“You’re extraordinary, Ramona”
The Ramona and Beezus movie is a favorite at our house. At the end, one of the adult characters look’s Ramona in the face and tells her she is extraordinary.
What a powerful concept to impress on a child. You are extraordinary.
It’s as true for you as was for Ramona in the movie. You are extraordinary.
No matter what happens today, don’t forget it.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. – Psalm 141:3
I really liked the mental picture on this one.
The picture of the words we say (and think) going in and out of a door. And then a guard standing there.
Now, picture the guard…
Is he asleep?
Fat, drunk and stupid?
Or
Always vigilant?
Standing firm?
This verse is a great reminder that we must be careful with the words we use and the way we say them.
Words have power. They have so much power the writer of this Psalm was asking God to watch over the doorway.
Make it a point to choose great words today.
Make it a great day.
Jake
BAD – If 50 million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.― Anatole France
JD – Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everybody else. – Margaret Mead
JW* – Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please. – Mark Twain
MS – We are what we believe we are. – CS Lewis
EB – Jjjjjjjjjjjjjjuuuuuuuuuuuusssssssssttttttttt a bit outside. – Bob Uecker
I found the quote from Margaret Mead and it summed up something I think about a lot.
Life is about adding value to those around us. Only when we lose our life in service to others do we gain it back (and more) in the important things (family, love, happiness, etc.).
I wonder if part of the reason this is true is the fact that we are all unique.
And my uniqueness is no better or worse than your uniqueness.
The uniqueness of someone doesn’t show up in their stuff, their bank account or how they look.
It shows up when they uniquely apply it in service to others.
That’s when the magic happens.
You are unique. Uniquely gifted to serve others in a very specific way. Seek it out. Find it. Hold on to it.
Make it a great day.
Jake
We recently watched the final season of “How I Met Your Mother” on the Netflix. In the final episode, Ted says “love is what we do best.”
When we love someone and put their needs before ours, we are also at our best.
When we allow love to crush our selfish desires and ego, we are at our best.
We are all born with a need to be loved and never outgrow it.
We all are born with the capacity for extraordinary love and need only find the proper outlets.
Think about what this means in your life right now.
Who deserves your best?
Tell someone you love them today.
Make it a great day.
Jake
BAD – I’m the least competitive person I know. – Brandon Raper
JW – I can smell colors. That’s how wide awake I am. – Brandon Raper
MS* – Fibbage. More, more more!!!!!!!!!! – Brandon Raper
EB – I had coffee this morning and I hate coffee. Coffee is the worst. I can still taste it in my mouth. – Brandon Raper
JD – Pizza – Brandon Raper
Yesterday, Brandon had the misfortune of interrupting our leadership team meeting.
That promptly inspired us to send out our favorite Brandon quotes.
Enjoy.
Jake
When I was younger, I played a lot of basketball. That was most of what me and my friends did with our free time.
As is probably typical, somewhere along the way I stopped playing. And then last winter I got out on the court again and remembered just how much fun it is.
It was a great reminder that just because we become adults we don’t always have to act like one.
We can play games like we did when we were kids.
We can read books from when we were kids.
We can watch movies from when we were kids.
Is there something that you haven’t done since you were younger that would be a positive thing to add back in to your life?
Find something “kid-like” to do today.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Breathing room – the space between our current pace and our limits.
At Mavidea, Breathing Room is our current rallying cry. It’s what we decided our organization most needed right now.
The above definition of breathing room comes from Andy Stanley’s series on the topic.
Yesterday in the sales meeting we watched the first few minutes of the first part of his series on Breathing Room.
At the end of the first few minutes, he hits everyone with a question:
What are you afraid of?
We tend to overcommit and overextend ourselves out of fear.
We say yes to too many activities because we want them to like us.
We say yes to too much stuff because we want them to like us.
We say yes to too many meetings because we don’t want to miss an opportunity.
We leave ourselves with no breathing room.
At Mavidea, we have accepted the challenge of finding some Breathing Room. Of deciding what is IN and what is OUT when it comes to our schedules, our money and our processes. We are going to create some space between our current pace and our limits.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Fortune favors the bold.
Today is Columbus Day. A day to remember the explorer who first landed in North America.
The quote above reminds me of Columbus.
Finding America was actually a big mistake. Columbus had made a major miscalculation. He was way off.
Because he was willing to take a risk he ended up finding something else instead.
His mistake led to his greatness.
What area of your life needs some boldness?
How many mistakes have you made lately?
We must be willing to be bold in order to experience greatness in our lives.
Make it a great day.
Jake
You’re unbelievable.
Don’t ever forget that.
Your capacity for love, faith, hope, kindness, growth, imagination, and many other wonderful qualities is unbelievable.
Let this be your theme song today.
Not in a conceited or self-aggrandizing way, but in a comfortable in your own skin kind of way.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Invite people into your life who don’t look or act like you. You might find they challenge your assumptions and make you grow. – Mellody Hobson
This reminds me of the advice given by Zig Ziglar – spend time with someone under 5 and over 70.
Whether it is someone’s age or background or simply their likes and dislikes; we can all grow and learn by being around someone different than us.
Who are you currently spending time with that is different than you?
Do you need to seek and find a relationship to challenge yourself in this area?
Some quick ideas on how we might do this:
Travel
Volunteer
Attend an event you wouldn’t normally attend
Visit a nursing home
Volunteer in the nursery at church
Make it a great day.
Jake
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