Would you say the same thing to your best friend?

We have a tendency to be too hard on ourselves and end up in negative thought patterns sometimes because of it.

Next time something negative pops into your head, think about whether or not you would say the same thing to your best friend.

Would you focus on the negative or try to say something encouraging?

Would you tell them they can’t do it or would you be rooting them on?

Would you let them take the easy way out or would you challenge them to do their best?

Too often we let negative thinking dominate our thought patterns about ourselves.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Yesterday’s email about Jim Collins’ speech reminded me of one of the core elements from his books.

Good is the enemy of great.

One of the most difficult challenges of life (especially for those of us that are lucky enough to live in America) is that “good” is everywhere. It is easy to fall into the trap of settling for good instead of going for great.

Good is the enemy of great because good is so comfortable. Good lulls us into complacency. Good makes it easy not to go for our best.

And that is where the problem lies. Good means we miss out on great. They can’t coexist. it is one or the other.

Is there an area of your life where you are settling for good instead of great?

Are you avoiding facing the reality that you can be great?

In “Good to Great” Jim ends with a great conclusion.

Over time it is no more difficult (in fact he believes it is easier) to be great than it is to just achieve good results.

Up front it might seem a lot more difficult, but that is a false sense of security.

At Mavidea we are beginning the process of moving our organization from good to great and I am excited.

I can’t wait to see what the future holds as we become a great company.

I can’t wait to see what the future holds for each of you as you become the great version of yourself.

Make it a great day.

Jake

One of the better speakers at the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit last week was Jim Collins.

In speaking about companies that exhibited superior performance over a long period of time he discussed the concept of return on luck.

In his research he found that most companies had about the same experience with luck (both good and bad). That is to say that the companies experienced relatively similar amounts of luck.

The difference between the great companies and the good ones was their “return on luck”. Were they able to take a good break or some good fortune and multiply it to get better results for the company.

What an awesome concept for our personal lives as well.

What is your return on luck?

What are you doing to make sure that the next time something good comes your way you multiply it?

We all face both bad and good luck every day. The key is what you do about it.

Make it a lucky day.

Jake

The walls we build around us to keep out the sadness also keep out the joy. Jim Rohn

Been a while since I shared a good Jim Rohn quote so I know you were anxiously awaiting another one.

This one is another of those hard truths of life.

In order to let the good of life come in and effect us positively we must put ourselves at risk of experiencing the bad.

In order to experience love, we must risk rejection.

In order to experience the joys of parenthood we must risk the hurt our children will face.

In order to experience the potential for a gold medal you have to risk all that training and going over there and getting injured at the last minute.

We all have walls we have put up to protect ourselves. Let’s examine them to make sure we aren’t missing out on some of the good stuff.

Make it a great day.

Jake

A fool and his money are soon departed.

Saw this saying the other day and realized it applies to more than just money.

A fool and his weight loss are soon back together.

A fool and his wife are soon separated.

A fool and his kids are soon estranged.

A fool and his friends are soon strangers.

Whatever we wish to accumulate or gather for ourselves in our lives, we must build wisdom in that area and not act foolishly.

We can’t act foolishly and expect things to turn out well, the system isn’t set up that way.

Take a look in the mirror. Are you acting foolishly in an area of your life? If so, begin the process of seeking wisdom in that area.

Make it a great day.

Jake

When opportunity comes it is too late to prepare. John Wooden

John Wooden was known for his ability to prepare his teams to win. He coached and taught his players every little detail of how to win on the basketball and in life.

My favorite example is from Bill Walton who once told the story of “coach” going so far as telling and showing the players the proper way to put on their socks.

Coach Wooden took preparation seriously, and it showed. Before UCLA’s breakout onto the national stage and their break through into becoming the best college basketball program for an extended period of time, Coach Wooden prepared. And prepared. And prepared.

He worked on building the right kind of program for over 10 years before seeing the fruits of his labor.

What kind of opportunity are you looking for?

What kind of person do you need to make the most of that opportunity?

What kind of preparation can you do to prepare to make the most of that opportunity?

We will all be presented with opportunity. In fact, we are all presented with opportunity every day.

Are you prepared for it?

Make it a great day.

Jake