“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” — Winston Churchill
Mornings are built on tiny choices—
your first words, your first click, your first thought.
Pick one small lever today:
Choose presence over pace.
Trade one scroll for ten minutes in a good book.
Speak a kind word before you open another app.
Do one task slowly and well.
Small choices compound.
And they change the feel of a whole day.
Bring steadiness, not noise, into the room.
Make it a great day.
Jake (aided by CoPilot – first time experiment….)

Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day. – Thornton Wilder

Garbage in, garbage out.

You become what you consume.

We live in a day and age where we can consume almost anything we can think of.

Shows, movies, podcasts, YouTube, sportsing, social media….so much to occupy our time.

What if we pointed our attention to the "lofty" instead?

What if read meaningful books?

What if we viewed great works of art?

What if we read the Bible daily?

What if we listened to inspirational talks?

We choose what goes in. Choose wisely.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. – Anthony J. D’Angelo

Just got back from another trip with the family.

While it’s great to go and explore new things and places, it’s more important to bring your own sunshine.

The best vacation spot can be miserable with a bad attitude.

Digging a ditch in the rain can be great if you have the right attitude.

We get to choose our perspective. We can bring our own sunshine.

Make it a great day.

Jake

I’m not sure why, but I can’t believe how often I need to be reminded “It’s not about you!”

What if we looked at the New Year this way?

A year of “it’s not about me!”

Time to focus on others and how we can be of service.

A list of goals – not one of which is focused on me.

A “word of the year” that had nothing to do with me and where I wanted to go.

A SMART goal filter than included “is it about you? No seriously…is it?”

Ok, maybe that’s a little extreme. Maybe just one goal focused on others?

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/xvqeSJlgaNk?si=v8iN9UOCGbD70U5u

Thought this would be a good way to start the year off.

The new year is a great time to do some day dreaming.

About what could be.

About how great things might get.

About how lucky we are.

And then to believe that it is possible for us.

Dream big!

Make it a great day.

Jake

Last day of the year.

Before we work on those goals and plans for next year, it’s a good time for reflection.

A great way to end the year and to get ready for next year is to be thankful.

Maybe make a big long list of everything you are thankful for.

Maybe send some texts to some people you are thankful for.

End the year with gratitude.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – I’m thankful for you!

The great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been. – Madeleine L’Engle

We all need a positive spin on getting older.

We can look at mistakes and imerfections as something to hide or run away from.

Or we can look at them as stepping stones to a better future.

We get to choose our perspective.

Make it a great day.

Jake

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need. – Marcus Tullius Cicero

I saw a quote the other day that essentially said the key to happiness is to limit the number of desires.

Sometimes (most of the time?) Christmas and New Years is a time where we overcomplicate our lives with too many desires. We try to do, buy and have too much.

Maybe a library and a garden aren’t your things.

What would be on the “short list” for you?

Make your list shorter this season.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/7r3VVMUhAxU?si=sfH1aV5JPPAesFTz

Joy to the world!

Joy is one of my personal goals lately.

To seek for and live out joy in my life.

It’s so easy to get distracted by all the stuff.

To get frustrated and down.

To let the news and the worries of life win out.

Christmas is a time of joy.

God sent his son to save us!

Merry Christmas.

Jake

Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.

The above is the very beginning of the movie “Love, Actually” (a Christmas favorite at our house).

It’s a great reminder that love is all around us.

Sometimes we forget.

Sometimes we let ourselves fall into the trap of thinking only of ourselves. We forget that we are happiest and at our best when we are loving others.

At Christmas we are reminded of these simple truths.

Keep the Christmas mojo going on past Christmas this year. Keep the feelings of love and selflessness at the forefront – where they belonged all along.

Make it a great day.

Jake