"If you’re always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be." – Maya Angelou

Stop trying to be normal.

You were not made to be normal.

It’s not about fitting in. It’s about becoming the best version of yourself possible.

Lean in to your own peculiarities.

Lean in to your own weirdness.

Lean in to your own way of doing things.

We were all built to love and to serve others. Each of us with our own unique contribution to the bigger picture.

Embrace your unique contribution. Don’t let yourself shrink back to what you think is normal.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/u3AXKjlH4rQ

Love is when the other person’s happiness is more important than your own. H. Jackson Brown, Jr

Make someone else’s happiness more important than your own today.

Show them you appreciate them.

Forget about what you want.

Do something special.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Laughter is the closest distance between two people. – Victor Borge

You probably already knew this.

Consider this a reminder to laugh more and to make others laugh.

What can you do today to laugh more?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Once every two weeks I have the good fortune of eating lunch with a few other small business owners at Bandana’s.

One of the people in our meeting is the owner, Anthony.

Yesterday he told the story of a family whose son had recently passed away. He told of how they came in all the time and he had gotten to know them. The boy had requested Bandana’s garlic bread after his chemo treatments.

It was a great reminder to cherish every day and to not miss a moment with our loved ones.

It was also a great reminder of the power of service to others.

I’m guessing that buttering and toasting the bread is pretty low on the “desirable jobs to do at Bandana’s” list.

But it was the most important job in the place on those days when that young boy got his bread.

The person making the bread most likely had no idea. The bread just got made as usual. Another task on a long list of seemingly unimportant to dos in a busy day.

Imagine the difference between making bread to cheer up a sick and dying child and making bread to just get through the day and get a paycheck.

We each have the opportunity to choose our attitudes as we go about our day and our service to others.

We never truly know the impact of our interactions with and service to others. We don’t get to see or hear the whole story.

All we get is the opportunity. The opportunity to serve with love. To do our best with whatever is in front of us. No matter how big or how small.

Seize your opportunities today. Do your best with everything in front of you.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The secret of happiness is something to do. – John Burroughs

I will take the liberty of adding one thing – the secret to happiness is something meaningful to do.

We are all so busy.

And that busyness hasn’t led to happiness for a lot of us.

But when we can match up our busyness with progress towards something meaningful we begin to feel that happiness we desire.

One other important thing from this quote that I agree with.

Happiness requires action.

Even if that action is to take a break, we must take action with purpose to get where we want to go.

Based on these standards then – do you have something to do today?

Make it a great day.

Jake

"People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity no matter how impressive their other talents"- Andrew Carnegie

Wow. Little harsh there, Mr. Carnegie.

Or maybe it just hit a little too close to home.

There is a consequence to not doing our best. Mediocrity. A wasting of our talents and gifts.

There is a reward for doing our best. Something better than mediocrity.

It’s a choice.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/RAzBfY_dYE4

Let this serve as your weekly reminder to get up and dance a little.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for." – William G. T. Shedd

Ships were built for sailing and so were you.

You were built for movement and progress.

You were built for service.

Don’t stay in the harbor.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“I always thought that the “thriving” would come when everything was perfect, and what I learned is that it’s actually down in the mess that things get good.”

― Joanna Gaines, The Magnolia Story

I recently finished reading this book and really liked this idea from the book.

She talks a lot about how all of the success came after she figured out how to thrive with the way things were.

One of the hardest paradoxes is the battle between being happy with the way things are and maintaining a desire and ambition for what could be.

We each have our own balance to strike between this focus on how things could be and how they are.

How can you be happy with what you have?

How can you inspire yourself towards better?

My hope is that each of you thrive today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat." – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Great quote for the last day of the second month.

Most of us have already had a setback or two with our goals to start this year.

But those are single defeats. We are only truly defeated when we quit.

Each defeat is an opportunity to learn and grow.

To begin anew with a fresh perspective and renewed enthusiasm.

It really is a choice. Choose to look at the obstacles as opportunities to grow or choose to see them as the end of the road.

Make it a great day.

Jake