"Don’t find fault. Find a remedy." – Henry Ford

Finding faults in ourselves and others is the easy way out.

If you look for them, there will be plenty.

All of us are imperfect in our own ways. All of us fall short at one point or another.

What if we looked for the good in ourselves and others?

What if we looked for solutions instead of making excuses?

Focusing our efforts on improvement and progress instead of excuses and complaints will make us happier, healthier and more successful.

Take care today to focus on the positive.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Every charitable act is a stepping stone toward heaven. – Henry Ward Beecher

I think of this in CS Lewis’s terms as he describes charity as one of the four loves. Charity in his description is love of our fellow mankind.

Every loving act is a stepping stone toward heaven.

We build our way to a better future through loving actions toward those around us.

One smile, kind gesture or kind word at a time leads towards something better for all of us.

What could you do today to act out this in your own life?

What words might you choose?

What actions might you take?

What might you do differently to create an environment where love could rule in your life?

Make it a great day.

Jake

The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it. – Jean Paul

Classic old person quote today.

This seems more and more true to me as I age.

Experience creates clarity.

Or at least the appearance of clarity.

For some, this leads to the trap of crankiness and skepticism. Nobody else gets it and can’t see they are doing it wrong?

For others, it leads to tenderness, peace and contentment.

Just because we can see more clearly, doesn’t mean we have the right perspective. We must still carefully choose how we respond to the clarity.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“It’s not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can’t tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself.”

– Joyce Maynard

Maggie turned 19 yesterday.

It’s funny, as she gets older I think about all of the life lessons I wish I had a chance to talk to her about.

But then I realize how many I have left to learn myself.

It’s a new kind of challenge – being the kind of parent and father that she deserves.

This is so true of all of our important relationships in life – we work on ourselves so that we become and be more for those we love. Not for our own selfish desires.

Make it a great day.

Jake

http://youtu.be/2H5uWRjFsGc

Obvious theme on this one.

“Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.” – George Patton

Make it a great day.

Jake

Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself. – Henry Ward Beecher

Part of becoming someone better is raising your standards for yourself.

Learning to become the kind of person who does x instead of y.

It becomes part of your identity and something you couldn’t go against if you tried.

We must choose carefully. Attaching our identities to fool’s gold like money or physical fitness has its own risks.

Choosing to be honest or loving or selfless on the other hand will pay off in the end.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/16N2d38DzV/

Good phrase in this one – drop the sword!

Give up on fighting everybody and everything.

Don’t get mad about all the little stuff that doesn’t go your way.

Focus on the good stuff.

Make it a great day.

Jake

History is a vast early warning system. – Norman Cousins

History is full of lessons on what to do and what not to do.

We can learn about those who have succeeded and those who we would not like to follow in their footsteps.

Personally, I’ve learned a lot from reading a few biographies and autobiographies.

Usually I pick up a few “what not to do’s” each time I read one.

I try not to get too judgmental, but I also try to weigh their values and priorities vs mine and see what I might do differently.

When is the last time you read a good book that could teach you some of these lessons?

Make it a great day.

Jake

We first make our habits, and then our habits make us. – John Dryden

We make our habits.

We get to choose what we habitually do.

What choices have you made?

Anything you’d like to start doing instead? Anything you need to stop doing?

Monday’s a great day for a new start.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Resending this old 4th of July toe tapper since we missed the chance last Friday…

https://youtu.be/S6InAX5IAQM?si=xNG9tAnymgX8kznY

We are all free to do what we want, any old time.

We have the freedom to organize and shape our lives in the way we see fit to get the results we want.

But there is a second part to this equation: responsibility. Norman Vincent Peale said that since we have the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast we should have the Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.

Freedom is great.

Freedom with responsibility takes things to a whole different level.

As you think about the 4th of July and all of the great things about America and all of those troops who have and continue to fight for your freedom, ask yourself a couple of questions.

Am I making the most of the freedom being given to me?

Am I taking responsibility for my life?

Make it a great day.

Jake