Direction, not intention, determines your destination. – Andy Stanley

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in our good intentions and forget to look up and see what our actual direction is.

We intend to lose the weight but are in the car on the way to the drive through again.

We intend to start exercising but our finger is pressing the snooze button again.

We intend to start saving for retirement but our Amazon order history shows something else altogether.

Sometimes our intentions betray our true direction.

But how can we know?

Face the facts.

Look at the scale, look at that bank statement, look at the health of your relationships.

Look at what happens to others with similar intentions and directions. Is everyone else on your path ending up somewhere you don’t want to end up? Might want to change directions.

Time marches on relentlessly, regardless of our intentions or direction.

Might want to make some time to look around and make sure you are marching in the right direction.

Make it a great day.

Jake

JD – The temptation of the age is to look good without being good. – Brennan Manning

JW – PC load letter….what the fuck does that mean? – Michael Bolton

EB – I did everything by the seat of my pants, that’s why I got hurt so much. – Evil Knievel

MS – Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you will start having positive results. – Willie Nelson

Who would have thought that Willie Nelson would have so much wisdom to share.

Short and simple ideas like that are particularly interesting to me.

What if it was as simple as replace the negative thoughts with positive ones?

What if getting better results were that easy?

Would you do it?

Have you ever tried it?

I suspect that for most of us, this wouldn’t be as simple as it sounds. It might even be REALLY hard. It might even take a REALLY long time.

But if you made progress every day, bit by bit, what might then become possible for you?

Lots of questions here, hopefully you can take a moment to really think about them.

Make it a great weekend.

Jake

http://youtu.be/N8xnLkyKgsE

Saw this on FaceBox the other day and couldn’t help but be inspired.

Inspired by the smiles on the children’s faces.

Inspired by the love and care of dedicated nurses.

We were made to give our all in service to others.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Thanks to Chris for the email series over the last week or so. What a great group of lessons around what to expect from others and how to manage ourselves through that process to create less stress and more overall happiness for ourselves and others.

I have been listening to a book called “Focus” and he had an interesting quote from an economist from the 70’s who was forecasting the future of the “information age”.

“Information consumes attention, hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”

As I look around and see so many of us seemingly overwhelmed with business and a lack of time, I wonder if part of the cause is our lack of attention because of the overwhelming amount of information available to us.

We find time for FaceBox, Twitter, Pinterest, email and general internet surfing, consuming information at a record rate; but at what cost?

Are we failing to pay attention to those things that are really important?

We keep up with our FaceBox page/friends, but haven’t had dinner with that close friend for a year.

We are up to date on the latest hilarious YouTube video, but don’t know how our family is doing.

We just completed the latest Candy Crush level, but haven’t kept up with our health and fitness goals.

Since the tone of this is getting a little negative, let’s turn it around to the positive side.

How much could you accomplish if you focused on what is important?

Think of those priorities in your life that really get you excited and then focus your attention and efforts on them.

We all have 24 hours in a day. The wildly successful and the despondent and depressed. It is all in your attitude and how you spend those 24 hours.

Make it a great day.

Jake

7. Stop expecting them to be “OK.”

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle, just like you. Every smile or sign of strength hides an inner struggle every bit as complex and extraordinary as your own.

Remember that embracing your light doesn’t mean ignoring your dark. We are measured by our ability to overcome adversities and insecurities, not avoid them. Supporting, sharing and making contributions to other people is one of life’s greatest rewards. This happens naturally if we allow it, because we all share very similar dreams, needs and struggles. Once we accept this, the world then is a place where we can look someone else in the eye and say, “I’m lost and struggling at the moment,” and they can nod and say, “Me too,” and that’s OK. Because not being “OK” all the time, is perfectly OK.

People rarely behave exactly the way you want them to. Hope for the best, but expect less. And remember, the magnitude of your happiness will be directly proportional to your thoughts and how you choose to think about things. Even if a situation or relationship doesn’t work out at all, it’s still worth it if it made you feel something new, and if it taught you something new.

Yeah…I can’t add anything to that so I’m not even going to try.

Thanks for letting me guest host! Jake’s back tomorrow!

Chris Nichols

6. Stop expecting them to suddenly change.

If there’s a specific behavior someone you care about has that you’re hoping disappears over time, it probably won’t. If you really need them to change something, be honest and put all the cards on the table so this person knows how you feel and what you need them to do.

For the most part though, you can’t change people and you shouldn’t try. Either you accept who they are or you choose to live without them. It might sound harsh, but it’s not. When you try to change people, they often remain the same, but when you don’t try to change them – when you support them and allow them the freedom to be as they are – they gradually change in the most beautiful way. Because what really changes is the way you see them.

This ties in with #4 and #5. Enjoy others for who they are, but if there are issues, communicate! If someone is constantly doing something that bugs you but you never attempt to address it, it leads to greater stress for you, and it makes interacting with that person uncomfortable. You will find your attitude around that person to be less than productive and they won’t have any reason why. They will pick up on this and will start treating you differently as well. This is how situations escalate. We make up stories in our own heads to fill in the gaps that a simple conversation could have fixed.

Chris Nichols

5. Stop expecting them to know what you’re thinking.

People can’t read minds. They will never know how you feel unless you tell them. Your boss? Yeah, he doesn’t know you’re hoping for a promotion because you haven’t told him yet. That cute guy you haven’t talked to because you’re too shy? Yeah, you guessed it, he hasn’t given you the time of day simply because you haven’t given him the time of day either.

In life, you have to communicate with others regularly and effectively. And often, you have to open your vocal cords and speak the first words. You have to tell people what you’re thinking. It’s as simple as that.

One of the things we struggle with as an organization is communication and clarity. I don’t think you can ever stop practicing this. Poor communication and lack of clarity are two big reasons for misplaced expectations. I try never to assume. If you aren’t sure, ask!

Chris Nichols

JD – Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most. -Buddha

EB – Silence is a true friend who never betrays. – Confuscious

MS – Be like water, my friend. – Bruce Lee

JW – I will bend like a reed in the wind. – Paul Atredes

Some wisdom from Bruce Lee:

http://youtu.be/LTnSEFsInp0

Make it a great Saturday.

Jake

http://youtu.be/2H5uWRjFsGc

Obvious theme on this one.

“Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.” – George Patton

Make it a great day.

Jake

4. Stop expecting them to fit your idea of who they are.

Loving and respecting others means allowing them to be themselves. When you stop expecting people to be a certain way, you can begin to appreciate THEM.

Pay close attention, and respect people for who they are and not for who you want them to be. We don’t know most people half as well as we believe we do; and truly knowing someone is a big part of what makes them wonderful. Every human being is remarkable and beautiful; it just takes a patient set of eyes to see it. The more you get to know someone, the more you will be able to look beyond their appearance and see the beauty of who they truly are.

If everyone thought alike this world would be pretty boring. Being the overly analytical type it’s sometimes difficult and frustrating to work with people who are wired differently. Case in point, our CEO is a very emotional critter and drives me up the wall when I ask for information and get a book for a response when all I wanted was a sentence. When I shift my focus away from what I want, I find him enjoyable to be around and full of insights from a totally different perspective than mine. I grow as a person because of him, and reduce my stress level when I stop trying to squeeze him into a box I created.

Chris Nichols