Another St. Patrick’s Day email from a few years ago.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Another St. Patrick’s Day DAE from a few years ago.

I’m on vacation next week and taking volunteers to send out daily attitude emails. If you are interested, send me what you want to send and I’ll get it sent out to everyone.

Found this old toe tapper from a few years ago and wanted to send it out again before St. Patrick’s Day.

http://youtu.be/DBaKWLoFYmQ

Not sure I caught all the lyrics, but it sure sounds happy.

Someone mentioned this song on the FaceBox and I found this Irish version that reminded me of our family’s adventure to Ireland last year around this time.

Figured while I am thinking about it I would share a couple of good pics from Ireland.

One of my Irish lass and our oldest and one a collage of the wee Irish lasses in their flower girl get-ups.

Make it a great Friday.

Jake

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day this week I thought I would share some of my favorite “Irish” posts from over the years….

I was in Ireland a couple weeks ago… Throughout every day, Deb and I talked about how nice, friendly and helpful everyone was.

On day 9 it hit me…. The people of Ireland treat people how people should be treated. It was so refreshing.

They’ve found a way to live like every day is Christmas. So it’s possible and helped me step up my game.

Thanks for the reminder and thanks for your dedication to help us all improve.

Happy Tuesday.

B

Brian O’Shaughnessy sent that note to me yesterday in response to the email about starting Christmas early by being a little nicer to everyone.

I’ve always thought of “hospitality” as the Irish people’s super power and his note about how they “treat people how they should be treated” stuck out to me.

What if we were supposed to be this nice all year long and not just on Christmas?

What if generosity was an every day thing?

What if kindness became a minimum expectation?

My trips to Ireland showed me (and Brian) what that might look like….and it looked pretty good.

Being nicer and more hospitable seemed to make the Irish people I interacted with more happy, more full of joy.

They didn’t seem to be getting the short end of the stick….

Reflect on your interactions over the year. Is there room for more niceness? Is it worth taking a chance on moving forward?

Merry Christmas.

Jake

PS – Thanks to Brian for being a consistent supporter of me and these emails. He’s been on the list a long time and has every reason to tune me out and move on to reading something better but consistently finds time to encourage me with a nice note here and there.

Katrina & The Waves – Walking On Sunshine (Official Video) – YouTube

This was a request from Annie. She’s been feeling springish lately.

Enjoy the sun while it lasts.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Now that I’m getting a little older, it’s harder and harder to ignore all the times that I’m wrong.

It’s been a bit of a wake up call, but hopefully I’ll finally learn something.

I recently received an email with these questions:

4 questions he recommends to test our intellectual humility:

– Do I tend to think more like a soldier or a scout? (A soldier’s job is to defend; a scout’s is to explore and discover.)

– Would I rather be right, or would I rather understand?

– Do I solicit and seek out opposing views?

– Do I enjoy the ‘pleasant surprise’ of discovering I’m wrong?

The Book of Beautiful Questions by Warren Berger

I especially liked the last one.

What a pleasant surprise how wrong I was?!?

Man, I wish I was that mature.

I bet Meaghan wishes I was that mature too. And my kids. And my business partners. And my friends. And my family.

Kind of seems like a lot of people might benefit from a little more humility on my part.

I’d better get to work.

Make it a great day.

Jake

A good laugh is sunshine in the house. – William Makepeace Thackeray

This is a great reminder for a spring day.

Let the sun shine in and the laughter abound today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

During one of his morning walks to work in New York City, David Ogilvy encountered a man begging with a sign around his neck. The sign read: "I am blind," and, as evidenced by his nearly empty cup, the man was not doing very well. Ogilvy removed the man’s sign from around his neck, pulled out a marker and changed the sign to read, "It is spring and I am blind." He hung the sign back around the beggar’s neck and went on his way. On his way home he was pleased to notice the vagrant had a full cap.

This story was mentioned in the book "To Sell is Human" by Daniel Pink.

He used it as an illustration of his point that clarity depends on contrast.

I thought this was a particularly insightful thought that can be applied in many ways.

We can gain clarity on our goals through the contrast of where we are today and where we want to be in the future.

We can gain clarity on what’s important by comparing our blessings with those who are less fortunate.

We can gain clarity when making decisions by contrasting the two options in their extremes.

Clarity is such an important part of moving forward in life. We can only move as far and as fast as we can see clearly.

Is there an area of your life that needs clarity? Is there a way that contrast could provide that clarity?

Make it a great day.

Jake ​

When you doubt, abstain. – Ambrose Bierce

To make the most of our one chance at life here on Earth we must learn to say no, a lot.

We fall in to the trap of trying to do and have it all.

We dabble and fritter away our resources and time and then wonder where it all went.

The week flies by and we end in a heap, not sure whether or not we did our best or just made it through.

What do you need to abstain from this week?

What doesn’t seem to be paying off?

What would you usually say yes to, but know you shouldn’t?

What’s the most important “no” for you this week?

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/mzDVaKRApcg

Any time I hear a song like this I am thankful for all those whose love has made my life better in so many ways.

I’m also inspired to be that kind of person for others.

Say thank you today to someone who has lifted you higher.

Reach out to someone you might lift up.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“Prosperity knits a man to the world. He feels that he is finding his place in it, while really it is finding its place in him.”

― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

This quote reminds me to “be careful what you wish for.”

It’s easy to fall into the trap of wishing for more comfort or prosperity. For the bigger house or car. The nicer clothes or cooler gear.

The question of what we have to give up in order to get it seems a distant whisper in the face of our desires.

CS Lewis hits it on the head here – “it” gets a hold of us in the process.

When we give in to our desires and ambitions we can become something we never intended.

We can lose ourselves in the process and end up worse off than we were at the beginning.

We must strive and do our best in service to others (with love). Working towards goals and with purpose has been placed in us by our Creator. These must be filtered through a mature and thoughtful philosophy on life, not compared to the latest commercial or what our neighbor is driving.

We can live better lives. Not by striving for prosperity and comfort, but by giving up our own desires in services to others (with love).

Make it a great day.

Jake