Maggie turns 11 today.

Maggie has always had a unique spark. Full of joy and enthusiasm.

Since she was very little, her mom and I have talked about encouraging her “spark” and not letting it be extinguished.

After watching for this with Maggie over the years, I’ve realized it applies to everyone.

We all have our own unique spark.

Some of us have let someone put it out.

Or maybe we just hide it.

If this is you, consider this your wake up call. Let your light shine.

Maybe even more importantly, let’s all remember to encourage the spark in others around us.

Let’s be the kind of people who are constantly helping others realize their potential.

Make it a great day.

Jake

One of my other favorite scenes from “The Sandlot” was when the leader of the group is inviting the new kid to come play with them.

The new kid makes a series of excuses (no glove, etc.) and the leader of the group takes away all of the excuses by giving him a glove, etc.

We all need someone to come into our lives and do that for us sometimes.

We need someone to cut through all of our excuses and pull us out of our comfort zone.

Someone to show us that we don’t really have anything holding us back.

If you have someone in your life like that, be grateful.

Be that leader for someone you love.

Challenge them to break through something you have seen them make excuses about.

Take away their excuses. Leave them with no choice but to step forward.

Make it a great day.

Jake

What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

This question popped into my head recently, I added to my list of ideas for the daily attitude email and it has been haunting me ever since.

At first glance, it didn’t seem like too hard of a question to answer, but after looking at it for a couple of weeks the answers seem harder and harder to find.

Think of those moments in your life when you let fear get in the way.

What would you do if you weren’t afraid of what others might think?

What would you ask for if you weren’t afraid of being rejected?

What would you risk if you weren’t afraid of the blow to your ego?

What goal would you take on if you weren’t afraid to fail?

What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

Maybe it’s unrealistic to tackle all of these things at once and conquer all your fears by the end of the day.

Maybe just try one. Find one thing where you were letting fear hold you back and push through. Decide to take the plunge.

Make it a great day.

Jake ​

Meaghan and I went to my 20th high school reunion over the weekend (further confirmation that this getting old thing is actually happening to me, too).

In the girl scouts, Maggie learned a corny little poem that I couldn’t help but remember on a night like that.

Make new friends, but keep the old

One is silver and the other is gold.

Seeing old friends is such a great reminder of all the old memories and fun that was had.

It is amazing how quickly the awkwardness of not having seen each other for 10+ years fades and your able to have a good time together.

Life is full of changes.

We move.

We change jobs.

We graduate and move and get a job.

And these changes usually involve some changes in the friends that you spend the majority of your time with.

Saturday was a reminder for me that even though life and things change, you can still keep the old friends and they are like gold.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/YDu93pdyBDE

Good to be alive.

Here’s hoping we can all keep that simple perspective today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Humility

We often look at it as though humility is to downplay our accomplishments, ignore our virtues, etc. Some take this to an extreme by continually reminding themselves of their unworthiness in an attempt to keep themselves ‘humble’.

But this is not humility.

Humility is a state of total honesty with oneself. It is not a mentality of worthlessness. Christ was humble, but he also outright proclaimed that he was the son of God. In no way did he see himself as worthless, or unworthy. From this we can learn that it is possible to be humble and still acknowledge your virtues.

Pride and Self Loathing are two sides of the same coin in that they are both fueled by dishonesty.

Pride is ignoring your faults and magnifying your virtues.

Self-Loathing is ignoring your virtues and magnifying your faults.

Humility is acknowledging and accepting both in their true measure.

Only from this place of honesty can you move forward and be the best version of yourself.

Michael Cluney

Some people don’t do well because they don’t feel well. – Jim Rohn

In order to live a great life we need to take care of ourselves.

We will have nothing to give if we don’t fill ourselves up and take care of ourselves.

Take an honest assessment of how you feel most days.

If you don’t feel well, maybe that’s why you aren’t doing as well as you could.

Time to make a change.

Make it a great day.

Jake

What am I not doing that would be easy to do? – Jim Rohn

I was watching a Jim Rohn seminar and he asked this simple question.

Sometimes we make self-improvement harder than it needs to be.

We complicate things and get impatient and want all the results now.

Maybe instead we could ask ourselves the simple question: what am I not doing that would be easy to do?

Take a walk around the block.

Eat an apple.

Read for 5 minutes.

Exercise for 5 minutes.

I’m sure you can think of something.

Try it today. Do one simple thing that easy to do.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“But what manner of use would it be ploughing through that darkness?’ asked Drinian.

Use?’ replied Reepicheep. ‘Use, Captain?’ If you mean by filling our bellies or our purses, I confess it will be no use at all. So far as I know we did not set sail to look for things useful but to seek honour and adventures. And here is as great an adventure as I have ever heard of, and here, if we turn back, no little impeachment of all our honours.”

― C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader"

We spend an inordinate amount of time trying to find the “use” in things in our lives.

We make the mistake of thinking that events and the stuff of our lives must be of “use”.

If we can just remember that life is a journey (an adventure, even), it helps put things into perspective.

If life is a journey, we don’t have to know the meaning of every little event.

If life is a journey, we don’t have to know what’s going to happen next.

If life is a journey, we can make it through any short-term valley, mountain or river.

Enjoy the journey.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/mzDVaKRApcg

This song reminded me of two things.

First, how thankful I am for those in my life who love me.

Second, that I desire to be the kind of person who lifts up those around me.

Consider this your friendly Friday reminder to be thankful for your loved ones and to look for opportunities to lift up those around you.

Make it a great day.

Jake