http://youtu.be/pVFzX2gA3UoT

The other day I heard a podcast with a guest author who wrote a book entitled "20,000 Days and Counting".

The author woke up one day and wondered to himself how many days he had been alive. He found a fancy dancy calculator online and figured out that the number was nineteen thousand something.

He decided it might be fun to make a big deal out of his 20,000th day. He started framing up everything in his life based on days instead of by years.

What if you could set your long term goals and then planned and maximized your days according to that goal?

Want to find out your number, here is the easiest site I found to figure it out:

http://www.beatcanvas.com/daysalive.asp

Today is a new day, what are you going to do with?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.

Let me learn from you, love you, bless you, before you depart.

Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.

Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so.

One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in my pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.

-Mary Jean Iron

What a great reminder of the treasure that is today and the regret that can fill tomorrow.

Jim Rohn says that we can choose the pain of discipline today or the pain of regret tomorrow.

There is something magical about a day.

The sun rises and sets on all of us each and every day. And while they are they all seem the same, they are each and every one unique.

They seem to be as numerous as the sands but when we waste one we immediately feel as if we have lost something important.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Yesterday in church, our pastor made a great point during the children’s portion of the service.

She brings them all down to the front every Sunday and gives them a quick “sermon” related to the sermon topic for the day.

Yesterday’s sermon was on the importance of your presence in life. You have to actually show up in order to get what you want out of life.

And while that is a great topic, something else struck me. She asked all of the kids to turn around and look at the crowd behind them. She told all the kids that everyone behind them was glad they are here today.

It reminded me of the email below and John Foley who started every day, every meeting with “Glad to be here”, but with a little bit of a twist, “Glad you’re here.”

This served as a great reminder to the kids that other people are glad they were there. What a great feeling, that someone else is thankful that you are there. And I can assure everyone that gets this email, the same is true for you. At the very least, I am glad you are here.

“Glad you’re here” also served as reminder to me of just how thankful I am for the people in my life. It was easy and obvious when those two red-headed little girls turned and looked at me with a smile, but it is also true every day in the many interactions I have with the others in my life.

And if you are getting this email, that goes for you.

I’m glad you’re here. In whatever form that takes in our lives right now.

Glad to be here and glad you’re here.

Jake

JM – Sometimes Erik makes me sad.

JW* – Sometimes Erik makes me happy.

EB – If u do what u have always dun u will probably git what u have always gotten.

JD – The brilliance that surrounds me is exceptional.

Can’t really add much to that other than to say that the management takes having fun serving others to our own level every Friday morning.

Make it a great weekend.

Jake

http://youtu.be/0ud-pdJh8S8

Found this one on a list of positive and happy songs.

Great upbeat way to start the day.

Think about all the great things in your life that remind you that “Now you’re really livin’”.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Last night at the Financial Peace Class Dave Ramsey shared a story that Zig Ziglar tells. He explained how a Giant Belgian plow horse can pull 8,000 lbs on its own but when paired up with another one without prior interaction or training, they can pull 24,000 lbs. If they are trained to work together, they can pull 32,000 lbs; four times the amount of a single horse.

He explained this in the context of how much a couple can accomplish together with their finances if they work together.

One of the most amazing things about us humans is how much we can do together. We were built for community. We were built to work together.

When you look at all the grand things mankind has achieved over the years, it is almost always because of a huge group effort.

In your life your ability to achieve greatness will most likely be tied to your ability to find others to work together with to accomplish your dreams.

In these relationships we can find the joys of life and the opportunity for service that will greatly enrich our lives.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. – Melody Beattie

Most of you have received many daily attitude emails about the benefits of thankfulness, but this quote illustrated the point so well I wanted to send it out again.

Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more.

Gratitude turns a meal into a feast.

Gratitude turns a house into a home.

Gratitude turns a stranger into a friend.

As I read this quote the first time I imagined all of these scenes in my head.

A family sitting drearily over the “same old, same old” dinner compared to a bustling table filled with smiles and laughter.

A house filled with clutter, dirt and messy kids with a housewife with a grimy face and messy hair compared to a home with two parents lovingly looking at their children as they play.

An old lady needing help across the street gets passed by compared with a young man who slows down long enough to ask “Do you need a hand?”

Each of these comparisons involved a very subtle shift. Someone choosing to be grateful. Someone looking at others as an opportunity to share that gratefulness.

This reminder came at a great time for me (funny how that happens), I hope it does for you as well.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Being and living healthy is a gift.

One of the contestants on Biggest Loser said this early on this season.

It was as if a light bulb went off for the contestant. They suddenly realized that this thing (being healthy) they had thought of as a chore their whole life was in fact, a gift.

Something I think of frequently is the idea of embracing those things in our life that seem difficult and challenging.

Embrace the gift of living and eating healthy.

Embrace the gift of exercise.

Embrace the gift of financial discipline.

Embrace discipline.

Embrace study and growth.

I’m sure we all have at least one thing in our life that is on the “I should be doing this but it seems hard” list.

Next time you encounter that one thing (or your list of a few of these) think to yourself:

“Embrace the gift.”

Make it a great day.

Jake

He who floats with the current, who does not guide himself according to higher principles, who has no ideal, no convictions—such a man is a mere article of the world’s furniture—a thing moved, instead of a living and moving being—an echo, not a voice. – Henri Amiel

This quote illustrates just how important having a purpose and values in life really is.

Without a core set of values and a defining purpose we can be easily moved.

Easily moved by a commercial asking for our money.

Easily moved by a tempting shortcut that will cost us in the long run.

Easily moved by the temptation of a candy bar instead of a piece of fruit.

Decide today not to be a piece of furniture that can be easily moved.

Make it a great day.

Jake

JD – If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. – Anne Bradstreet

JW – The enlightened ruler is heedful, and the good general full of caution. – Sun Tzu

JM – When I give, I give myself. – Walt Whitman

EB – We are dedicated to keeping the memory of James Justice alive in our hearts at Mavidea Technology Group. – EB

As I thought about finding a quote today, I thought about the seasons of life.

This week we had a reminder of how cold the winter of life can be when we got the news that James had passed away.

And then we had a reminder of just how wonderful springtime can be when Kim had her baby yesterday.

The sands of the hour glass and the seasons of life march on regardless of the choices we make. But it is in those choices that we create the best results for ourselves with the time we are allotted.

We must choose wisely if we would like to live well and leave a legacy to others.

Make it a great weekend.

Jake