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Daily Attitude Email 10 1 12

Her virtue was that she said what she thought, her vice that what she thought didn’t amount to much. – Peter Ustinov

Many self help books and psychologists speak about being more assertive. These people learn to speak up for themselves and to ask for what they want.

All good things, of course. Except when what they thought “didn’t amount to much”.

I liked this quote because it illustrates an important part of goal setting and goal achievement.

We need to be mature enough to think about and set goals towards worthy ideals. Instead of thinking about “getting” we should think about “becoming”.

Let’s make sure the direction we are heading does amount to much.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The Phrase That Pays

I am sure many of you wonder what the conversations look like when you put a group of high achieving, world-altering individuals together like we have in the Mavidea management meetings.

Today, we decided to share a sample with everyone.

EB – Of course that’s a good idea, Jake…wipe that dumb smile off your face.

JD – Yes, Erik! I am super excited about you and all your awesomeness!

JS – Working with you guys is spending time with a couple of caged monkeys.

JW – I am a hammer, where’s the nail?

JM – Hey, wait. I’m awesome too.

KJ – I can’t wait to own this company so I can fire these numbskulls.

Since JW wasn’t actually there, he sent me a real quote that I definitely wanted to share as it is one of my favorite quotes and concepts.

Everyone has an invisible sign hanging around their neck that says “make me feel important.” – Mary Kay Ash

Mary Kay is a great example of a company that has a great “why”. Their why is “to enrich women’s lives.”

What a powerful concept.

And this quote from Mary Kay Ash is a great example of that. We can enrich the lives of others by simply realizing that they want to be appreciated and by providing that for them in some small way.

Remember today to make someone feel important. Because, after all, they are.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 9 27 12

Every problem introduces a person to himself. – John McDonnell

Not every thing that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced. – James Baldwin

John Maxwell recently posted these two quotes as part of a blog post he wrote about the pain of growth.

I really liked how they work together and compliment each other to tell the story of growth.

Problems and pain are an opportunity to see ourselves in a new light, but we must actually face up to ourselves in order to seize that opportunity for growth.

A sure sign of a mature person is the person who is willing to face the mirror and honestly assess themselves in good times and in bad. When great decisions are made and bad decisions have been made.

Let’s all take the next opportunity for growth that presents itself. Let’s face up to ourselves and make the decision to change.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 9 26 12

Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood. Fred Rogers

I have seen this quote posted on the Facebox a few times lately and wanted to share it with everyone who gets this email.

It reminded me of the beginning of the movie “The Legend of Bagger Vance” when Jack Lemmon comes on as the narrator and says “I believe that God is happiest when his children are at play.”

Play. It almost seems like a bad word when you are supposed to be a responsible adult. Almost seems like something you aren’t supposed to be doing.

Can’t you just picture it….”Hi, I’m Jake and I’m a playaholic.” “Hi, Jake”.

Play has its role. We all need time to use creativity, exploration and old-fashioned silliness to have some fun.

I am not suggesting that life should be only play. Just that play serves an essential role in creating a well-balanced and happy person.

How often do you make time for play in your life?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 9 25 12

Your dreams must be bigger than your obstacles.

One thing I know for sure is that we will all face obstacles. It isn’t an “if” situation, it is a “when”.

One of the differences between those that achieve their goals and those that let the obstacles stop them in their path is the successful person has great big dreams.

Dreams so big it is hard to see the obstacles along the way.

“Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal.” – E. Joseph Cossman

What if your dreams were so big you couldn’t see anything else?

What if they crowded out your vision?

We all are going to face obstacles in our lives. Let’s dream big enough that they won’t stop us.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 9 24 12

I realized over the weekend that Friday was the second anniversary of the daily attitude email.

Hard to believe that two years have gone by.

As with last year, on this hallowed anniversary (smiley face), my main thought is one of thankfulness.

Thankfulness for having you all in my life and for the opportunity to send you an email every morning.

My thoughts then drifted to understanding why. Why send these emails out every morning?

Because I believe in us. Each and every one of us.

I believe in the inherent goodness and potential of human beings.

I believe in the future we can create together. A future more wonderful than we can even now imagine.

I know that along the path to awesomeness we are all going to need a push every once in a while. Maybe an extra helping hand along the way.

My sincere hope is that these emails can serve as that push, that reminder that the struggle is worth it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The Phrase That Pays

EB – There’s profit in proprietarialism.

JM – That’s the dumbest of the dumb questions today.

JW – After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.- Nelson Mandela

JS – Yes! Decatur is up and going!

JD – Content is king.

KJ – Life’s like a box of chocolates….you never know what you are going to get.

Content is king.

I thought about this on the way in to work this morning. We are constantly telling our web clients that content is king and it drives the success of their site.

Then I realized that it is true of ourselves as well.

The content of our heart determines the types and quality of relationships we attract.

The content of our mind determines the results we get in life.

The content of our character determines our belief in ourselves.

If you want to see a change in your life, change the content.

Change the content you read.

Change the content you watch.

Change the content you write.

Change the content you speak.

Content is king.

Make it a great weekend.

Jake