http://youtu.be/y6Sxv-sUYtM

This one goes out to Mikie (our Director of Controlled Chaos) on her last day in the office.

One of my favorite things about Mikie is how happy and smiley she has been as people enter our office. She has given a great first impression for Mavidea and been a positive influence on all of us in the office.

We all have the opportunity to be a positive influence.

We all have relationships and people we interact with daily that will be enhanced by our smile.

Make sure and smile today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old. – Peter Drucker

Create your own stop doing list.

Find a few things in your life to stop doing.

And then replace them with something you have been wanting to do.

Make it a great day.

Jake

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. – Eleanor Roosevelt

It seems to me that too many of us struggle with feelings of inferiority and/or superiority at different points in our life.

This quote is a great reminder that it all begins in our minds.

We control how we feel about our worth.

And when we look closely we find out that comparison to others is folly. Each of us was uniquely and wonderfully made with our own set of talents, desires, personality, etc.

Our only comparison should be with that ideal version of ourselves that we constantly strive for.

What or who makes you feel inferior?

What or who makes you feel superior?

Make it a great day.

Jake

MS – Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Matthew 6:34

EB – Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. – Lou Gehrig

JW – Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance. Samuel Johnson

BAD – Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. – Economist E.F. Schumacher

JD – An empty canvas is a living wonder… far lovelier than certain pictures. – Wassily Kandinsky

Here is the farewell address from Lou Gehrig:

"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

"Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I’m lucky.

"When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift – that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies – that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter – that’s something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body – it’s a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed – that’s the finest I know.

"So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for."

– Lou Gehrig

Make it a great day.

Jake

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. – Thomas A. Edison

This sentiment runs throughout history. Stories of people who gave up when success was just around the corner. Times when everything seemed the darkest but the light was right around the corner.

It’s always darkest right before the dawn.

I’m guessing most of us having something like this in our lives right now.

We are starting an exercise regimen, but it just seems like too much time to keep going.

We have been saving and sticking to a budget but then a big expense comes up.

We have been working hard and making progress but then our biggest client leaves.

There are these points in life when we have to decide to bear down and make it through it. Success lies on the other side of these moments.

Take courage in this thought this morning. Success lies on the other side of whatever difficulty you are now facing.

Make it a great day.

Jake

In order to make progress we must make decisions. – Jim Rohn

What a great reminder on a Monday morning.

Is there a decision you need to make that you have been putting off?

Make it. Today.

And make it a great day.

Jake

http://youtu.be/Gs069dndIYk

Now that is a music video.

It officially feels like September this morning in Central IL. The weather is changing and fall will soon be upon us.

There is something unique about the changing of the seasons. There is a special feeling in the air.

Capture that feeling. Do something different this weekend.

If you are an inside person, get outside and do something.

If you are an outside person, curl up under a blanket on the couch.

If you are a busy, active person just sit and relax.

Change it up. Awaken in yourself all the different possibilities for your life.

Make it a great day.

Jake

http://www.winstonchurchill.org/learn/speeches/speeches-of-winston-churchill/129-you-do-your-worst-and-we-will-do-our-best

This is a Winston Churchill speech that is particularly poignant on the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Two quotes in particular stood out to me:

“But there was one thing about which there was never any doubt. The courage, the unconquerable grit and stamina of our people, showed itself from the very outset. Without that all would have failed. Upon that rock, all stood unshakable.”

In the face of all the evils of the world we must have faith and belief that courage, grit and stamina from those on the side of good will win out. No matter the test, no matter the difficulty, that which is good and worthy will prevail.

“You do your worst – and we will do our best.”

When faced with the evils of the world it can be tempting to lower ourselves to those standards. Instead we need to raise ours.

The best way for us to honor those who have fallen and those who have sacrificed is to do and be our best. Others have given up their lives that we may have the opportunity to exercise this freedom. Don’t let it slip by.

Make it a great day.

Jake

We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone. – Ronald Reagan

This quote is such a great reminder.

Sometimes it is overwhelming to look at the world and all those that are in need of help. We just can’t help everyone.

But we can help someone.

And I would suggest we start with those closest to us: friends, family, coworkers, etc.

The key is to just get started. To begin the process of training ourselves to become more service centric instead of self-centered.

If we go out into the world each day looking for opportunities to serve we will meet a world full of opportunity.

Find a way to serve someone today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

BAD – You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him. Newspaper columnist Leo Aikman

MS – Rules for self discovery:

1. What we want most

2. What we think about most

3. How we use our money

4. What do we do with our leisure time

5. The company we enjoy

6. Who and what we admire

7. What we laugh at

AW Tozer

JW – Over time, grit is what separates fruitful lives from aimlessness. John Ortberg

EB* – Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.

JD – Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened. – Dr. Seuss

The quote from Leo Aikman is very insightful.

How we talk and think about others says a lot about us.

Think about your own thoughts and words.

Do you assume the best or worst in others?

Do you see other’s strengths or their weaknesses?

Do you point out their faults or their accomplishments?

Our words and thoughts have power. How we choose to invest this power relative to the other people in our lives is a very important part of our philosophy.

Find a way today to think and say something positive about those in your life.

Make it a great rest of the day.

Jake

Important programming note – The Phrase that Pays will now be moving to Tuesday as we moved our leadership team meeting to Tuesdays.

I also realized that a few of the daily attitude emails last week went out to an incomplete list. If you missed these and want to find them, just go to www.thedailyattitudeemail.com to see the posts.

One more thing – if you know of anyone that would like to get these emails just send them my way or send them to the site.

End of programming notes.