"Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." – Martin Luther King, Jr.

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. day, I thought I would share a quote from him that I have been planning to send out at some point.

I love the beginning of this quote. EVERYBODY can be great.

Black or white.

Short or tall.

Rich or poor.

None of that matters, because greatness doesn’t come from any of those things. It comes from our ability to serve others.

And the more we are able to serve others, the greater our life becomes. If you were to look at the great figures of recent history (Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, Gandhi) they all have something in common.

First, there isn’t a perfect one in the bunch. All of them made some poor choices and/or had some very difficult times in their life. So we can all stop using the “I’m not good enough” excuse for not serving as many people as we can.

Second, they all found ways to serve others and that is what led to their greatness. That is what they were about.

Make it a great week.

Jake

The Biggest Loser based email from yesterday reminded me of one that I meant to write at the end of last season.

They asked the winner of that season what he had learned and he said something to the effect of "I learned to say what was on my mind and open myself up."

While that was a good lesson learned, I think the contestants learn another lesson that ties directly into and is what really gives power to the lesson he mentioned.

They learn to put positivity and purposefulness into their thoughts and lives as part of the process of losing weight. They change the way they think about food, themselves and others in their lives.

Think about how this changes the lesson the contestant said that he learned.

He learned to say what was on his mind and to speak up. But he also learned to put positivity and purposefulness into his mind instead of the previous negativity and self doubt he had had before.

My guess is that what the contestants on The Biggest Loser say to others after the show has drastically changed since they left their homes a couple of months before.

Why?

The same reason that a computer program spits bad results when not used properly. Garbage in, garbage out.

Most of the contestants on the show come on the show speaking of strained and difficult relationships at home and how that is a cause of their weight gain and self image.

But once they get a taste of the positive thoughts and energy they learn about throughout the show, they begin talking about how their relationships at home will change.

And I bet they do. When they approach these relationships as they return home, they have learned to lead with positive thoughts and words and that will make a world of difference in their relationships with others.

Think about your life and some of your strained relationships and hampered communication. Is because of your own mental negativity and thoughts? What can you do to change what goes in so what comes out is better?

Make it a great day.

Jake

As most of you already know, Meaghan and I are fans of the show “The Biggest Loser”.

This seasons theme is “No excuses” and it made me think that the same theme might fit into a daily attitude email.

Two things come to mind immediately when thinking about the theme of no excuses.

First is the concept of priorities and focus. When you are truly focused on something that is a priority to you, there are no excuses. We would all go to extreme lengths if something is really important.

My second thought is about how we all have some excuses playing over and over in our heads everyday. We have these built in soundtracks that keep us from meeting our goals.

We think things like “I’m not smart enough, it’s too hard, I can’t do that, I have kids and can’t do that.”

Part of training yourself to be a better person is to replace these negative automatic thoughts with a positive version of the same line of thinking.

On The Biggest Loser, contestants learn to start thinking that they can do it. That weight loss is possible. These are people whose weight has taken over their life and they have used every excuse in the book along that path.

The show proves that it is possible. You can change those excuses into positives and change your life for the better.

Take a moment today to think of an excuse you use automatically and find a way to start changing it. It won’t happen overnight, but you can do it. You can change.

Make it a great day.

Jake

I finally became technologically savvy to get some podcast subscriptions set up on phone so I could listen to them in the car.

Last night I was listening to a sermon series and the pastor told a story that I thought I would share.

He talked about his plan for when he gets to heaven. He is planning on figuring out who paid for the gas for the preacher’s car on the day that the preacher came over to meet with him when he became a Christian.

He said he was going to go thank whoever that was because of all the good that had come in his life and his family’s life because of that pastor and whoever enabled him to come meet with him that day.

I thought two aspects of the story were particularly relevant for the daily attitude email.

First, little things matter. The people that gave money that allowed the pastor to fill up his gas tank probably didn’t think that much of it. Not a big deal to give a couple of dollars to a young pastor trying to make a difference. But it did make a difference. A huge difference.

So, remember that the little things matter.

It matters how you treat your coworkers, you never know when someone just needs a little extra help or a smile.

It matters whether or not you bend down to pick up that piece of trash, you never know when someone is watching.

It matters whether you smile and chat with the gas station clerk, you never know when someone has just endured some kind of tragedy.

The second thing that struck me was that he was thankful and recognized what had been done for him. He realized that someone else had sacrificed something (even if it was just a little bit of gas money) and was appreciative.

Noticing others and their generosity and being thankful for it is a great place to start when putting things into perspective.

This reminded me of how thankful I am for the generations that have come previously and this Ronald Reagan quote:

Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we’ve ever known.

Remember to do the little things in life that matter while being thankful and noticing the little things that others do for you.

Make it a great day.

Jake

THE WIND and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger. Suddenly they saw a traveler coming down the road, and the Sun said: “I see a way to decide our dispute. Whichever of us can cause that traveler to take off his cloak shall be regarded as the stronger You begin.” So the Sun retired behind a cloud, and the Wind began to blow as hard as it could upon the traveler. But the harder he blew the more closely did the traveler wrap his cloak round him, till at last the Wind had to give up in despair. Then the Sun came out and shone in all his glory upon the traveler, who soon found it too hot to walk with his cloak on.

“KINDNESS EFFECTS MORE THAN SEVERITY.”

This fable was in a movie I was watching recently and I thought I should share as part of a daily attitude email.

This story reminds me of the importance of a smile, a kind word and just generally being nice.

As we go about our lives and trying to accomplish our own goals we get to interact with others along the way. And how we treat them will determine how our lives turn out.

No one accomplishes anything of value without the help of others.

This story also reminds me of Maggie and Annie. I am definitely guilty of being the wind sometimes instead of being the sun.

But when I am the sun around them, boy does it make a difference.

Think about some of the relationships in your life and whether approaching things from a different angle just might do the trick.

Take a minute today to pick someone in your life and make a change from blowing like the wind to shining like the sun.

Make it a great week.

Jake

Another thought on New Year’s resolutions.

Most of us know that the majority of New Year’s resolutions aren’t still being met come February 1. So, why is that?

Maybe people aren’t setting SMART goals and are missing them because of the goals themselves not being great. That’s probably part of it.

Maybe people are just lazy and change is too hard. That definitely feels like part of it (at least for myself and my own goals).

Maybe people just flat out change their mind. That goal doesn’t seem like a good goal for them anymore.

I think the main reason is motivation. A lack of a true commitment sneaks up and bites them in the butt when they aren’t looking.

For some reason, I have always been fascinated by the World War II generation and think of them (or at least my version of them) when I think about motivation and commitment.

Whole nations of people were so motivated and committed to a common goal of defeating evil that they went to extraordinary lengths and accomplished things most would have called impossible.

What motivates you? What makes that New Year’s resolution worth keeping?

Your kids?

Your spouse?

Your vanity?

Your self worth?

Your faith?

Mavidea?

Your own potential as a human being?

Search for that meaning and motivation and you will find a New Year’s resolution half completed. Find that something inside you that makes any trouble or hardship worthwhile. Then use that to stick to your resolutions and goals.

“It cost me a prodigious deal of pains, but who grudges pains that have their deliverance in view?” – Robinson Crusoe

Jake