“When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is a great description of our fears.

A scary looking man with a fake beard that immediately becomes a farce when confronted.

Think about what is holding you back from reaching your goals.

What are you afraid of?

Afraid of failure?

Afraid someone might laugh at you?

Afraid someone won’t like you anymore?

Afraid of losing control?

Afraid that it might actually work?

Take the first step today. Take the step through your fears.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Today is the 5th anniversary of the day when I started sending these emails.

Some quick math put it at around 1500 emails that have been sent.

That number really sounds a bit ridiculous. Do I really have that much to say? Do people really want to hear from me that much?

Developing a daily habit of trying to put into words the positive thoughts and habits I would like to have has had a meaningful impact on my life.

The positive interactions that I have had with those that have read and responded have been awesome.

I would encourage you to think about one small discipline you can add to consistently add something positive into your life.

Even the smallest habit can add up after a while.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/1omPNEVOIaM

Every time these two do one of these, it amazes me.

It’s amazing what two talented people can do.

But more than that, it just looks like fun.

It’s fun to do good work with a friend.

It’s part of the fun of being at Mavidea. We get to do good work with a bunch of friends.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory. – Mahatma Gandhi

This is probably another sign that I am officially old, but I have thought a lot lately about the little lessons I learned while playing sports when I was younger.

One of the big lessons was that those times when I really did apply maximum effort, it worked.

Those times when I pushed harder than I thought I could always resulted in something I didn’t think I could achieve.

Looking back on it now, it really proves how dumb of a kid I was that I didn’t really figure it out then, but it worked every time.

I’m sure by now you are wondering how this applies to those of us who aren’t currently on a high school sports team.

Motivation.

It all starts there. We have to be extremely motivated in order to give maximum effort.

When it comes to motivation, the best advice I can give is to start where you are.

By that I mean to start with what motivates you, right now.

Sure, it would be ideal if you were more motivated by world peace than you are by looking cool, but if looking cool gets you going, go with it.

This may be immaturity speaking, but I think that our motivations will mature naturally as we seek to make a bigger and bigger impact. That’s why I think it’s ok to start small.

Want to fit into that bathing suit?

Impress that girl? (My wife….I sure hope she likes this email.)

Grab that new gadget?

Want those new cool shoes?

Crush the competition?

Just because it’s cool?

Go get it. Apply maximum effort. Check it off the list. Reflect, reassess and go for the next one with that same gusto.

Make it a great day.

Jake

JW: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 1 Corinthians 13:4

JD – A smile is a curve that sets everything straight. – Phyllis Diller

EB – TNT….I’m dynamite!

MS – It does not dishonor others, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. – 1 Corinthians 13:5

Love is such an interesting concept for us to work to understand.

In English, we have just the one word “love” that we use to talk about everything from our spouse to the dessert we had last night after dinner.

Supposedly, other languages have multiple words for “love” and use these to distinguish between the different types of feelings and actions we need to take.

One of my favorites in English is the word charity. CS Lewis uses this a lot in his writing to describe the kind of love we should have for each other.

I like that word for it because charity immediately brings to mind for me being selfless and putting others above ourselves.

In the end, I think that is the most important element of love that we need to have for each other.

Imagine a door in a busy place and you are the one holding it saying “you first”. That is an act of love for another.

If we can adopt this attitude and demeanor in our daily interactions with others each day, we will be loving in the way that can generate happiness, peace and success.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Last night I got to read “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” to Annie.

It reminded me of this daily attitude email from a few years back, enjoy a little Christmas in September:

Officially one week out from Christmas today.

And since we still have small children at home, my favorite Christmas story is “The Grinch Whole Stole Christmas” by Dr. Seuss.

Here are my favorite few lines:

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,

Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?

It came without ribbons! It came without tags!

"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"

And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn’t come from a store.

"Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!"

Maybe I’m just a little bit of a sap, but I think that there is some magic to Christmas. And that it doesn’t come from a store.

As we make this last push towards Christmas, let’s focus on more than the packages, box and bags.

Merry Christmas.

Jake

Bonus Materials:

The Gring song: http://youtu.be/ZgP0aUKlmNw

The whole text to the book: http://bloggingmis.blogspot.com/2010/03/how-grinch-stole-christmas.html

If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it! – Jonathan Winters

Short reminder today.

Don’t wait for things to happen, go find them and get started.

Make it a great day.

Jake

You can’t outwit fate by standing on the sidelines placing little sidebets about the outcome of life. Either you wade in and risk everything you have to play the game or you don’t play at all. And if you don’t play you can’t win. – Judith McNaught

Thought this would be a good reminder for everyone to start off the week.

If you don’t play, you can’t win.

If you it wasn’t hard, it wouldn’t be worth it.

Take a chance this week and stretch yourself. Risk going a little farther than you are used to.

Play the game.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/gPHnadJ-0hE

9/11 is one of the times that I don’t think I’ll ever forget what I was doing or where I was when I saw it on the news.

Hard to believe that 14 years have passed already.

Last night I read “The Lorax” to Maggie and Annie and the last few lines (pasted below) reminded me of what 9/11 most reminds me of.

In particular, this line stands out: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing’s going to get better. It’s not.”

9/11 was a wakeup call.

Sure, it was a wakeup call about security and terrorists and tactics to fight back and all of the particulars of the war on terror.

But it was more than that.

It was a reminder that America was something worth protecting.

That we do care about our country and our fellow Americans.

That we need to love each other and hold each other tight.

That we aren’t guaranteed tomorrow, so we shouldn’t waste today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The last lines of “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss:

"Now that you’re here,

the word of the Lorax seems perfectly clear.

UNLESS someone like you

cares a whole awful lot,

nothing is going to get better.

It’s not.

"SO…

Catch!" calls the Once-ler.

He lets something fall.

"It’s a Truffula Seed.

It’s the last one of all!

You’re in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds.

And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs.

Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care.

Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air.

Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack.

Then the Lorax

and all of his friends

may come back."

https://youtu.be/SQIVslZIMXI

I think I sent this video out a long time when I first saw it but I came across it and had to send it again.

Imagine doing that once a day for a month. Hard to imagine it wouldn’t make a difference.

But that seems a bit much.

Plus, most of us probably shouldn’t be climbing on our bathroom vanities like that (that’s a good way for an old man like me to break a hip).

A simple challenge for today: write down 5 things that you are thankful for.

Put it somewhere where you can pull it out again and look at it.

Then just look at it every once in a while.

Maybe add 5 more from time to time.

Maybe share it with a loved one.

Maybe post it up somewhere.

Or not, just keep it simple.

Just write down 5 things you are thankful for.

Ready…..get set…..go!

Make it a great day.

Jake