I am still learning. – Michelangelo

As I get older and more mature I’m more and more convinced of the positive benefits of a growth mindset.

I have so much to learn and each day fall short of perfection.

I can understand that and be defeated – or emboldened.

I can find encouragement in the fact that I have lots to learn – and that I’m capable of learning and growing.

That I’m not fixed and immovable – I am flexible and malleable.

The same goes for you. Today doesn’t have to be the same. You can change.

And you’re worth it. You’re worth the hard work and difficulty.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. He knew it already. It was I who didn’t. In this trial He makes us occupy the dock, the witness box, and the bench all at once. He always knew that my temple was a house of cards. His only way of making me realize the fact was to knock it down.”

― C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

What a powerful thought.

Regardless of where you stand on believing in God and whether or not God places trials in our lives to test us, life will test you at some point.

The older I get the more I wonder how many of my "temples" are really houses of cards.

We see others whose metaphorical card houses have been toppled and quickly jump to conclusions about what they may have done wrong, not noticing we are balancing precariously in a card house ourselves.

But where’s the positive spin, Jake?

First, showing empathy for the weaknesses and follies of others can help us from meeting that same fate.

Second, seeing our house of cards for what it is before it falls can save us a whole lot of heartache.

Take a look at what you are building your beliefs and habits from to make sure they are built on solid footing.

Make it a great day.

Jake ​

What we really are matters more than what other people think of us. – Jawaharlal Nehru

Reminder for a Monday morning.

Doing our best to be our best matters more than what others may think.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/3GwjfUFyY6M

Celebrations are something I struggle with.

A goal is met or something good happens and I’m immediately on to the next thing.

As a follow up to last week, Maxlider had a great weekend at Barrett Jackson. Our little company got some really good marketing and publicity and all the Broncos sold for good numbers.

Something to celebrate to be sure.

Help me remember to celebrate more this year.

Do more celebrating yourself too.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Either you run the day or the day runs you. – Jim Rohn

I don’t know about you, but my days sure seem to be running me more than the other way around lately.

This quote was a good reminder that the choice was mine.

I get to pick who runs who.

Time to get to work on turning the tables.

Make it a great day.

Jake

If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm. – Vince Lombardi

Good reminder for today – be enthusiastic.

For your own good.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Dr. Seuss’ The Sneetches is a favorite of ours.

The story is about two different kinds of Sneetches. One with stars on their bellies and sneetches with none upon thars.

They are bamboozled (don’t get to break that one out much) into getting stars added and removed from their stomachs in a race to see which kind of Sneetches are the best.

Like all my favorite Dr. Seuss books, this story illustrates an important life lesson while being silly and whimsical (bamboozled and whimsical in the same email, wow).

At first blush, I thought the lesson was about not looking down on others because they are different than you.

And while I think that lesson can be gathered from this story, there is a potentially more important one.

Don’t let someone else tell you that because you don’t have a “star” that you are anything less.

The really sad part of the story was that each group in turn accepted the other group’s labeling of them as “less than” or some version of that.

When we accept those thoughts and labels that others place on us we actually do become “less than” we are capable of being.

I think Thomas Jefferson said it best:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Remember today to not accept the limitations any else places on you.

Make it a great day.

Jake

You can’t plow a field by turning it over in your mind. – Gordon B. Hinckley

I tend to over analyze things.

Trying to think about all the angles, what is the best way to do something, etc.

But this thoughtfulness must be balanced with action.

As I get a little older, I am beginning to think that you don’t want to balance these two out.

There must be a bias towards action.

The scale needs to tip towards doing something.

Is there something in your life that you are over-thinking?

Do you need to take some action today?

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/9jK-NcRmVcw

Big day for our little companies at Maxlider/Mavidea.

We’ve got a few trucks being auctioned off at Barrett Jackson.

When we have something big happening I always think of how lucky we are to have such great employees and customers. How lucky we are to experience these moments together. The meaningful relationships we build add meaning to the big moments.

Be thinking good thoughts today and tomorrow.

Make it a great day.

Jake

For those who want to watch, the 4 door crosses the block at 4:45 Central Time. You can watch it on the History Channel on online at the Barrett Jackson site – https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Home/Scottsdale-2023/ab1e8b14-6a68-41aa-becb-8942d5d2b9fa

Here are the listings and lot numbers for the three vehicles if you want to follow along:

https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1968-FORD-BRONCO-CUSTOM-SUV-265173

https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/2022-FORD-BRONCO-CUSTOM-SUV-263467

https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/2022-FORD-BRONCO-RAPTOR-CUSTOM-SUV-263466

Andy Stanley once did a series going through the process of decision making and how to make better decision’s in your life.

He suggests asking yourself a question. What story do I want to tell?

When facing an important decision, he suggests looking into the future and asking this question to help clarify what you are really deciding.

Some examples….

When it comes to your finances, what story do you want to tell?

When it comes to your health and fitness, what story do you want to tell?

When it comes to your family and your closest relationships, what story do you want to tell?

These are just to get you thinking a little. Thinking of the story you want to tell is beginning with the end in mind. Everything becomes clearer when you can attach a story to it.

I encourage you today to not only think about what stories you want to tell, I encourage you to write them down. Then start making decisions that align with those stories.

We are all writing the story of our life everyday by the decisions we make.​ Let’s do our best to write the story we want to tell.

Make it a great day.

Jake