You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. – Dale Carnegie
Saw this quote on the FaceBox and thought it would be a good follow up to yesterday’s post.
Too many spend the holiday season feeling lonely and dejected. For many, this is the saddest time of the year.
As you interact with others, show interest in them. Ask questions. Acknowledge them.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Maybe you have had that moment when you’re updating your status and you realize that every status is a variation on a single request: will someone please acknowledge me?
This was in a cartoon inside of an article I was reading yesterday and I thought it was insightful.
We all have an inherent need to be valued and acknowledged.
The article was discussing healthy social media use and how some are maybe getting a little too focused on the number of likes they are aren’t getting in that sphere.
And while I think we need to be careful of negative or hurtful instances of seeking acknowledgement, there is also an opportunity.
When we realize that simply acknowledging someone can make someone’s day brighter, it becomes easier to see how we can positively impact the world.
Simply positively acknowledging others as we go about our day.
Noticing the waiter or waitresses name and using it when you address them can brighten their day.
Making a dumb joke as ride in the elevator with a stranger.
Calling a friend and catching up.
Find a way to positively acknowledge someone during your day today and see what happens.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Here is a link to the full article for those that are curious:
The world is but a canvas to our imagination. – Henry David Thoreau
Another Thoreau quote today. Saw this one at the entrepreneurship day at ISU a few weeks back.
Watching those young entrepreneurs, it really did feel like the world was their canvas.
One of the best things about interacting with students is that I leave every time convinced that there is so much potential in them and this world that anything is possible. We need only imagine it and then begin the work of putting the paint brush to the canvas.
As you look at your life is there an area or an idea where you have forgotten this or lost your enthusiasm.
Maybe a goal that you were all fired up about but then lost your steam.
Maybe a business you wanted to start someday but then you lost the enthusiasm for it.
Maybe an exercise regimen that ended with equipment in storage in the basement.
Whatever your goal/dream/imagination, get back to it.
Put some paint on the brush and start creating your dream on the canvas of life.
Make it a great day.
Jake
"A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone." Henry David Thoreau
As we approach/continue the shopping season, this was a great reminder of what Christmas is really about.
It is about our love for family, friends and others.
We can afford to “let alone” all the stuff, the shopping, and the decorations.
We can’t afford to let alone the relationships, the children, the husbands and wives or the family.
Life is a balancing act of focus. Shifting our focus over time as what is most important shifts.
It’s easy to lose focus over the holidays. To just chalk up the month of December as a loss when it comes to meeting our goals and spending our time wisely.
Let’s choose to be different this year. Let’s choose our own fate this December.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Technically a day off but couldn’t resist sending this one out after Mr. Trotter posted it on the FaceBox.
Awesome accents, awesome song.
What a great time of year.
Make it a great day.
Jake
http://www.youtube.com/embed/qiLDMBDPCEY?rel=0
Keeping with the thankful theme again today.
First, the obvious thankfulness for a life without physical infirmities. It is easy to forget just how much of a difference having your health makes.
I am also thankful for people like Richie Parker.
People who take something like being born without arms and turn it into inspiration for millions.
People who have something deep down inside that pushes them to try harder, do more and never give in.
People who give us a small glimpse into the greatness that lies inside all of us.
People who see an opportunity in difficulty.
Spend the 10 minutes to watch this video, you will be inspired.
Make it a great day and have a great Thanksgiving.
Jake
If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share. – W. Clement Stone
Being thankful is a great place to start because it reminds us that we have something to give.
We weren’t put on this earth to just consume all that we can and be thankful along the way. We were made to give.
If you are thankful for all the love in your life, show it and share it.
If you are lucky enough to have a little extra money, give it away.
If you have some free time, find a place to volunteer.
There are many ways we can share this holiday season.
A great place to start is that list you think of over Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. As you think of what you are thankful for, take a moment to think of a way to share whatever it is you are thinking about.
Our real opportunity to change this place forever lies in our ability to share and give the best of ourselves with others.
What are you going to share?
Make it a great day.
Jake
As I get a little older (and maybe a little wiser), the holiday season becomes more and more a reminder of what life is really about.
I realize more and more each year that life isn’t about the stuff.
It isn’t about the stuff you get, it is about the memories created.
It isn’t about the gifts you give, it’s about the love you demonstrate.
It isn’t about the days off work, it’s about spending time on the most important things in life.
I see success more and more as walking this tight rope between growth and striving towards a better you and contentment with what you have today.
When we can be truly happy with our current circumstances while striving for growth we are making progress towards the elusive success we are all looking for.
During the buzz of the holiday shopping season it is easy to get wrapped up in the idea of “more stuff” and get pulled in that direction.
But when it comes to “more”, I think it is about becoming more.
Becoming more patient and kind.
Becoming more wise and caring.
Becoming more charitable and generous.
These (and others) are the “more” that will bring more happiness and joy. Not the stuff.
Take a minute to plan ahead this holiday season.
Plan ahead for more.
More time watching your favorite Christmas movies with your family.
More time with loved ones.
More time reading those books you have always wanted to read.
Giving more of yourself to those in need.
Make it a great day.
Jake
JD – There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.- Albert Einstein
EB – Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth. – Benjamin Disraeli
JW – If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. – John Quincy Adams
MS – Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character. – Albert Einstein
You can live as if nothing is a miracle or you can live as if everything is a miracle.
I thought this really added on well to “It’s a Wonderful World” that I sent out this morning.
One of the ways that having kids has changed me forever is how I see other people now. Having been at the birth of all three of our kids, I can tell you that miracle is the best word to describe what happens when a baby is born.
And that happened to all of us. We ALL were a miracle, at least once.
We may have forgotten it.
Others might not see it in us.
But it’s there. It has been there with us all along. The miracle of each of us, as a unique individual.
And that’s just people. There are miracles all over the place.
Hoping for a weekend full of miracles for each of you.
Make it a great weekend.
Jake
This came up as the first result in my search for a song about being thankful, not exactly a toe tapper but one of my favorites.
This world is just about as wonderful as you decide for yourself that it is.
As we approach Thanksgiving, remember to find in yourself an Attitude of Gratitude.
There are so many wonderful things to be thankful for if you will just look for them.
Most of the truly valuable things in life end up with someone who is thankful for and takes good care of them. As you seek those things most valuable to you, remember to start from a place of thankfulness.
It truly is a wonderful world.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Lyrics for the song:
"What A Wonderful World"
I see trees of green,
red roses too.
I see them bloom,
for me and you.
And I think to myself,
what a wonderful world.
I see skies of blue,
And clouds of white.
The bright blessed day,
The dark sacred night.
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.
The colors of the rainbow,
So pretty in the sky.
Are also on the faces,
Of people going by,
I see friends shaking hands.
Saying, "How do you do?"
They’re really saying,
"I love you".
I hear babies cry,
I watch them grow,
They’ll learn much more,
Than I’ll ever know.
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.
Yes, I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.
Oh yeah.
Practical Steps for Friendship, Unity and Intimacy in Your Marriage
The Daily Attitude Email 