While this idea was born of desperation, there is some merit in it.
Take a vacation from your problems.
Let’s all decide to take a week off from the little worries of life that hold us back.
Let’s take a vacation this week.
A vacation from our worries.
A vacation from bad communication patterns.
A vacation from self doubt.
A vacation from whatever is holding you back.
As I get a little older (and maybe a little wiser) I am realizing more and more what vacations aren’t.
Vacations aren’t an excuse to skip your diet.
Vacations aren’t an excuse not to work out.
Vacations aren’t an excuse for laziness.
Vacations aren’t a time for selfishness.
Let’s all make a commitment this week to take a vacation from our problems. Let’s refocus on what is important in our lives and make the most of our time.
Jake asked me on Wednesday to send out the Friday Morning Toe Tapper this week. I was delighted… and honored…. And I peed a little on the rug (it happens when the doorbell rings, too). But, once I started thinking about what song to select…. I realized there were SO many to choose from.
I thought about picking someone we know… Nothing gets you moving on a Friday morning like a good Knuckle Sandwich with onions, pickles, and some Maxlider. But that’s been done and I wanted something original. So, I thought about sending out a video of Krypter warning us about the Zombie Apocalypse, but the only version I could find without excessive profanity would’ve had our resident musicians and sound technicians grumbling about the audio quality and using words like ambience, acoustic, and depth.
And then it hit me. I recently read Who Moved My Cheese? and it really resonated with me. If you haven’t read the book, you absolutely must. It is short. REALLY short. Like I-read-it-in-30-minutes short. And yet the length (or lack thereof) in no way lessens the message. In fact, the simplicity of the story is part of its charm. If you have read it, you know it is a story about handling change.
I realized I was not the character in the book that I wanted to be. Fortunately, I realized this just as I finished reading a book teaching me how to solve that exact problem. So, I tied my running shoes around my neck and decided to embrace “new cheese.” And that (finally) brings me to today’s toe tapper. This video shows scenes from a movie that features this song. I selected it for two reasons:
1. Because it is a great movie. It certainly has content that is not approved for all audiences, but it’s a fun romp nonetheless.
2. Because it was one of the only YouTube videos of this song that didn’t put the artist’s name in huge letters in the title.
Go ahead and start the video now (if you haven’t already):
As you listen to the singer, let me tell you that this guy ran through the maze while envisioning new cheese. In fact, he could see new cheese so clearly in his mind that, when he found it, it was WAY better than his old cheese. What am I talking about? This singer is Kenny Rogers.
Yes… that Kenny Rogers.
This is 1967 Kenny Rogers (the song, not the picture), 12 years before he sang The Gambler, a song that was such a hit that they let him play the lead role in the movie that was made from it.
And, had he not embraced new cheese (in this case, country music), we would’ve missed out on more than 10 platinum albums, including such hits as:
Lady
Coward of the County
Islands in the Stream
Now, I’m no country music fan, but even I know all the words to The Gambler. (Well, at least to the first verse… I can fake the 2nd. Cut me some slack. I was 7 when that movie came out. It was cool.)
But, as the book also tells us, you should not embrace all change just for the sake of change. Not all change is good. I think we can all agree on that one!
JS: Come on I’ll Have Another! Let’s see a Triple Crown!
EB: The difference between success and failure is often not who has the most money, or the best education: it’s motivation. As George Washington Carver once said, “Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.”
JD: You are a perfect example of the inverse proportion between the size of a person’s mouth and the size of their brain.
JW: “How much can you possibly know about yourself if you’ve never had to fight for anything.”
JM: “Most great men and women are not perfectly rounded in their personalities, but are instead people whose one driving enthusiasm is so great it makes their faults seem insignificant.” – Charles A. Cerami
*Sent by Jamie Mathy as Jake was out of the office.
Yesterday was one of those days when I realize that I am not perfect. Far from it in fact.
Not that I ever really think I am. It was just one of those days when it really smacks you in the face.
Lucky for me, I read lots of little kid books to the girls.
In “Lilly’s Plastic Purple Purse” there is a line that I think of every time I have a day that reminds me of my imperfections.
The teacher in the book writes a note to Lilly that ends with the line “Today was a rough day, tomorrow will be a better one.”
Every time I have a day that reminds me of my imperfections, I remind myself of this.
No matter how things go (and overall things go REALLY well for me everyday) I can remind myself of that and get up the next day ready to tackle what lies ahead.
The other thing I think of is the fact that a bad day for me is a great day for the vast majority of the world’s population.
Not that I am that great, but it really is a truth that is hard to escape.
I am not in the hospital, I don’t have to worry about my next meal. I have a comfortable house, a loving wife, two great daughters and a great place to work (to name just a few of things that I have going for me).
So, remind yourself of these things when you have a day that doesn’t go the way you want it to.
Today might have been a rough day, but tomorrow will be better.
And, we all are truly fortunate in the grand scheme of things.
Make it a great day. And even if it isn’t, tomorrow will be a better one.
Yesterday afternoon represented an interesting confluence of events.
I was on my way home from a great day on the golf course for the ISU Town and Gown Golf Outing and was listening to "Start With Why" by Simon Simenek.
I realized that maybe if I shared the "why" of why I like golf so much I might inspire others to understand the why of their particular hobby of choice.
So, here are my top couple of reasons why golf for me.
First, golf is hard. Really hard. Becoming really good at golf is a life long pursuit that you never quite figure out. I love a challenge and I love getting better at something incrementally.
Second, golf is outside. One of my favorite quotes that I am reminded of frequently is "God must be happiest when his children are at play." This reminds me of golf so much because golf is played outside on a big, green, lush field. Golf courses (to me) are a symbol of all the beauty that exists in nature and remind me to take those small moments we can find to drink it all in.
Golf is (generally) played with other people and is a great relationship builder. You can’t help but feel some comradery with your foursome as you play because you all face the same challenge, the course and your ability to manage it the best way possible for you and your skill set.
Last one on the list (for today, the list is much longer than this) is that golf is a game of focus. One of weak areas is being able to focus for long periods. Golf is a test of your ability to focus for brief instances, over and over again over a four or five hour period.
This email is not intended to convince you to run out and buy some clubs and take up golf as your new passion (although I would recommend it if you are looking for something). My intention is merely to illustrate that when you have a "why" for you hobby, you enjoy it much more.
In the same way, finding your "why" in life will lead to more happiness, better results and an overall happier life.
Spend some time thinking about they "why" in the things you do. Learn to embrace this important element of your life.
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
(Isaiah 6:8 ESV)
I heard this verse in church on Sunday and wrote it down so I could share it with everyone.
Here I am. Send me.
Sometimes in life you just have to step forward and be the person saying “send me”.
You get to be the one to volunteer to take on the extra work.
You get to be the one to drive your friend to the airport.
You get to be the one to serve soup at the homeless shelter.
I originally wrote “you have to” at the beginning of all those sentences but replaced it with “you get to”. Funny how a little difference like that can change your perspective on something.
Taking action is a key to success. This verse reminded me that taking action in service to others is where it is at.
I know everyone was getting disappointed that I hadn’t sent out a Jim Rohn quote for a while. (If you need more Jim Rohn quotes, just "Like" his FaceBox page and you will get a couple of good ones everyday.)
One of the key elements of success is taking action. And you can’t take action without making some kind of decision.
What great thing is out there waiting for you to just make a decision to go for it?
My challenge for you all today is to find one thing that is waiting on a decision from you and make it. Move forward.
Jake
Additional/random thought. This line of thinking reminded me of one of my favorite sections from Dr. Seuss’s "Oh, The Places You’ll Go". I have cut and paste it below.
JD – Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead
JM – If you think you are too small to have an impact, try to go to bed with a mosquito in the room.
EB – Happy 5th Anniversary Mavidea, you are now a big kid.
KJ – Mmmmmm…..pancakes.
JS – Thank goodness for a great family and good friends.
JW – Never give up on a dream because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway. Earl Nightingale
I knew that I had to use the quote from Margaret Mead above today for Mavidea’s 5th birthday.
It is a great reminder of what we are really doing every day when we come in here.
We are changing the world.
We are changing the world for our customers.
We are changing the world for each other.
We are changing the world for our community.
Don’t underestimate for a second our importance and the impact you make here at Mavidea.
We can and do make a difference and have done so for 5 years now.
And as I said earlier, it is just a start.
Today is the first day of the next 5 years, let’s make them something even more amazing to look back on with pride and amazement.
A couple of quick thoughts as we pass by this mile marker in the life of Mavidea.
First, thank you. Thank you to all of you. Everyone that gets this email has made a positive impact for Mavidea.
Second, look at all we have accomplished. Stop to think about all the tickets, projects, websites, leads generated, sales closed, lives impacted, on and on and on…..hard to believe how much of an impact we have made on each other, our customers, our community and even the world. It really is a site to behold if you step back a little and look at everything as a whole.
I am also reminded that we do, in fact, have something special going on. I am frequently reminded when I speak to people in interviews, when I speak to another business owner, or when I just observe others and listen to what they say about where they work that we are different.
When you think about the very small percent of small businesses that make it past 5 years….
When you think about the number of small businesses that never grow past 10 employees….
When you think about all those businesses that haven’t been able to create a great culture…
We have defied the odds and accomplished something truly special.
The best part of all this…..we are just getting started. We have created an awesome launching pad, an impressive baseline, but where we are today is just that. A starting point from which we are going to take off to greatness. It is just the beginning of a grand adventure.
One that I couldn’t be more excited about tackling with all of you.
I recently read "Tuesdays With Morrie" by Mitch Albom. Excellent book that tells the story of an old man passing on the wisdom obtained through a lifetime of living to a younger man searching for meaning and direction in his life.
There are a lot of little tidbits in this book so instead of trying to summarize them I thought I would share a list of these tidbits Morrie offers Mitch during their conversations.
Life is a series of pulls back and forth…..Who wins?…..Love wins. Love always wins.
The culture we have doesn’t make people feel good about themselves. You have to be strong enough to say that if the culture doesn’t work, don’t buy it.
Let love come in. We think we don’t deserve love, we think if let it in it will make us soft. But a wise man named Levine said "Love is the only rational act."
Learn how to die and you learn how to live.
Love each other or perish. Auden
You must detach yourself from life’s experiences. Detachment doesn’t mean you don’t let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate you fully. That’s how you are able to leave it.
I embrace aging. It’s very simple. As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you would always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It is growth. It isn’t just the negative that you are going to die, it is also the positive that you know you are going to die and you live a better life because of it.
There’s a big confusion in this country over what we want versus what we need. You need food, you want a chocolate sundae. You have to be honest with yourself. You don’t need the latest sports car. You don’t need the biggest house.
Truth is, you don’t get satisfaction from those things. You know what really gives you satisfaction? Offering others what you have to give.
Devote yourself to loving others. Devote yourself to your community. Devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.
The biggest defect we human beings have is our shortsightedness. We don’t see what we could be. We should be looking at our potential, stretching ourselves into everything we can be.
Forgive yourself before you die. Then forgive others.
What a great collection of little tidbits learned over the course of a life well lived.
The Daily Attitude Email 