Author: jakedavis1910

Daily Attitude Email 10 13 22

I’ve sent this out a few times already….you’d think I wouldn’t need the reminder as much as I do.

"Slow Me Down Lord"

Slow me down Lord. Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind.

Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal march of time. Give me amid the confusion of the day, the calmness of the eternal hills.

Break the tension of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory.

Help me to know the magical restoring power of sleep.

Teach me the art of taking MINUTE vacations, Of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pat a dog, to read a few lines of a good book.

Slow me down Lord and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life’s enduring values that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny.

Author: Wilfred A. Peterson

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 10 11 22

“A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours. Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things-a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty.”

― John Grogan, Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World’s Worst Dog

Yesterday our little family picked up a puppy.

Everybody smiled and laughed and cuddled the little bundle of fur.

Reading “Marley and Me” a few years ago told the story of dog ownership so well.

Dogs have been bred to relate to humans in a very distinct and unique way. We fall in love with them so easily because they seemingly love us back so effortlessly as well.

We give them names and treat them as members of the family.

We forgive their missteps and accidents.

We clean up after them and dote on them as if they were one of our kids.

In return, they provide companionship and love, in one its purest forms.

If we pay attention, there are some good life lessons in there for us to pick up on along the way.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 10 10 22

You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. – Jack London

Jim Rohn talks about discipline being the ultimate virtue, as it unlocks so many other opportunities.

This quote is a reminder that we can’t wait around for life to come and inspire and motivate us. We can’t wait for the brilliant idea or perfect opportunity.

I think Jim Rohn was talking about this very idea when he described discipline as the most important virtue.

Only when we have the discipline to continually pursue growth and change do we get the inspiration we desired at the beginning.

We fall into the trap of thinking that when the inspiration comes along we will have the motivation to develop the discipline.

It’s just not true.

The time to start developing discipline is today.

Begin with something small.

Drink water instead of something sugary.

Skip the drive through for coffee and save the money and brew your own.

Pick up the dirty clothes on the floor instead of waiting for your spouse to do it.

Make the bed.

Eat a healthy lunch.

Get started.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 10 06 22

One of my favorite mental images is one I heard about on a podcast from Rick Warren.

On the podcast, Rick describes God sitting on the end of the bed in the morning, looking at each and every one of us and saying “I can’t wait to see their face, to see what they are going to do today…”.

This image provides a lot of peace and positive energy for myself, to be sure.

But for me, this image is most helpful when thinking of others.

No matter who the person is and how good or bad I may deem them to be, God is sitting at the end of their bed each morning, looking for the best in them with love.

It’s easy to get frustrated with others. To get upset with those that don’t agree with you. To be disappointed with those that don’t meet your expectations.

I find it helps to think of these people as that quiet, sleeping bundle of potential seeking their own way in this world to be loved and to love.

When we can think of others in this light, we open ourselves up to look for the good in them.

We open ourselves up to love and be loved in a better way.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 10 05 22

It’s not about you.

I try to make this a constant reminder in my head. I’d like to get to the point of not needing the reminders (constantly) but apparently I have some growing up to do still.

Reminder for those of us who need it.

It’s not about you. It’s about others.

How can I serve them?

How can I love them?

How can I meet their needs?

What do they need right now?

How can I help?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 10 04 22

Below is an excerpt from a book that keeps popping into my head lately.

In case you don’t want to take the time to read, here is a quick summary:

What you sow, you will reap.

Thoughts are the sowing of the mind.

The mind will grow whatever is planted – in a multiplied kind of way.

Sow wisely.

Make it a great day.

Jake

An excerpt from

The Strangest Secret

by Earl Nightingale

George Bernard Shaw said, “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.”

Well, it’s pretty apparent, isn’t it? And every person who discovered this believed (for a while) that he was the first one to work it out. We become what we think about.

Now, it stands to reason that a person who is thinking about a concrete and worthwhile goal is going to reach it, because that’s what he’s thinking about. And we become what we think about.

Conversely, the person who has no goal, who doesn’t know where he’s going, and whose thoughts must therefore be thoughts of confusion, anxiety, fear and worry—his life becomes one of frustration, fear, anxiety and worry. And if he thinks about nothing…he becomes nothing.

How does it work? Why do we become what we think about? Well, I’ll tell you how it works, as far as we know. To do this, I want to tell you about a situation that parallels the human mind.

Suppose a farmer has some land, and it’s good, fertile land. The land gives the farmer a choice; he may plant in that land whatever he chooses. The land doesn’t care. It’s up to the farmer to make a decision.

We’re comparing the human mind with the land because the mind, like the land, doesn’t care what you plant in it. It will return what you plant, but it doesn’t care what you plant.

Now, let’s say that the farmer has two seeds in his hand—one is a seed of corn, the other is nightshade, a deadly poison. He digs two little holes in the earth and he plants both seeds—one corn, the other nightshade. He covers up the holes, waters and takes care of the land…and what will happen? Invariably, the land will return what was planted. As it’s written in the Bible,

“As ye sow, so shall ye reap.”

Remember, the land doesn’t care. It will return poison in just as wonderful abundance as it will corn. So up come the plants—one corn, one poison. The human mind is far more fertile, far more incredible and mysterious than the land, but it works the same way. It doesn’t care what we plant…success…or failure. A concrete, worthwhile goal…or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety, and so on. But what we plant it must return to us.

You see, the human mind is the last great, unexplored continent on earth. It contains riches beyond our wildest dreams. It will return anything we want to plant.