http://youtu.be/tsQbsWA_qWI

My favorite line is the first one “the rainy day is temporary”.

No matter how dark it gets, night will turn to day.

No matter how cold it gets, winter will turn to spring.

No matter how bad it seems, it will get better.

If it’s raining right now in your life, never lose hope that things will turn around.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Winning is more fun than losing.

I know this falls in the category of obvious, but I thought it would be a good reminder.

At the Global Leadership Summit there was an interview with the CEO of GE, Jeffrey Immelt.

He said that GE they “play to win” and it reminded me that winning is more fun than losing.

And he reminded me of another important point on this subject. Winning only counts when there is a chance of losing.

We must take some risks in order to really win.

Is there an area of your life where you need to take a chance on winning?

Are you playing it too safe so you don’t risk losing?

We can only really win if we take the chance of losing.

And we won’t always win, but that is what makes the victories we do achieve even sweeter.

Challenge yourself to step outside your comfort zone in order to win at something you are currently struggling with.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The me I see is the me I will be.

I have heard this thought in a few different forms lately.

Tony Robbins says it as “the standards you set for yourself are the standards you will meet.”

Look around at the standards you have set for yourself.

What standard do you have for your finances? Just get by and pay the bills or building a financial future for you and your family.

What standard do you have for your time? Just getting through the day or making the most of each day.

What standard do you have for your health? Just getting by or one of continual discipline around diet and exercise.

What standard do you have for your relationships? Just scratching the surface with your loved ones or deep and meaningful relationships.

Think about a challenging area of your life. Is it a problem of standards that are too low? Do you need to raise the bar for yourself?

Challenge yourself to raise your standards.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Walking ten blocks with a nagging wife or husband can be more fatiguing than walking ten miles with an adoring sweetheart.

This was a quote from "How to Stop Worrying" that I wrote down as I have worked my way through that book again. And I thought it went well to add on to yesterday’s email.

Think today about those important relationships in your life.

Are you a ten blocker or a ten miler?

We all have a chance to uplift or bring down those around us.

A few quick ideas to uplift those around you today.

Smile. A lot. Don’t stop. Seriously, smile. Like all the time.

Say "I am proud of you" out loud while looking the person you are proud of in the eye.

Say "I love you" out loud while looking someone you love in the eye.

Say "great job" to a coworker who did a great job on that call/project/meeting.

Hugs. Lots and lots of hugs.

Hope those get you started.

Make it a great day.

Jake

When your child spills their milk, they don’t need a lecture, they need a rag.

While this quote is about parenting, I think it is pretty easy to see how we might apply it in our adult relationships as well.

Most people don’t need us to point out their mistakes, they are all too aware of them. They probably even obsess a little over them.

Instead, they need a hand.

Our co-workers don’t need a lesson on good organizational skills after they dropped the ball with that client, they need help balancing a heavy workload.

Our spouses don’t need a lecture about cleanliness after they left the dirty clothes on the floor again, they need a hand with the chores.

Our friends don’t need a lecture on what kind of diet to go on, they need a friend to go to the gym with.

And our kids don’t need a lecture when they spill the milk, they need a rag.

Look for an opportunity this week to stop lecturing and jump in and help.

Make it a great day.

Jake ​

http://youtu.be/s56-Ta35JRk?list=PL4CwjKOuVQNW7PesaEty3IcjO2smwTxj2

Back to school time.

This song was a funny reminder for me to be thankful for all those that work to make sure that our two little ones have a great experience at school.

Even if you don’t have little ones in school, I am sure we all have a teacher or coach or someone through our school years that positively impacted our lives.

Make it a great day.

Jake

​

Big day at the Davis house today – first day of School.

Maggie starts third grade and Annie starts kindergarten.

A word that keeps popping into my head this morning is adventure.

Websters defines adventure as an exciting or remarkable experience. I sincerely hope that that describes part of what our two little kiddos will experience this year at school.

Are you on an adventure?

Are you excited about the experiences in your life?

Are you remarking to others about your experiences?

If you answered no to those two, maybe you need a little adventure in your life. Seek adventure out. It is all around us.

Make it a great day.

Jake

In Andy Stanley’s latest series, he is going through the process of decision making and how to make better decision’s in your life.

In this week’s edition he suggests asking yourself a question. What story do I want to tell?

When facing an important decision, he suggests looking into the future and asking this question to help clarify what you are really deciding.

Some examples….

When it comes to your finances, what story do you want to tell?

When it comes to your health and fitness, what story do you want to tell?

When it comes to your family and your closest relationships, what story do you want to tell?

These are just to get you thinking a little. Thinking of the story you want to tell is beginning with the end in mind. Everything becomes clearer when you can attach a story to it.

I encourage you today to not only think about what stories you want to tell, I encourage you to write them down. Then start making decisions that align with those stories.

We are all writing the story of our life everyday by the decisions we make.​ Let’s do our best to write the story we want to tell.

Make it a great day.

Jake

​If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.

We have all probably heard this at one point. It’s a classic dad line. Or maybe your first job at a restaurant or the factory.

Maybe a slightly different angle on this would be that if you are looking for something to do, serve someone else.

Any time you are wondering what to do next, think about what would be of the most service to someone.

We could train our minds to be constantly looking for an opportunity to be of service.

Challenge for today – find one small extra service you could do for someone.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Good working habit number 4 from "How to Stop Worrying" – learn to organize, deputize and supervise.

We can’t do it all.​ We all need the help of others to get where we want to go.

For the most part, others are willing to pitch in and help us along our way. We need only ask.

This represents another of life’s paradoxes: part of the giving process is also being willing to receive.

In order to be the best servant to others we must also be willing to be served.

We must give others the opportunity to grow through service as well.

Is there something that you need help on, but just haven’t been able to ask?

Ask. Today.

Make it a great day.

Jake