Sometimes we need an inspirational speech to get the week started right.
A few inspiring words can make a difference in how we look at the week ahead.
I encourage you to seek out those words and that inspiration.
Whether it is your favorite movie clip or your favorite book or just poking around on the intertubes to find something inspirational, go out and look.
Make it a great day.
Jake
I suggested this song to Jake, and then he suggested I write about it. J
This is on my happy songs playlist because it reminds me of being a kid in the summer (even though that’s not really what the song is about). It brings back a certain summer feeling…riding in my dad’s pickup truck with the windows down on a hot Saturday morning running errands, or riding the train with friends to the city in the evening and walking down to the lake where it’s always cooler. Sitting on a hot bleacher bench enjoying the nervous wait to be on deck by being silly with team mates, or watching my favorite brother play baseball, or sitting under the lights among a huge crowd at Comiskey hoping Big Frank hits a homer so the scoreboard will go off. Walking to tennis lessons in the morning coolness, and then walking home as it’s starting to heat up, and stopping at White Hen for a slushie. Later in life, a couple of cold beers in the evening at an outdoor party; watching the kids at the 4th of July parade with its loud sirens bouncing off the hot pavement, then the excitement of lightening bugs and fireworks in the dark; taking the kids to the pool when the sun is not quite so blazing overhead and it’s a little less crowded and a lot more relaxed.
In the summer we get to enjoy the heat of the day, and the different world of the summer nights, too.
Meaghan
Yesterday, one of you decided to make my day.
It seems that Mikie was thoughtful and caring enough to send out an email asking you to send a thank you my way for sending these emails every day.
It was (and continues to be) a humbling experience.
I received messages full of sincere appreciation from people I have never even met.
I received messages speaking of the difference the emails have made in the lives of others.
I was reminded that we each have the ability to make someone’s day.
Mikie did it for me by sending out that email.
You can do the same for someone else in your own way.
Do something today to make someone’s day today. Just like you did for me yesterday.
Make it a great day.
Jake
PS – In case it isn’t clear – THANK YOU to all of you who sent me messages yesterday. Thank you to all of you for reading and letting me in to your life each day.
JD – Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we
grow up. Pablo Picasso
JW* – “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” Andy Warhol
JR* – “ In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
MS* – “A Good artist has less time than ideas.” Martin Kippenberge
EB* – “Creativity takes courage.” Henri Matisse
I’m not particularly gifted when it comes to “art”, but I am amazed by those that are.
I grabbed a few of these quotes and shared them to remind us all of the creative part of us.
Whether we express it through painting or business, writing or parenting, sculpture or friendships is not the important part.
The important part is to think beyond what is there today to create something better for tomorrow.
Make it a great day.
Jake
We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve. – Bill Gates
Confession time. I’m not all that great at receiving constructive criticism.
I haven’t punched anyone in the face (yet), but inwardly it always takes a little longer than I care to admit to realize that there is something to be learned.
At some point though, we all need to realize that growth requires feedback and change.
We need to seek out others who will provide honest and helpful feedback.
We need to work hard to offer feedback to others in a way that helps them on their journey.
Seek out some advice today.
Start simple by asking something like “If there was one thing I could do differently….”
Make it easier on yourself to positively receive the feedback.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Every day some new fact comes to light – some new obstacle which threatens the gravest obstruction. I suppose this is the reason which makes the game so well worth playing. – Robert Falcon Scott
One of the reasons our attitude is so important is that it determines how we view the obstacles and difficulties of life.
Great people often have an attitude that allows them to see obstacles and difficult circumstances as stepping stones and not road blocks.
They look at life through a different lens.
Is there something in your way that needs a new perspective?
Would a new way of looking at your obstacles help remove some of the excuses?
What might you do differently if you had this change in perspective?
One of the reasons I like to read some of the stories of past generations is to see all of the circumstances they didn’t let get in their way.
They did business through letters and telegraphs.
They lived without their families for long periods of time.
They didn’t even have Google.
I’m not suggesting that we go back to those times, merely that we make the most of our current advantages.
Make it a great day.
Jake
“Action is the foundational key to all success.” —Pablo Picasso
Monday is a great day for a reminder to take action.
Make a top 5 list for this week and get to work knocking them out.
We all have the same amount of time this week, can you focus and take action on what’s most important in your life?
Make it a great day.
Jake
JD – Laughter is an instant vacation – Milton Berle
EB* – “Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence. Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.” – Maya Angelou
MS* – “When all else fails, take a vacation.” – Betty Williams
JW* – A wise man travels to discover himself. -James Russell Lowell
Summer time is known as being vacation time.
Remember to create some space to rejuvenate this summer.
Make it a great day.
Jake
You get what you give.
In each relationship in our life, we can choose to give.
We can choose to serve and to put the other person first.
And we do, magic happens.
Choose giving.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Teach self-denial and make its practice pleasure, and you can create for the world a destiny more sublime that ever issued from the brain of the wildest dreamer. – Sir Walter Scott
I am convinced that one of the secrets to success is to actually like doing things other people don’t like doing.
Think about how differently you might approach life if you actually had fun doing the things you were supposed to do.
What if exercise was your new favorite thing to do?
What if fruits and veggies became your favorite foods?
What if saving money was more fun than spending it?
What if self-denial became a way of life?
Maybe this seems a little farfetched or maybe not possible for you. When something seems out of the norm, I always ask myself a couple of questions.
First, has some else done it? In this case, that means that you can choose to have a different attitude about self-denial – because someone else has done it.
Second, it is worth it in my case? This question is always harder to answer. And only you can answer it.
Challenge your attitudes. Challenge your perspective on what’s hard and what is right for you.
Make it a great day.
Jake
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