This is not about going back. This is about life being ahead of you and you run at it! Because you never know how far you can run unless you run. –Penny Chenery

Last night Meaghan and I watched Secretariat. Good movie, I would recommend it.

The quote above stuck out to me.

Our lives and our future are in front of us, we can choose to run at it or run from it.

Each of our lives are filled with potential. We must choose to reach that potential.

Is there something you should stop running from?

A particular habit, goal, or issue that needs focus?

Is there Something you need to start running towards?

Some goal, habit, or issue that needs you to be moving full speed ahead?

Make the choice to start running towards something good.

Make it a great day.

Jake

If you’re not happy with the place God has placed you right now, you won’t be happy as it continues to grow because you’ll always fall into the trap of “when and then” thinking – “When I get such and such, then I’ll be happy.” If everybody used contentment as an excuse for laziness, who would build the churches that reach the people? Who would care about world hunger? Who would fight for justice and equality? Who would even go out and get an education? The third grader who says, “I’ve learned to be content with whatever stage I’m at,” never goes on to the fourth grade. We cannot confuse contentment and laziness.

The paragraph above was in a newsletter I read and I thought it hit the nail on the head.

An important balance to reach in life lies between ambition and contentment.

The ambitious side of us is always looking for more. Bigger. Better. Faster.

The contented side of us is happy where we are.

Without ambition there is no growth, without contentment there is no happiness.

We must be content but not lazy.

We must be ambitious but not overly zealous and impatient.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Somehow forgot to send this out on Friday.

JD – Business is never so healthy as when, like a chicken, it must do a certain amount of scratching for what it gets. – Henry Ford

EB – Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records. – William Arthur Ward

JM – Being a geek is about being honest. About what you enjoy. And not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something. It’s basically a license to emote on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult. Being a geek is extremely liberating. – Simon Pegg

JW* – Ok, I’m really screwed up – I’m in a bond-bind or whatever you call it. – Ron Artest

http://youtu.be/ENPkLAeMJ5E

Might not quite qualify as a toe tapper, but I thought of Mavidea when I heard it.

I have often used the “running against the wind” analogy when describing the process of starting a small business during one of the toughest recessions in recent history.

Two main thoughts run through my mind as I think about running against the wind.

First, every step of the way you get stronger. Adding that little (or a lot) bit of resistance builds up our strength.

Second….just wait until that wind turns. That strength and resilience built up during the hard times will make things feel so much easier when things change.

As with most things, this comes with a caveat. Wisdom and judgment must be used. Sometimes running against the wind is actually the worst course of action.

Ask yourself if it is worth it. Ask yourself if being stronger in that particular area is desirable. Look ahead and see if that end goal is worth it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

I found the short piece below and wanted to share it today.

In particular I liked the line “To be "un-get-over-able" is really the point.”

Make it a great day.

Jake

Today’s Inspiration: Patricia Albere

Patricia is the founder of the Evolutionary Collective and the radio host of the popular New Edge Series.

If I could share 500 words to inspire, this is the important wisdom I’d want to pass along to others…

Our capacity to truly touch each other, to influence each other’s lives and make a difference, is one of our greatest gifts.

It is a way our love for each other creates something lasting and real.

In the last five years both my parents and my two beloved cats of 14 and 17 years died in my arms. In the stark and strangely beautiful reality of death, what matters about life is vivid and undeniable; that we love each other in a way that we are changed by that love. That is what we carry with us. To be "un-get-over-able" is really the point (in a good way, of course).

As a spiritual teacher, I’ve had the privilege to work with over 150,000 people in my life. People who were open and willing for my knowledge, my love and my teaching that allowed them to change their lives. And in that openness, they affected my life.

My invitation to you is first this: "What are you paying attention to?"

Are you intending to be open, to let someone’s words, love, and actions make a difference with you? Are you willing to be affected, to care, to depend on another? Are you willing to extend yourself, to be generous, to take a risk and perhaps change another’s life and their trajectory?

Often we’re just too busy with our own concerns to want to, or even be interested in, taking a risk to love and facilitate some change for another. We can also be too proud and too self-determined to allow someone to influence us and be gracious about it.

In our post-modern culture, the emphasis has been on our hyper-independence, our individuality, our personal space, needs and desires, it’s been about "ME", which has been useful in many ways.

Now it’s time for us to discover our interdependence, to discover "a higher WE" and the beauty of how we can love each other, and to create together and be unforgettable in each other’s lives!

For today I wanted to share the newsletter below from Harvey Mackay.

Some really great thoughts on commitment.

I heard Tony Robbins once say “The path to success is well documented and easily repeatable, what I work on with people is finding the motivation and commitment to follow that path.”

What is keeping you from committing to your goals?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Harvey Mackay’s Newsletter This Week

Commit yourself to success By Harvey Mackay

Eugene Orowitz was a skinny, awkward kid from New Jersey. Painfully shy, very self-conscious, and lacking self-confidence, when a high school coach half-jokingly asked him to try out for the track team, Eugene took him up on it, according to author Glenn Van Ekeren.

"Ugy," as his friends affectionately called him, discovered a talent for javelin throwing and committed himself to being the best that he could possibly be. What Ugy lacked in self-confidence, he made up for in commitment.

By graduation, Eugene had achieved a national high school record for throwing the javelin over 193 feet. His commitment also resulted in a college track scholarship at the University of Southern California.

A torn shoulder muscle ended his javelin-throwing career and any hope of making the Olympic team. However, while watching a play, Eugene became intrigued with acting. Again, he committed himself to being the best. He was determined to make it as an actor, so he enrolled in acting class. And he changed his name.

You know Eugene Orowitz as Michael Landon, who went on to star in three of the most popular shows in television history: "Bonanza," "Little House on the Prairie" and "Highway to Heaven."

Eugene/Michael demonstrated the difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it when circumstances permit. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.

Comedian Bill Cosby dropped out of Temple University as a junior and became a starving comedian. But he was committed to becoming successful, staying up all hours of the night to talk to seasoned comics, research material and work on new routines. I had a chance to play tennis with Bill many years ago and he told me: "Anyone can dabble, but once you’ve made the commitment, then your blood has that particular thing in it and it’s very hard for people to stop you."

Commitment is a prerequisite to success. Commitment is the state of being bound – emotionally, intellectually, or both – to a course of action. Commitment starts with a choice and is sustained by dedication and perseverance. Actions speak louder than words.

If you want something, but you’re not motivated to do the work required, you will be frustrated and unsuccessful. So take action!

• Make a list of everything you want. Write it all down. Don’t leave out anything that you want, from becoming a CEO to getting a date. Then rate each item according to its importance.

• Consider your investment. Examine each of the items on your list and ask yourself: "Am I willing to invest the time, energy and resources necessary to achieve this?"

• Make a decision. Look at your list and identify the items that you want the most with the highest score for "willingness." Then start working on a plan for success over the next weeks or months – and be sure to set a deadline.

Rev. Robert Schuller says there are four kinds of people: "First, there are the cop-outs. These people set no goals and make no decisions.

"Second, there are the hold-outs. They have a beautiful dream, but they’re afraid to respond to its challenge because they aren’t sure they can make it. These people have lost all childlike faith.

"Third, there are the drop-outs. They start to make their dream come true. They know their role. They set their goals, but when the going gets tough, they quit. They don’t pay the toll.

"Finally, there are the all-outs. They are the people who know their role. They want and need and are going to be stars: star students, star parents, star waitresses. They want to shine out as an inspiration to others. They set their goals. . . . The all-outs never quit. Even when the toll gets heavy, they’re dedicated. They’re committed."

To be committed, you must be "all in." You can’t just do the best you can. You have to do everything you can. Remember, the difference between 100 percent all in and 99 percent all in is 100 percent.

When I think of commitment, I think of the story of the Pig and the Chicken who are walking down the road. The Chicken says: "Hey Pig, I was thinking we should open a restaurant!"

The Pig replies: "Hmmm, what would we call it?"

The Chicken responds: "How about ‘Ham-n-Eggs?’"

The Pig thinks for a moment and says: "No thanks. I’d be committed, but you’d only be involved!"

Mackay’s Moral: An ounce of commitment is worth pounds of promises.

"I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change." — Jim Rohn

As vacation season is full upon us, I found this quote interesting.

We all need vacations. Time off to regroup and gather ourselves.

But it is the relative importance we place on them that can be called into question.

It seems like a lot of people are living for the next weekend, the next vacation, the next…..

As we look at how we spend our days, it might be wise to put more planning and happiness into those non-weekend and vacation times. There seem to be a lot more of them.

Do you spend more time planning your weekend than your diet for the week?

Do you plan time each week to get in some exercise?

Do you plan your finances out for the month every month?

Vacations and weekends are even better if they allow us to recharge to tackle the difficult goals in our lives, not to just make it through another week.

Make it a great day.

Jake

I have no idea when or what caused me to jot this down, but one day I wrote down the words “it ain’t over yet.”

As we passed over the half way point of 2013, I was reminded of this note.

No matter where you are in relation to your goals for the year, it ain’t over yet.

The half way point is a good time to step back for a minute and think about where you are and catch your breath before making the push to finish up strong.

And what if you just can’t meet your goal. Too much time has passed already and you can’t make up the lost ground.

Forget about it. Step back and begin anew. Focus on the progress you can make. It ain’t over yet.

Moving forward is the key.

Make it a great day.

Jake

http://youtu.be/_UKh9zszngc

Next up on the list of great things about America: freedom.

We are all free to do what we want, any old time.

We have the freedom to organize and shape our lives in the way we see fit to get the results we want.

But there is a second part to this equation: responsibility. Norman Vincent Peale said that since we have the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast we should have the Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.

Freedom is great.

Freedom with responsibility takes things to a whole different level.

As you think about the 4th of July and all of the great things about America and all of those troops who have and continue to fight for your freedom, ask yourself a couple of questions.

Am I making the most of the freedom being given to me?

Am I taking responsibility for my life?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Next up on the list of things to love about America: our Armed Forces.

We have a volunteer system in our Armed Forces.

Think about that for a minute, people voluntarily put themselves in harms way in order to protect the rest of us.

As the years go by and I slowly but surely get a little bit wiser (emphasis on the slowly), I become more and more appreciative of our Armed Forces.

The bravery and selflessness exhibited are to be admired.

As the 4th comes and goes tomorrow, find someone who has served and shake their hand and say “Thanks”.

Make it a great day.

Jake