JD – If one advances confidently in the direction of one’s dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. – Henry David Thoreau

JW – Success isn’t how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started. – Steve Prefontaine

JM – Passwords are like underwear. You shouldn’t leave them out where people can see them, you should change them regularly, and you shouldn’t share them with strangers.

EB – To the extreme, I rock a mic like a vandal. – EB

I was listening to audio book yesterday that included the quote above from Thoreau. It is one of my favorite quotes, and I thought of a new element to it yesterday as I was driving home on the first nice spring afternoon.

Spring is the season of life for planting and starting the process of growth.

Our dreams are the beginnings of growth and possibility in our lives.

As you see the flowers start to bloom, the grass start to turn green and hear the birds chirp this spring think of you dreams. Think of those thoughts and ideas beginning to take root and begin to grow.

Picture the beginnings of your dreams in your mind.

That first 5 pounds lost.

That first week of exercise behind you.

That first $1000 in the savings account.

Plant that picture in your mind. Let it grow and come to fruition.

Make it a great spring.

Jake

http://youtu.be/m5TwT69i1lU

Maybe not a toe tapper, but it should get you started off with a smile.

Yesterday was a great reminder for me of just how true those words are…..what a wonderful world.

We have a wonderful new baby boy at home and spring has sprung. Sun shining, green growth outside sprung.

What a wonderful world.

Jake

Next up in the list of the 12 most important questions of philosophy for us to consider:

What role do human beings play?

The answer to this question can range from we are just another animal on the evolutionary rung here on Earth to we are specially created beings created in the image of God and endowed with all things God.

Regardless of where you end up on that spectrum, there appear to me to be a few undeniable truths about humans.

We are capable of amazing creation. Just look around you. Even the simplest things that we take for granted (houses, cars, airplanes) were unheard of several hundred years ago (a blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things) and are so much more than any other creature has created.

We are capable of amazing love. Again, just look around you. Love is everywhere. Every day people are serving their fellow human beings out of love.

We are capable of amazing personal growth. A human is capable of going from selfish to selfless, from broke to rich, from overweight to healthy, from ignorant to wise. Anything does in fact appear to be possible.

All of you receiving this email are human beings. You are all capable of amazing creation, love and growth (and a long list of others). As you contemplate your answer to this question and your view of yourself, never forget what you are capable of.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Next up on the list of 12 questions to answer as you set your own personal philosophy:

Does God exist?

Wow. From a philosophical, political and social point of view, this is a hot button issue.

I certainly have my own deeply held and sensitive feelings on this one, but I will try to offer something up that hopefully won’t push anyone’s buttons.

When it comes to your own attitude on life and your own happiness, maybe the most important part is simply admitting that you don’t have all the answers.

Whether you believe those answers lie in the realm of a supreme being or not, simply admitting that you don’t have to know everything is both humbling and freeing at the same time.

Being humble is such an important part of growth. Acknowledging that some of the answers to life’s difficult questions lie outside your own understanding is a great beginning for growth and exploration.

This knowledge gives you the freedom to work towards your own personal growth in a positive and uplifting way.

Maybe simply searching out your own answer this question will allow you to get to a place of humility from which to grow forward and build the life you desire.

Maybe taking a fresh look at this question will afford you the opportunity to look at things from a different angle.

Make it a great day.

Jake

First up in the list of the 12 questions to be answered through philosophy:

What is the nature of the universe?

First, let me start by saying I am not a scientist, I just play one on TV. Good one, I know. But seriously, my intention with these questions is not to present you with what I think is THE answer. My intention is to present the question, put a positive hypothesis out there and leave the actual answering of the question to the smart people (you).

The two thoughts that immediately strike me when thinking about the universe and everything in it are: beauty and growth.

There is beauty all around us. From the sunrise to the sunset on any given day, there are a million beautiful happenings around us in our universe.

It isn’t all beauty, but there is beauty there, if you look for it.

Looking for the beauty in our world will lead to a better day.

There is a lot of growth out there too. Plants, animals and people growing and reaching for their potential.

And this potential lies inside of each new opportunity in life, if you choose to see it.

Like beauty, the world is not only growth, but if you look for the growth and possibilities, I am of the belief that you will have a distinctly better day.

I am not saying these are THE answer to the question of the nature of the universe, just that these answers might lead to a better life.

The most important perspective on this question is yours. What do you think is the nature of the universe?

Make it a great day.

Jake

One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes… and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility. – Eleanor Roosevelt

At Mavidea we get some attention (both positive and negative) for spending so much time on "culture". Some say we spend too much time on it and others look to us as a model to copy.

I was thinking about how to explain why I thought it was important and I realized that searching for and creating a company culture was a lot like searching for and creating your own personal philosophy.

As we go about creating our culture we have to make some difficult decisions. Decisions about what is and isn’t important, what is and isn’t a priority, what we value.

In life, we must tackle those important questions as well.

We must choose between watching TV and reading.

We must choose between eating what we want or eating what is best for us.

We must choose between big city living and small town living.

And as Eleanor Roosevelt says above, these decisions express our philosophy on life and they determine the results we ultimately achieve.

The best part is…..we get to choose. We get to choose our own philosophy. We get to set our own sail in life (and here at Mavidea).

In the interest of helping you (and myself) tackle this subject of philosophy I found a list of the 12 most important questions in the field of philosophy.

Over the next week or two, I will send out the list of questions and do my best to put a positive spin on them and to challenge you to answer them for yourself.

Make it a great day.

Jake

As you may or may not know, the Evil Dead remake is scheduled to debut next Friday, 4/5. As a result, some of us have been in an Evil Dead/Army of Darkness/Bruce Campbell state of mind lately!

The trailer for the new movie is OFF THE CHAIN. I found a mash-up of the new trailer combined with the old footage from the original movies…it’s sweet…check it out… Won’t make you tap your toes, but will make you grab the edge of your chair and let slip a, “GROOVY!”

And as a bonus…here is one of the best montages I could have ever imagined or run across…Ash at his finest: (excuse the occasional off-color word/language)

Klatu…Verata….Neck Tie!

Erik Barnlund

CEO

Mavidea Technology Group

Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse. – Henry Van Dyke

Gratitude and thankfulness are often in my mind the last week or so since Oliver was born.

Henry Van Dyke suggests I follow my impulse to be thankful and I thought I would do so in written form today (hopefully soon to be followed by acting thankful, every day).

I have so many things to be thankful for in particular over this last week or so and I wanted to share a few of them.

A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds. – Proverbs 31:10

I am very blessed to have married a good woman. No one in the world could care for our little family like she does. It truly is remarkable to see a mother at work.

I am very thankful for Meaghan.

Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together. -Paul Ryan

I am very grateful for the communities that our family is a part of. We have had a ridiculous amount of good food cooked for us and hand delivered. We had a live in helper for the first week. I took two weeks off of work while everyone else manned the fort at Mavidea.

And those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head quickly. The support and love we have gotten from our community has been humbling and we will be forever grateful.

I am very thankful for all of you.

I am very thankful to God for all of this and the many other blessings in my life.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Today’s email comes from Sandy Lane. Thanks for volunteering, Sandy!

Time. An asset often. An area of stress; many times. Although we all cherish it, we also wish it a way at times too. A good friend once shared with me his mother’s wise advice "never wish time away". This was shared after some whining on my part on my child’s "terrible twos" stage.

So as I sat in church with irreverent children, back in the day, I would remind myself of this. Instead of sweating it, I remembered there would be a day I would be in church alone; smiling at other’s babies and wondering how mine grew so fast. Everyone told me this would happen and it did.

Time is something I value very much. When it’s limited, I’m greedy with it. Raising kids I would often think of the value of an hour and how one used poorly was an hour taken away from them. With Garrett in Denver and our time very limited, we have grown used to enjoying every minute we have together. On those weekends where other obligations tie us up, we feel a bit cheated.

Time had a different meaning this last week following my ACL surgery. It went slowly. As I laid in bed with leg propped, I longed for each day to pass as I would be one day closer to recovery. Was I was wishing time away? Sure sounds like it. My visions were my future days on my bike, running from meeting to meeting, and leisurely gardening in my backyard.

Last week I would mark off each recovery day as a day gone and closer to my goal. I would be bored at times and other times found myself enjoying the quiet. The unexpected silence that is typically unusual in my world brought needed relaxation and clear thoughts. As I teetered between impatience and welcoming the calm, I received a motivational quote via an e-mail that got my attention.

The quote that I woke up to last Thursday morning was "Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity." Hmmm…my week post-surgery has been an opportunity. Time to smell the roses and think through life. Time to quietly stretch and learn to use my leg again instead of rushing through a grueling cardio workout.

Feeling comfortable in the quiet of my room without the typical noise of life wasn’t a bad thing. Everything happens for a reason. If I’m open to it, I may find some opportunities that come out of my perceived misfortune. Time is really what you make of it.

Sandy Lane

Once again I got to experience the miracle of a new life coming into this world when Oliver was born last week.

Reminded me of the email below that I sent out previously:

Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.

CS Lewis

When I think of babies, miracle is the first word that pops into my head. For those of you who haven’t experienced it, being there for the birth of a child is the most amazing thing in the world (at the least the most amazing thing I have been a part of yet).

It is a moment where you can’t help but realize why it is called the "miracle of life".

And I think the CS Lewis quote is particularly applicable in this case. Every child born is a retelling in small letters of several stories written in letters too large for some of us to see.

It is the story of the love between two parents that is made deeper and even more unbreakable through the birth of their child.

It is the story of parents and their love for their children and their deep desire for a better life/world for the next generation.

It is the story of the inherent goodness that God places inside of each and every one of us.

It is the story of the uniqueness that each of us has, even at birth. They take finger prints and foot prints right away that prove it.

It is the story of the miracle of medicine and all the staff at the hospital that are selfless in their efforts to make sure that everything goes well.

Remember today all of those little miracles (and the many more) and think of the even bigger stories being told throughout our lives.

Make it a great day.

Jake