Safe and sound.
The love of another can make us feel safe and sound. We can feel the solidness and sureness that is in this love.
I wonder if this feeling only comes when we first love someone else in this way.
We must give in order to receive.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Bill Anders from IT Connexx shared this on FaceBox yesterday. It’s better than anything I was going to come up with this morning.
Nike has a great new slogan, "Yesterday you said today."
You may have had a great year in 2014, either personally or professionally, or both, but could it have been better?
What got pushed to the back burner last year? Too often the answer we all have is; "I really wanted to…" and rarely, "I’m so glad I got this done." Your woulda-shoulda-coulda list of ways you wanted to work on your personal life or business life might be different, but one thing is for sure: Whatever you postponed in 2014 is still a problem in 2015 AND it involves relationships and people.
So What Should You Do?
– SLOW DOWN and meet with someone who has been where you want to be. Find a person who has no emotional bias in the decisions you have to make and have a discussion.
Do not try to be a Lone Ranger. Even he had Tonto by his side to help out.
– CAUTION: If this year was "Groundhog Day" for you – you entered the year with regrets similar to when you started 2014… then talk with someone you trust and have a candid conversation. Do NOT waste another year.
– Be a 3strands LEADER
Demonstrate Systematic Leadership as you inspire others in Meaningful Work, and consistently express Sincere Gratitude to people around you.
Thanks, Bill.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Believe while others are doubting.
Plan while others are playing.
Study while others are sleeping.
Decide while others are delaying.
Prepare while others are daydreaming.
Begin while others are procrastinating.
Work while others are wishing.
Save while others are wasting.
Listen while others are talking.
Smile while others are frowning.
Commend while others are criticizing.
Persist while others are quitting.
William Arthur Ward
A friend recently posted this on the FaceBox.
Be extraordinary requires that we do things ordinary people aren’t doing.
Are you doing what’s necessary to be extraordinary?
Make it a great day.
Jake
"Without momentum, even the smallest obstacle can prevent you from moving forward. But with it you can plow through anything." – John Maxwell
In the article where John Maxwell talks about momentum, he uses the example of a train. When just getting started, a train can actually be stopped by a one inch block on the track. When moving at full speed, a train will smash through almost anything.
Think about the areas in your life where you are struggling to get started. Maybe you just need to remove the small obstacle to get going.
Focus on a really small, really short term goal.
Once you do that, pick another one.
Keep up this process until you have some momentum. And then you will be unstoppable.
Make it a great day.
Jake
The only way to have a friend is to be one. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
This quote is a great reminder of a simple truth of relationships – they are reciprocal.
In order to have a great relationship of any kind, the best thing we can do is to focus on our part.
By improving ourselves, disciplining ourselves, and create a better version of ourselves we can become better friends, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers or whatever role we play in the important relationships of our lives.
Make it a great day.
Jake
My favorite lines from this one are all the “you could be a …….”
If you could fill in the blank at the end of that, what would you put in there?
What do you want to be?
We all have the miracle inside us that allows us to become whatever we can picture for ourselves.
We just need to get started, never quit and enjoy the journey.
Make it a great day.
Jake
To love is to act. – Victor Hugo
We frequently hear and extol the virtues of love. There are so many good things that come from love.
I liked this quote because it pull all of those virtues and benefits into perspective.
To love is to act.
It is not to think or to feel. It is in action that love is activated and can work magic.
It is through action that love can change the world.
It is through action that love can change us.
Take action today.
Make it a great day.
Jake
It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. – Confucius
I saw this quote and thought it was a great time of year to send it out.
As we all think about new goals and stretching ourselves further, we typically fall short at some point or don’t make the progress we wanted as quickly as we would have liked.
The important part is to stick with it.
Focus on the progress you are making, enjoy the journey along the way.
Make it a great day.
Jake
JD – You are The Special.
EB* – People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do. – Isaac Asimov
JW -Any day that you can stay home and play Legos all day is a good day. – Ethan Warmbir
MS – Prudence means practical common sense. Taking the trouble to think about what you are doing and what is likely to come of it. – CS Lewis
BAD – Form your purpose by asking for council, then carry it out using all the help you can get. – Proverbs 20:18
BethAnne’s sharing of a Proverb from the Bible is a great example of what I have seen consistently from her (and Mike, too) over time.
She consistently has some wise words to share from this portion of the Bible.
The lesson I have learned from her is that “seek and you shall find” is actually true. She purposefully sits down and reads (and rereads) the Proverbs.
Because of this she has a lot of wisdom to share with our leadership team and is wise beyond her years.
I share this story not to convince everyone how cool BethAnne is. I share it to show that if you go out looking for wisdom, you will find it.
If you go out looking for positive and uplifting, you will find it.
If you go out looking for hope and love, you will find them.
What are you out looking for?
Make it a great day.
Jake
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” – Martin Luther King Jr.
One of the persistent themes that flows throughout speeches and quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. was that of service.
He seemed to understand that service to others was part of the path to prosperity that he and the people he led were seeking.
Think about the situation though.
They were persecuted, belittled, beaten and mistreated in every way possible. It would have been difficult to live in that environment and have your thoughts be focused on serving others.
But he knew that love and service would win out. He knew that the only way to rise above it all was to be better than their oppressors.
As we think about Martin Luther King Jr. let’s remember to focus on service to others regardless of our current circumstances. It is the sure path to victory and happiness in the long run.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Practical Steps for Friendship, Unity and Intimacy in Your Marriage
