https://youtu.be/Yr7Wkz7W7Vs

In this video by Tony Robbins, he asks “what kinds of questions are you asking yourself?”

Are you asking yourself questions like:

Why am I so fat?

Why don’t I have any friends?

When am I going to get it together?

Instead, you must learn to ask yourself positive questions. Questions that allow you to take responsibility for your actions and lead to action in a positive direction.

What can I do today to lose weight?

What can I do today to create a new relationship?

What book can I read to learn to get more organized?

We must learn to ask ourselves the right questions if we are to find the answers we are searching for.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“Be fanatically positive and militantly optimistic. If something is not to your liking, change your liking.” ―Rick Steves

This is a great quote to sum up why attitude is so important.

I’d like to add one thing at the beginning:

Get clear about your values, your priorities and your purpose, then be fanatically….

We must build our house on a firm foundation, but after that if something is not to your liking, change your liking.

Think about how many times you have gotten stuck on something you didn’t like.

Something you didn’t like about your situation.

Something you didn’t like about your self.

Something you didn’t like about your job.

Either change the something or change your attitude about it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Dr. Seuss’ The Sneetches is a favorite of ours.

The story is about two different kinds of Sneetches. One with stars on their bellies and sneetches with none upon thars.

They are bamboozled (don’t get to break that one out much) into getting stars added and removed from their stomachs in a race to see which kind of Sneetches are the best.

Like all my favorite Dr. Seuss books, this story illustrates an important life lesson while being silly and whimsical (bamboozled and whimsical in the same email, wow).

At first blush, I thought the lesson was about not looking down on others because they are different than you.

And while I think that lesson can be gathered from this story, there is a potentially more important one.

Don’t let someone else tell you that because you don’t have a “star” that you are anything less.

The really sad part of the story was that each group in turn accepted the other group’s labeling of them as “less than” or some version of that.

When we accept those thoughts and labels that others place on us we actually do become “less than” we are capable of being.

I think Thomas Jefferson said it best:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Remember today to not accept the limitations any else places on you.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Originally sent on 5/15/13

https://youtu.be/2B1j4Z25i7k

Schools out for summer.

Remember that feeling when you were a kid? That feeling of freedom and adventure.

We said things like “I can’t wait until I’m a grown up and I can do whatever I want ALL of the time.”

We looked forward to this time when school would be out forever and we would be free to do whatever we wanted.

Well….news flash…..that’s you now.

You are free to do whatever you want.

School is out forever (metaphorically speaking of course, if you want to go to school, go for it).

What are you going to do with your new found freedom?

Make it a great day.

Jake

As you may have seen on the FaceBox, Mavidea is celebrating our 10 year anniversary.

There’s plenty of lessons and life that has happened along the way, but for right now, I just want to be thankful.

Thankful for my business partners, Erik, Jamie, Mike and Arnold.

Thankful for our staff.

Thankful for our customers.

Thankful for the communities we get to work in.

Thankful for a nation created in a way that allowed us to pursue our dreams.

Thankful for you.

So much to be thankful for.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. – Abraham Lincoln

“There are seasons you see, a season to sharpen your axe and a season to chop down the tree. I remember getting so frustrated with my work and thinking, this isn’t working, this will never work. And then something would happen, some little part would click and I would take it as a sign to keep going. Don’t try to rush through your axe sharpening season otherwise you will have to work twice as hard during your tree chopping season. Always have the chopped fallen tree as your goal, but take your time – learn your business inside and out, know your customers and take care of them, rise and grind every day. Your moment will come, your tree will fall and it will be awesome.”

Meaghan recently shared this with me from a blog she reads.

Make it a great day.

Jake

These fallen heroes represent the character of a nation who has a long history of patriotism and honor – and a nation who has fought many battles to keep our country free from threats of terror. Michael N. Castle

A nation of character with a long history of patriotism and honor.

Memorial Day was a reminder of those who have given their lives to defend and protect us, but it was also a reminder that we have something worth fighting for and protecting.

Our nation isn’t perfect.

But it is something special.

It is worth fighting for.

Today I am thankful for our history and for all those who have gone before us.

Let us all be reminded to do our best to build upon and honor the past by making the most of the time we have.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/UzDDJm27vmc

Memorial Day is a time to remember those who have fallen.

One way to remember is to take a somber moment of quiet reflection.

We can also celebrate the gift that has been given.

I am hoping you can do a little of both this weekend as we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us.

Make it a great day.

Jake

That’s all I needed to hear. It turns out that gratitude from a single grandchild trumps the ridicule of any number of critics. With this in mind, I now pass on my granddaughter’s (and my own) thanks to today’s guardians—from front-line leathernecks, to keyboard warriors—who all deserve kudos. All play an important role in keeping us safe. So, thanks to all of you heroes out there who, when the call to serve came, eagerly answered, “You can count on me!”

We do, every single day. – Kerry Patterson

With Memorial Day weekend this weekend I got a newsletter email with the lines above at the end.

That last line really stuck out.

We do, every single day.

We count on those in the armed forces, every day.

We count on them in ways we will never understand.

They give to us in ways we will never be able to repay.

Maybe I’m just getting sappy in my old age, but with each holiday that passes to remember or celebrate those who serve I become more and more aware of just how lucky most of us are.

Evil does exist. And there are men and women who stand between us and that evil.

They do so and continue to do so despite the fact that it comes at an enormous personal cost.

I doubt any of them are thinking of Jake Davis and his little family in Chenoa, IL, but they go out there for us, every day. They do the same for you.

I think it is more than being thankful, though.

To be sure, we should be thankful.

But we should do more than that. We should make the most of the opportunity they have given us. The freedom to choose our path in this world.

We have been given a tremendous gift, not to use it wisely would be unfortunate.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with." – Mark Twain

Joy is best when shared.

This quote reminded me how lucky I am to have so many in my life to share my joys with.

But it also challenged me to be that person for others.

Look out for opportunities to share the joy of others.

Look out for opportunities to cheer them on.

Look out for opportunities to celebrate their victories.

Let’s do our best to help other get the full value from the joys in their lives.

Make it a great day.

Jake