EB* – 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* – DEATH BLOW! When someone tries to blow you up, not because of who you are, but because of different reasons all together!

MS – Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand. – Thomas Carlyle

JD – We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world. – Helen Keller

To do what clearly lies at hand.

One of the biggest drivers of productivity is focusing on the task at hand.

We need to look up at our goals for the future often enough to make sure we are heading in right direction and to draw the inspiration that comes from an idealized future state, but our major focus should be on the step in front of us.

Is there an area of your life where you are losing focus and maybe not taking your steps as carefully as you should?

Make it a great weekend.

Jake

http://youtu.be/0pSlu2okpqM

This song reminded me of running cross country and track in high school.

Not in a “reliving the glory days” kind of way, but more of a reminder of all the important life lessons I was lucky enough to learn.

I was lucky enough to have smart coaches, loving parents, and awesome teammates.

I learned things like teamwork, discipline, determination, how to win, how to lose, etc.

Competition has taken on a different framework now, but the lessons remain.

We are already into the last quarter of the year, the clock is running down.

Maybe you’re a little tired.

Maybe it seems like meeting your goals seems a little too hard right now.

Maybe you just feel like saying “it’s the end of the year, I’ll turn it on after New Year’s”.

Now is the time to go for it.

To dig deep and push a little harder.

Don’t give in.

It might hurt a little, but you will be amazed at what you can accomplish if you just go all out. Just through the end of the year. Then take a breath and see how it went.

Relentlessly focus on your goals and priorities. Make progress every day.

Decide today that you aren’t going to give in to “easy” but that you are going the distance.

Make it a great day.

Jake

It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen. Claude M. Bristol

A consistent theme I am seeing in a lot of what I read and see is this idea of repetition.

In general, those thoughts and ideas we repeat constantly in our heads come to be.

I think the key is to begin understanding what thoughts are consistently in your mind.

Are you frequently nervous and stressed?

Are you frequently optimistic and positive?

Imagine just the difference between those two thought patterns and what they might produce in 1 month, 1 year or 10 years.

Challenge yourself to be more selective in your thought patterns and what you allow in your mind.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Mark 12:41-44

New International Version (NIV)

The Widow’s Offering

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Yesterday’s parable of the talents reminded me of this couple of verses.

An important component in life is the giving of ourselves in service to others.

It’s easy to get caught up in just the monetary aspect of the story. Maybe even feel bad because you haven’t given away all of the dollars you have earned.

And while I think that is an important element of the story, I believe that maybe a more important idea in today’s world is giving all of ourselves in service to others.

In service to our families.

In service to our church or favorite local charity.

In service to our clients.

In service to our teammates.

Make it a great day of service.

Jake

The Parable of the Talents in the Bible teaches some important lessons.

I have included the story below.

Spoiler alert….one of the morals of the story is that “to whom much is given, much is expected.”

And we all have been given much.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Matthew 25:14-30

New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Talents

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

In the Bible it says the meek shall inherit the earth.

It’s hard not to bristle a little when you hear that.

We hear words like meek and humble and think of the perennial doormat that doesn’t think enough of themself to stand up for what they believe in.

I went in search of something around the topic of humility and found this short excerpt:

One of the most powerful prayers in the midst of suffering I have read was uncovered from the horrors of Ravensbruck concentration camp. Ravensbruck was a concentration camp built in 1939 for women. Over 90,000 women and children perished in Ravensbruck, murdered by the Nazis. Corrie Ten Boom, who wrote The Hiding Place, was imprisoned there too. The prayer, found in the clothing of a dead child, says:

O Lord, remember not only the men and woman of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember all of the suffering they have inflicted upon us: Instead remember the fruits we have borne because of this suffering, our fellowship, our loyalty to one another, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart that has grown from this trouble. When our persecutors come to be judged by you, let all of these fruits that we have borne be their forgiveness.

I think that is the kind of behavior the Bible is talking about.

The kind of humility and meekness it takes to write something like that is hard to imagine.

It’s easy to read something like this and feel bad. Hard to live up to those kind of standards, so why even try?

Why try? Prayers like this one are proof that better is out there. We are capable of amazing things.

Use this as inspiration to get started on your own amazing thing.

Make it a great day.

Jake

JD – More than kisses, letter mingle the souls. –John Donne

EB – The cautious seldom err. – Confuscious

JW – If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done. -Thomas Jefferson

MS – If you can dream it, you can achieve it. You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want. – Zig Ziglar

Is there something you want to do, but never had?

Time to do something you’ve never done.

Get after it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

http://youtu.be/b7k0a5hYnSI

Found this one on a site listing someone’s top 15 songs to inspire and motivate.

Here is what the blogger wrote:

Why I like this song: Unwritten to me is a reminder that we can write the story of our life exactly as we wish. I think it makes a good morning song, as you could relate it to shaping your day ahead.

What a great thought.

Hopefully this email catches you early enough so that you can spend a few minutes thinking about what you are going to write in the blank page of your life that is today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

What lies behind you and in front of you are tiny matters compared to what lies within you. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

We tend to spend a lot of time focused on what could have been or what we would like to be. Both can be very useful, but this quote puts things into perspective.

They are both tiny matters compared to the greatness within us.

Inside each and every one of us lies greatness.

Each and every moment is a chance to embrace it or deny it.

We choose, moment by moment, happiness or bitterness.

We choose, moment by moment, responsibility or excuses.

We choose, moment by moment, selflessness and service or selfishness and ego.

It is in these choices that we define ourselves and create our past and future. It is in these choices we have the opportunity to embrace that greatness that lies within us.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"I used to say, ‘Things cost too much.’ Then my teacher straightened me out on that by saying, ‘The problem isn’t that things cost too much. The problem is that you can’t afford it.’ That’s when I finally understood that the problem wasn’t ‘it’ – the problem was ‘me.’" — Jim Rohn

One simple thought for you today.

Think of something in your life where you are blaming “it” instead of “me”.

Take some kind of positive action today towards taking responsibility for this area of your life.

Make it a great day.

Jake