As you may or may not know, the Evil Dead remake is scheduled to debut next Friday, 4/5. As a result, some of us have been in an Evil Dead/Army of Darkness/Bruce Campbell state of mind lately!

The trailer for the new movie is OFF THE CHAIN. I found a mash-up of the new trailer combined with the old footage from the original movies…it’s sweet…check it out… Won’t make you tap your toes, but will make you grab the edge of your chair and let slip a, “GROOVY!”

And as a bonus…here is one of the best montages I could have ever imagined or run across…Ash at his finest: (excuse the occasional off-color word/language)

Klatu…Verata….Neck Tie!

Erik Barnlund

CEO

Mavidea Technology Group

Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse. – Henry Van Dyke

Gratitude and thankfulness are often in my mind the last week or so since Oliver was born.

Henry Van Dyke suggests I follow my impulse to be thankful and I thought I would do so in written form today (hopefully soon to be followed by acting thankful, every day).

I have so many things to be thankful for in particular over this last week or so and I wanted to share a few of them.

A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds. – Proverbs 31:10

I am very blessed to have married a good woman. No one in the world could care for our little family like she does. It truly is remarkable to see a mother at work.

I am very thankful for Meaghan.

Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together. -Paul Ryan

I am very grateful for the communities that our family is a part of. We have had a ridiculous amount of good food cooked for us and hand delivered. We had a live in helper for the first week. I took two weeks off of work while everyone else manned the fort at Mavidea.

And those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head quickly. The support and love we have gotten from our community has been humbling and we will be forever grateful.

I am very thankful for all of you.

I am very thankful to God for all of this and the many other blessings in my life.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Today’s email comes from Sandy Lane. Thanks for volunteering, Sandy!

Time. An asset often. An area of stress; many times. Although we all cherish it, we also wish it a way at times too. A good friend once shared with me his mother’s wise advice "never wish time away". This was shared after some whining on my part on my child’s "terrible twos" stage.

So as I sat in church with irreverent children, back in the day, I would remind myself of this. Instead of sweating it, I remembered there would be a day I would be in church alone; smiling at other’s babies and wondering how mine grew so fast. Everyone told me this would happen and it did.

Time is something I value very much. When it’s limited, I’m greedy with it. Raising kids I would often think of the value of an hour and how one used poorly was an hour taken away from them. With Garrett in Denver and our time very limited, we have grown used to enjoying every minute we have together. On those weekends where other obligations tie us up, we feel a bit cheated.

Time had a different meaning this last week following my ACL surgery. It went slowly. As I laid in bed with leg propped, I longed for each day to pass as I would be one day closer to recovery. Was I was wishing time away? Sure sounds like it. My visions were my future days on my bike, running from meeting to meeting, and leisurely gardening in my backyard.

Last week I would mark off each recovery day as a day gone and closer to my goal. I would be bored at times and other times found myself enjoying the quiet. The unexpected silence that is typically unusual in my world brought needed relaxation and clear thoughts. As I teetered between impatience and welcoming the calm, I received a motivational quote via an e-mail that got my attention.

The quote that I woke up to last Thursday morning was "Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity." Hmmm…my week post-surgery has been an opportunity. Time to smell the roses and think through life. Time to quietly stretch and learn to use my leg again instead of rushing through a grueling cardio workout.

Feeling comfortable in the quiet of my room without the typical noise of life wasn’t a bad thing. Everything happens for a reason. If I’m open to it, I may find some opportunities that come out of my perceived misfortune. Time is really what you make of it.

Sandy Lane

Once again I got to experience the miracle of a new life coming into this world when Oliver was born last week.

Reminded me of the email below that I sent out previously:

Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.

CS Lewis

When I think of babies, miracle is the first word that pops into my head. For those of you who haven’t experienced it, being there for the birth of a child is the most amazing thing in the world (at the least the most amazing thing I have been a part of yet).

It is a moment where you can’t help but realize why it is called the "miracle of life".

And I think the CS Lewis quote is particularly applicable in this case. Every child born is a retelling in small letters of several stories written in letters too large for some of us to see.

It is the story of the love between two parents that is made deeper and even more unbreakable through the birth of their child.

It is the story of parents and their love for their children and their deep desire for a better life/world for the next generation.

It is the story of the inherent goodness that God places inside of each and every one of us.

It is the story of the uniqueness that each of us has, even at birth. They take finger prints and foot prints right away that prove it.

It is the story of the miracle of medicine and all the staff at the hospital that are selfless in their efforts to make sure that everything goes well.

Remember today all of those little miracles (and the many more) and think of the even bigger stories being told throughout our lives.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Wasn’t in the office today to get everyone’s phrase that pays so instead you get a list of quotes about babies.

A baby is God’s opinion that life should go on. -Carl Sandburg

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. -Elizabeth Stone

Every baby begins the world again. -David Thoreau

Babies are always more trouble than you thought – and more wonderful. -Charles Osgood

It was the tiniest thing I ever decided to put my whole life into. -Terri Guillemets

A baby is born with a need to be loved – and never outgrows it. – Frank A. Clark

If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle. – Vincent van Gogh

It is not a slight thing when those so fresh from God love us. – Charles Dickens

Babies are such a nice way to start people. – Don Herrold

Make it a great weekend.

Jake

http://youtu.be/r28mcaJLUV4

Kept hearing this song from the Lowe’s commercial while we were in the hospital.

Definitely some of the best days of my life.

Make it the best day of your life.

Jake

Today’s daily attitude email is brought to you by Brent Kelly.

Thanks to Brent for sending.

I don’t know about you, but I am impatient. I want success now. I want results now. I want to make a huge difference today.

Whether it be sales, fitness, or other personal goals; most of crave immediate results.

The reality is that big results come from making simple decisions every day. These small choices aren’t noticeable, but they are vital to our long-term success.

Be a crock pot, not a microwave.

I am currently reading "The Slight Edge" by Jeff Olson and this is at the core of the book. While reading it I can think from my own personal experience of how true this concept has been in my life and the life of others.

This principle holds true for just about anything in life.

For example, if you don’t brush your teeth tonight or tomorrow morning, other than some bad breath, you won’t notice a huge difference in the health of your teeth and gums. Now multiply that over several weeks, months, or even years. Can you say tooth decay?

This is also true in fitness or business.

We love to see the 90 day before and after pictures of someone who worked out 5 days a week and started to eat healthier. Often times, we are amazed. "Wow, look at that transformation." Do you think they saw results on day 3, day 6, or even day 10? Except for some soreness, probably not. They made the daily commitment and over the course of time saw the results they were looking for.

In business, especially sales, we want to land the big account, the new client, or make the huge connection. Rarely does that happen with a simple phone call or drop-in. It takes time. Time to build credibility, time to build relationships, and time to build trust.

I always chuckle when people mock successful people. I often hear things like, "that must be nice," "an overnight success," or "how did they get so lucky?"

Here is a fact, although there may be a few exceptions, successful people work hard and make consistent SMALL smart decisions every day. They make choices that seem irrelevant at the time, but over the course of months and years add up to huge benefits.

Here are some small choices I see successful people make.

• They read a personal development book for thirty minutes vs. reading the paper
• They get up a half hour earlier to write vs. staying in bed
• They take the time to greet someone with a smile vs. putting their head down and walking past
• They spend 30-60 minutes working out vs. watching the latest sitcom
• They take time to learn from others vs. gossiping with their friends

None of these choices will make you an overnight success. In fact, most people won’t notice anything right way.

Over time though, these actions can transform lives.

We all have to make choices every single day. Some are more important than others. Big or small, every choice can and will make a difference in our lives.

The choice is up to you.

I’m sorry I forgot to send this out yesterday – I done goofed.

Attitude is often something that causes me to think about myself. My attitude. It’s natural I suppose. Maybe it’s because I know I am ultimately in control of my attitude. Still yet I wonder what if I thought of others first when I thought of attitude?

How can I help someone else have a positive attitude? Maybe just be a little more cheerful, have positive things to say, or just smile a little more.

It’s true each individual controls and is ultimately responsible for their own attitude, but maybe just maybe we can help each other out along the way.

Give it a try today.

Maybe it’s the person on the other end of the phone that you may never talk to again. Perhaps, in a pleasant way, you say hi by name, tell them your name and ask them how their doing – taking just a minute to connect and care. Maybe you’ll brighten the rest of their day. Maybe you’ll help them pass along a good attitude. Maybe it will come all the way back around to you.

Make it a great day.

Michael Somers

Mavidea Technology Group

Putting Smiles on Faces

www.mavidea.com

mike.somers

Office: 309-829-2000 x112

Toll Free: 888-898-8960

JD – But if we learn to think of it as anticipation, as learning, as growing, if we think of the time we spend waiting for the big things of life as an opportunity instead of a passing of time, what wonderful horizons open out! – Anna Neagle EB – Sometimes you have to give a little to get a lot.
JW – I became insane with long intervals of sanity. – Edgar Allen Poe
JM – We’re all very different people, we are not Watusi. We are not Spartans. We are Americans, with a capital A. That means our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country on the planet. We are the wretched refuse. We are the under dogs. – Bill Murray – Stripes

As you can imagine, there is a lot of anticipation going on at the Davis house.

I liked the quote above. Anticipation of the big events is a great opportunity to be thankful and thoughtful about what we already have and what the possibilities are.

My favorite thing about babies is the inherent possibilities that come to life at that moment they are born.

They can be and create anything they want. It is all a blank slate for them to write their future on.

As a parent it is both an overwhelming feeling of responsibility and joy, all at the same time.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned at Mavidea is that the inherent possibilities and capabilities are still there no matter how old you are. No matter how much life has beat you up. No matter how much you weigh. No matter how much money you owe. No matter how many times your heart has been broken.

I love working here because I see that in each and every one of you (and even in myself sometimes) every day.

Thanks for the opportunity of anticipation of watching the greatness inside you grow and come to fruition.

Make it a great weekend.

Jake