Last night was our Ash Wednesday service at church. Ash Wednesday begins the 40 days of Lent, a period of preparation for Easter.

I was reminded of this bible verse: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

In the past, I struggled a little with verses like this and church services meant to remind us of when we fall short.

But I’ve come to think maybe there is another side of it.

By realizing we ALL are not perfect, we can be in better relationship with those around us. We can serve and love our neighbors much better when we realize they are imperfect as well.

By realizing that I am not perfect I can begin the process of improving. By shining the light on my imperfections, I can move closer to a better me.

I wonder if the key is not shining the light on it for too long.

Shine the light on the area needing improvement long enough to see it, then move the light towards the future, better you. Focus on the goal and the improvement not the shortcoming.

Acknowledge the need for improvement but don’t dwell on it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

BAD – Courage is the price life exacts for granting peace. – Amelia Earhart

EB* – Accept who you are….unless you are a serial killer. – Ellen Degeneres

MS* – A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man. – Lana Turner

JW* – A day without sunshine is like, you know, night. – Steve Martin

JD – I’m an idealist. I don’t know where I am going, but I’m on my way. – Carl Sandburg

I was recently sent the hilarious (who doesn’t love a good quote about serial killers?) quote above from Ellen Degeneres.

While it made me giggle a little at first, it reminded me of something I see a lot on TV in particular.

Sometimes people are acting not like idiots and they try to cover it up by saying that they are just “being real” or just “being themselves”.

It can be easy to get into the trap of “If I just be myself, everything should be great” mindset.

I would highly recommend that we all be transparent, open and honest with those around us. And being comfortable with and content in your own skin is an important point of maturity that we should all head towards.

But it doesn’t mean that others have to like it. Or even like you. Or that your life won’t work out horribly if you are a horrible person.

Fortunately for us, we get to pick what kind of person we are. We can grow and change and “be real” from a better place.

Next time you are “being real”, think about whether or not this real version is someone you really want to be.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Change is the end result of all true learning. – Leo Buscaglia

Want something to change in your life?

Seek out the knowledge to drive that change.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"I said not long before that work and weakness are comforters. But sweat is the kindest creature of the three – far better than philosophy, as a cure for ill thoughts." – CS Lewis, Til We Have Faces

This line really stuck with me as I am reading through this book.

If you ever find yourself down, get sweaty.

Just find something to do that gets you sweaty.

Walk around the block.

Do a million pushups.

Lift weights.

Get your mind off of what is troubling you and onto to something else.

Often our worries and troubles overtake us because we allow them to dominate our thoughts. But it’s hard to let them dominate your thoughts when you are busy doing something challenging.

Plus, exercise is like good for you or something.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Jim Rohn has a speech entitled “I am a wealthy man because….”

One of the reasons he considered himself wealthy was his heritage.

President’s Day is today and it reminded me of the wealthy heritage we enjoy.

We enjoy the fruits of hundreds of years of great men and women working on our behalf. They have put the infrastructure in place for us to live and enjoy our lives the way we do.

They fought wars we don’t have to fight.

They fought evil we don’t have to face.

They stood for something we now get to stand on.

We will also have our battles to fight, our evil to face and we must choose something to stand for. But we get to do so from a position of strength because of our past.

Today is a great day to be thankful for our heritage and our presidents.

Make it a great day.

Jake

http://youtu.be/-NMph943tsw

The power of love.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s email, love can drive us to do amazing things.

Let love drive you to become your best.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Love will draw an elephant through a key-hole. – Samuel Richardson

How many movies have you seen where the basic premise is that “love will conquer all”?

We seem to have an inherent belief that love can and will do the impossible.

As a Christian, I believe there is a really good reason for this, but today’s email isn’t about why it is.

Today’s email is just a simple reminder to keep believing.

Don’t give in to cynicism or negative thoughts.

Don’t let your heart turn cold and unbelieving.

Lean in to your belief that love always wins and that love is something worth fighting for.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“And as ridiculous as it may sound, sometimes all any of us needs in life is for someone to hold our hand and walk next to us.” ― James Frey, The Final Testament of the Holy Bible

It’s never too early to write something for Valentine’s Day, right?

Came across this quote and it reminded me of Valentine’s Day and all that is good about it.

This quote applies to all good relationships, not just the one you would call your Valentine, but it certainly reminded me of mine.

It’s amazing the amount of resilience and grit we can show when we know that someone else will be there waiting for us at the end.

Win or lose.

Failure or triumph.

Tail between our legs or walking tall.

Knowing they will be there through thick and thin creates such a powerful feeling.

If you’ve already found your special Valentine, thank them for this.

If you’ve already found your special Valentine, be there for them.

If you haven’t found your special Valentine, practice on your friends.

Make it a great day.

Jake

MS – Fortitude includes both kinds of courage – the kind that faces danger as well as the kind that ‘sticks it’ under pain. – C.S. Lewis

BAD – “Love is holy because it is like grace–the worthiness of its object is never really what matters.” – Marilyn Robinson

EB* – “My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She’s ninety-seven now, and we don’t know where the heck she is.” – Ellen DeGeneres

JW* – All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.- Charles M. Schulz

JD – If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you. – A. A. Milne

Winnie the Pooh has circled back onto the kids favorites list at our house.

There is something about such a simple and idealistic mind as Pooh’s that just makes you smile.

We can’t be that way all of the time, but a little simplemindedness is good for us sometimes.

Enjoy something simple today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“It takes a lot of time to be a genius. You have to sit around so much, doing nothing, really doing nothing.” ― Gertrude Stein

When was the last time you did nothing? Really nothing.

In today’s world full of constant entertainment and constant opportunity to be stimulated in some way, it is difficult to just sit quietly.

But that’s why it is probably more important now than it was in Gertrude’s time.

Because of all the distractions we need to make time to sit and do nothing.

We need that break from a constantly having our attention on something.

When could you make a little do nothing time?

Make it a great day.

Jake