https://youtu.be/L0MK7qz13bU

I made sure to send the sing a long version so you could belt it out.

Several conversations around the office lately have led to Jamie playing this song for someone (not going to name names).

We all can hold on to things we shouldn’t.

We hang on, hoping to control things that are out of our control.

We hang on to hurt feelings, expecting someone else to see or feel the same way we do.

At some point, we have to “let it go”.

We have to move forward and grow past it.

If something comes to mind while the song plays, make the effort to work on it. Make peace and move forward.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"Our lives improve only when we take chances and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves." – W Anderson

This quote reminded me of the chance we all take any time we spend a few moments to try to understand ourselves.

Each time is a chance that we won’t like what we see.

Spoiler alert for all of you out there: as with other areas of life, if you seek, you will find.

There is a least one part of yourself that you will want to improve if you take an honest look in the mirror.

But it’s worth taking the risk.

Only when we better understand ourselves do we get the opportunity to change.

All the good stuff you don’t have today but want for tomorrow is on the other side of some kind of change.

The only way to get there is to start by taking a look in the mirror.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“You can’t talk your way out of problems you behave yourself into.” – Stephen Covey

There is no substitute for action.

We can’t positive think ourselves into success, it requires action.

We can’t talk our way into a better relationship, it requires action.

We can’t read ourselves into solved problems, it requires action.

Be honest with yourself, are you waiting on something when you should be acting on something?

Do you need to put aside the excuses and get to work?

Make it a great day.

Jake

In one of the interviews of Jim Rohn they asked him what his best advice would be on parenting.

He said something like “if the parents are ok, the kids usually turn out ok.”

The point was that the best way for parents to influence their children was through their own development.

The mental picture I have is of “pouring into”. We can best pour into others when our cup is overflowing.

When we give all that is in our cup, we have no more to give.

When we fill our cup each day, we can give and give and give.

I think the same thing goes for all our relationships.

Want to be a good coworker? Fill yourself with positivity and skills that can help those around you.

Want to be a good friend? Be that person who is full of life that others want to be around.

Think about an important relationship in your life.

What might you do to fill your cup up more so that you can pour into that relationship more?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Below is an excerpt from Band of Brothers.

It is an amazing story about an amazing group of men.

This story stuck out to me because it shows how difficult battle and war can be for a person, but that hope and love can always win out.

Let’s be thankful for the service of others and spread hope and love wherever we can.

Make it a great day.

Jake

From Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose –

Sgt. Skinny Sisk also had a hard time shaking his war memories. In July 1991, he wrote Winters to explain. "My career after the war was trying to drink away the truckload of Krauts that I had stopped in Holland and the die-hard Nazi that I went up into the Bavarian Alps and killed. Old Moe Alley made a statement that all the killings that I did was going to jump into the bed with me one of these days and they surely did. I had a lot of flash backs after the war and started drinking. Ha! Ha!

Then my sister’s little daughter, four-years old, came into my bedroom (I was too unbearable to the rest of the family, either hung over or drunk) and she told me that Jesus loved me and she loved me and if I would repent God would forgive me for all the men I kept trying to kill all over again.

That little girl got to me. I put her out of my room, told her to go to her mommy. There and then I bowed my head on my mother’s old feather bed and repented and God forgave me for the war and all the other bad things I had done down through the years. I was ordained in the latter part of 1949 into the ministry and believe me, Dick, I haven’t whipped but one man since and he needed it. I have four children, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

The Lord willing and Jesus tarrys and I hope to see you all at the next reunion. If not I’ll see you on the last jump. I know you won’t freeze in the door.

https://youtu.be/iPUmE-tne5U

As the calendar moves forward, the mornings get sunnier and sunnier.

The last few mornings walking Annie to school have been particularly sunny.

Sun and sunshine are good for the soul.

Make an effort to get outside a little over the weekend.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is poverty. Ignorance is devastation. Ignorance is tragedy. Ignorance is illness. It all stems from ignorance." — Jim Rohn

As a follow up to yesterday’s email about how we are all ignorant in our way, I thought I would follow up with this quite from Jim Rohn.

We are all ignorant, but if we continue to be, we can expect what Jim Rohn describes.

While we shouldn’t beat ourselves up over not knowing, we should also never stop our search for knowledge and information to lead us out of our ignorance.

We choose our ignorance.

But we must choose wisely.

Choosing ignorance in the important areas of life is a recipe for disaster.

Seek out knowledge and wisdom about what is important to you.

Be ok with not understanding that which is not.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects. – Will Rogers

I really like simple ideas like this that illustrate how our thinking might be flawed.

Beating yourself up because you didn’t know something, maybe it’s time to realize that you are/were just ignorant on that subject.

Really struggling with something, maybe you are ignorant now and some learning and growth are required.

Dealing with someone who just “doesn’t seem to get it”, maybe they are ignorant of a few important facts that would make all the difference.

We tend to judge ourselves and others a little harshly in this area. Expecting ourselves and others to not be ignorant.

Recognize where you don’t know.

Recognize that others don’t know.

Plan for it.

Take care of it.

Move around it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Last night was Oliver’s very first tball practice.

We laughed and cheered while Oliver and the rest of the little boys ran around and played catch.

I was thinking about it afterwards and thought there might be a good life lesson in there for the rest of us.

When a child first does anything (walk, play tball, etc.) we cheer them on as they learn and grow.

We don’t correct their mistakes, we cheer on their efforts.

But when we look at ourselves, we tend to be a little harder on ourselves.

We try something new and criticize ourselves for not doing it right.

We get to work on a new habit but give up as soon as we have a bad day.

What if instead we took the same perspective we did towards tball?

We cheered on the efforts and the fun.

We corrected and coached, but gently.

We encouraged ourselves and others on the same journey.

Let’s try to be a little more kid like in our approach to growth and learning.

Make it a great day.

Jake

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. – Anne Frank

Great way to start a Monday – with the reminder that we don’t need to wait to start making things happen. We can start right now.

This day, this week, this month can be your new beginning, the time you really poured it on.

The world changes when we do.

Change begins when we do.

Let’s get started.

Make it a great day.

Jake