis, To the Hilt
While on vacation I saw a woman running. She was running fast, had all the gear on, etc.
I thought to myself “she must be one of the weirdos that actually likes running.”
And then I thought “maybe I need to be a little more weird.”
And then I thought “maybe I could send out a daily attitude email about this.”
And then I thought “better make a note so I don’t forget.”
And then you thought “get on with it, you weirdo.”
Anyways, achieving something meaningful or breaking through our self-constructed barriers usually involves getting weird about something.
The person who ends up with a fortune first had to be the person who was a little weird about making and saving money.
The person who loses the weight and keeps it off first had to be the person who was a little weird about the food they ate and how it was prepared.
The person with all the great friendships first had to be the weirdo who talked to everybody and invited himself over.
We are all a little weird in our way.
But maybe we should consider adding to it. Adding a little weirdness where we need to make a change.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Practical Steps for Friendship, Unity and Intimacy in Your Marriage
