“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 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

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

Back home today after a trip up North.

Vacation brings with it a new appreciation for being home.

Glad to be home.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Yesterday was a travel day on this vacation and we spent most of the day in the car.

It was a great reminder to focus on the journey and not the destination.

If you spend the whole time complaining about the trip and thinking about the destination, you will miss a lot along the way.

This is another area of life that takes balance.

We must set and take aggressive steps towards ambitious goals.

While a the same time slowing down enough to smell the roses and learning to be content with what we have.

I certainly haven’t figured this one out yet, but I’m hoping that recognizing it is a good first step.

Have you ever gotten out of balance in this area?

If so, which way do you tend to fall?

What can you do to restore balance?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Today is Maggie’s birthday! Hard to believe we have a 10 year old in the house. We have officially gotten a child into double digits.

I can just hear all of the applause right now.

The biggest lesson that Maggie has taught me so far….enthusiasm makes the difference.

For some reason, God blessed us with one of the most enthusiastic people I have ever met.

She just radiates it.

It comes across in the class room at school.

It shows up at church on Sunday.

It shows up at the dinner table.

What if we could add just a little bit of that to our attitudes?

What if at the next meeting your first response to every idea was “That sounds awesome!”?

What if the next plan your spouse shared with you was met with “Great idea, babe, can we start right now?”

What if working out tomorrow morning could be met with a smile and a “This is gonna be fun!”?

What if we could be a little more like Maggie?

To quote a typical Maggie response, “Gee, Dad that sounds like fun!”

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – I am out on vacation starting today through next Tuesday. If you would like to send out a daily attitude email or the toe tapper on Friday, let me know.

JD – You will never win if you never begin. Helen Rowland

JW – Love your wife as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her. Ephesians 5:25

• http://tinyurl.com/jamies-ball-speech

MS -The foolishness of man perverteth his way: And his heart fretteth against the Lord. – Proverbs 19:3

EB – Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble. – George Washington

I have listened to it yet, but Jamie did us the honor of including a link to a speech he recently gave at a Mary Kay event.

Afterward, a veteran came up to him and share a heartwarming story about how Jamie’s speech had inspired him to get back to church.

Listen to it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Yesterday was RB’s 9th anniversary at Mavidea.

This might sound weird, but I think I might be more excited about that than the company’s anniversary last month.

We came together and created this business. That was super cool. Then we got a complete stranger to believe in it and come work for us.

And she is still here 9 years later!

Things haven’t been perfect and I’m sure there are times when she thought we were crazy (she was right), but somehow we grew together.

Became this whole other thing together.

Something better. Something more impactful.

I know I am better for having had RB around for the last 9 years.

But you want to know the best part?

RB was just the beginning….we’ve hired a few more people over the years.

Not all good hires, but we have ended up with an unbelievable group of people making a difference in the world.

Can’t do much better than that.

Thanks, RB!

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – I am out on vacation from tomorrow through next Tuesday. If you would like to send out a daily attitude email or the toe tapper on Friday, let me know.

https://youtu.be/UOHI8qdZkH8

Sometimes we need an inspirational speech to get the week started right.

A few inspiring words can make a difference in how we look at the week ahead.

I encourage you to seek out those words and that inspiration.

Whether it is your favorite movie clip or your favorite book or just poking around on the intertubes to find something inspirational, go out and look.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/U5bUmx-hk-c

I suggested this song to Jake, and then he suggested I write about it. J

This is on my happy songs playlist because it reminds me of being a kid in the summer (even though that’s not really what the song is about). It brings back a certain summer feeling…riding in my dad’s pickup truck with the windows down on a hot Saturday morning running errands, or riding the train with friends to the city in the evening and walking down to the lake where it’s always cooler. Sitting on a hot bleacher bench enjoying the nervous wait to be on deck by being silly with team mates, or watching my favorite brother play baseball, or sitting under the lights among a huge crowd at Comiskey hoping Big Frank hits a homer so the scoreboard will go off. Walking to tennis lessons in the morning coolness, and then walking home as it’s starting to heat up, and stopping at White Hen for a slushie. Later in life, a couple of cold beers in the evening at an outdoor party; watching the kids at the 4th of July parade with its loud sirens bouncing off the hot pavement, then the excitement of lightening bugs and fireworks in the dark; taking the kids to the pool when the sun is not quite so blazing overhead and it’s a little less crowded and a lot more relaxed.

In the summer we get to enjoy the heat of the day, and the different world of the summer nights, too.

Meaghan

Yesterday, one of you decided to make my day.

It seems that Mikie was thoughtful and caring enough to send out an email asking you to send a thank you my way for sending these emails every day.

It was (and continues to be) a humbling experience.

I received messages full of sincere appreciation from people I have never even met.

I received messages speaking of the difference the emails have made in the lives of others.

I was reminded that we each have the ability to make someone’s day.

Mikie did it for me by sending out that email.

You can do the same for someone else in your own way.

Do something today to make someone’s day today. Just like you did for me yesterday.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – In case it isn’t clear – THANK YOU to all of you who sent me messages yesterday. Thank you to all of you for reading and letting me in to your life each day.

JD – Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we

grow up. Pablo Picasso

JW* – “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” Andy Warhol

JR* – “ In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

MS* – “A Good artist has less time than ideas.” Martin Kippenberge

EB* – “Creativity takes courage.” Henri Matisse

I’m not particularly gifted when it comes to “art”, but I am amazed by those that are.

I grabbed a few of these quotes and shared them to remind us all of the creative part of us.

Whether we express it through painting or business, writing or parenting, sculpture or friendships is not the important part.

The important part is to think beyond what is there today to create something better for tomorrow.

Make it a great day.

Jake