Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

This famous poem by Robert Frost is a great reminder as we start another day. As we begin anew and look at the paths available to us as we go about our day.

Today, take the path less traveled.

Change things up. Even if it is a tiny change.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Yesterday was the official first day of fall.

Here in Illinois the farmers are starting to get out into the fields to start the process of the harvest.

Jim Rohn calls it the ultimate in maturity to reap in the fall without complaint if we haven’t done well and with gratitude if you have done well.

We all are at different stages with different parts of our lives.

In some areas we are planting.

In some areas it’s winter.

In some areas we are tending our garden for the summer.

In some areas we are reaping what we have sown.

If we are in the season of reaping in an area of life, we must do so in a mature manner, no matter the yield.

It’s also a time to understand what results from how we planted and cared for the different areas of our life. To look at the fruit of our life to see if maybe we could do something different next time.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. – John Wooden

Today’s challenge: make the best of the way things turn out.

Regardless of what happens today, make the best of it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Yesterday was the 4th anniversary of when I started sending out these emails.

As I think about the Daily Attitude Email, three main thoughts come to mind:

First, thankfulness. Thankful for those that read it. Thankful for all the encouragement along the way. It really is something special to have the kind of relationships with everyone that allow me to write what I write in these emails and know that even the poorly written ones will be well received.

Next, the power of journaling. There is probably a scientific study out there somewhere proving that your brain works differently when you force it to write out your version of an idea. I would encourage everyone to sit down and write.

Lastly, the power of accountability. If I had only been writing these emails to myself over the last four years, I probably would have quit. Knowing that everyone is expecting an email from me every morning means that quitting hasn’t been an option. If you are stuck on something, find some way for someone else to hold you accountable.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – Since I know you really want to go back and read the last few years of Daily Attitude Emails after this, don’t forget to go to: www.thedailyattitudeemail.com.

http://youtu.be/y6Sxv-sUYtM

This one goes out to Mikie (our Director of Controlled Chaos) on her last day in the office.

One of my favorite things about Mikie is how happy and smiley she has been as people enter our office. She has given a great first impression for Mavidea and been a positive influence on all of us in the office.

We all have the opportunity to be a positive influence.

We all have relationships and people we interact with daily that will be enhanced by our smile.

Make sure and smile today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old. – Peter Drucker

Create your own stop doing list.

Find a few things in your life to stop doing.

And then replace them with something you have been wanting to do.

Make it a great day.

Jake

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. – Eleanor Roosevelt

It seems to me that too many of us struggle with feelings of inferiority and/or superiority at different points in our life.

This quote is a great reminder that it all begins in our minds.

We control how we feel about our worth.

And when we look closely we find out that comparison to others is folly. Each of us was uniquely and wonderfully made with our own set of talents, desires, personality, etc.

Our only comparison should be with that ideal version of ourselves that we constantly strive for.

What or who makes you feel inferior?

What or who makes you feel superior?

Make it a great day.

Jake

MS – Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Matthew 6:34

EB – Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. – Lou Gehrig

JW – Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance. Samuel Johnson

BAD – Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. – Economist E.F. Schumacher

JD – An empty canvas is a living wonder… far lovelier than certain pictures. – Wassily Kandinsky

Here is the farewell address from Lou Gehrig:

"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

"Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I’m lucky.

"When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift – that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies – that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter – that’s something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body – it’s a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed – that’s the finest I know.

"So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for."

– Lou Gehrig

Make it a great day.

Jake

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. – Thomas A. Edison

This sentiment runs throughout history. Stories of people who gave up when success was just around the corner. Times when everything seemed the darkest but the light was right around the corner.

It’s always darkest right before the dawn.

I’m guessing most of us having something like this in our lives right now.

We are starting an exercise regimen, but it just seems like too much time to keep going.

We have been saving and sticking to a budget but then a big expense comes up.

We have been working hard and making progress but then our biggest client leaves.

There are these points in life when we have to decide to bear down and make it through it. Success lies on the other side of these moments.

Take courage in this thought this morning. Success lies on the other side of whatever difficulty you are now facing.

Make it a great day.

Jake

In order to make progress we must make decisions. – Jim Rohn

What a great reminder on a Monday morning.

Is there a decision you need to make that you have been putting off?

Make it. Today.

And make it a great day.

Jake