"If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old." – Peter F. Drucker

Moving forward into growth requires building new habits and letting old habits go.

What is on your stop doing list?

This is an easy to forget area that can drive major change if we are willing to take a hard look at ourselves and how we spend our time.

If we can have the courage to look at everything on our current to do list as a possibility for something to let go of, we will be surprised at what we might see.

Take a moment today to make a list of your regular to-dos.

Get everything down.

Now be ruthless and get of everything except the essentials.

Narrow the list.

Focus.

If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.

Make it a great day.

Jake

My (little) brother Bill sent me this to send out to everyone as a DAE. He’s kinda cool and stuff.

I have been reading the book Radical Candor with some of my colleagues at Ameren. There are many things I like about this book but one thing that jumped out at me was a nuanced quote about Steve Jobs. The Former CEO of Intel, Andy Grove, remarked that "F-ing Steve always gets it right" and the author said "Nobody’s always right." but Andy replied "I didn’t say Steve is always right. I said he always gets it right. Like anyone, he is wrong all the time, but he insists and not gently, that people tell him when he’s wrong. So, he always gets it right in the end."

I don’t know what it is like working at Mavidea but I do know my brother. If you think he is wrong, I guarantee he will listen to understand; so speak up.

Make no mistake, Mavidea is what you make it.

Disclaimer: My brother and I don’t talk business. We mostly engage in stereotypical masculine exchanges that are a cover for an unexplainable brotherly bond created by unknowingly being best friends for our entire childhood. And this is coming from the "little brother." J J

Make it a great day.

Jake

Control.

It seems to me that one of the odd paradoxes of life is our ability to control nothing and everything at the same time.

We have no control over all the external things in our lives, yet we have complete control over ourselves and our attitude and this attitude is what attracts and brings about the external environment we desire.

I suppose that life is a balancing act between mastery of our own mind and letting the rest of life happen.

Below is a list of “to let go’s” that I found when searching for a topic for today. Maybe one of them will inspire you to let go of something that is holding you back.

Make it a great week.

Jake

To let go does not mean to stop caring, it means I can’t do it for someone else.

To let go is not to cut myself off, it’s the realization that I can’t control another.

To let go is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To let go is not to try to change or blame another, it’s to make the most of myself.

To let go is not to care for, but to care about.

To let go is not to fix, but to be supportive.

To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.

To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their own destinies.

To let go is not to be protective, it’s to permit another to face reality.

To let go is not to criticize, or regulate anyone, but to try to become what I dream I can do.

To let go is to fear less, and to love more.

Hi! This is Meaghan stepping in for Jake with today’s Toe Tapper.

I have a quick story to go with this CCR song. It had been running through my head, and then one day last week I took a photo of our oldest daughter running around a bend in the cross-country course at Maxwell Park. At the time, the two did not relate, but when I looked at the picture later, it seemed to illustrate the chorus of this song. Her feet were flying, and we were outside on a gorgeous fall day. Have you ever had something like that happen where random things in your mind just click, and it lifts your spirits? I do not think these moments are merely coincidental. The image of Maggie running around the bend and ready to kick things into high gear, when things often seem to be at a standstill in the world lately, really stuck with me this week. I think we can take these little happy moments and let them remind us that there is so much good in this beautiful world. Even when we are on a path that seems a little unpredictable, we can keep going and press on toward the goal set before us. One step at a time. Do the next right thing. Things in our country and our world, and even in our own little lives, can be frustrating and bring us down, but we can always look around the bend. One foot in front of the other. There are still good times ahead, people to see, love to share. Keep on running your race, whatever that may look like. If you need help, remember to say a little prayer and talk to someone who cares. There’s always time for good conversation! I would also recommend getting outside to enjoy the trees and the breeze; you can walk and just imagine what it would be like to have as much energy as a cross country runner! Maybe this song running through your heart will put a little pep in your step, too.

https://youtu.be/Ql5IJ1_VjGo

Up Around The Bend CCR With Lyrics Up Around The Bend With lyrics. Please note that this song is not mine, It is CCR’s the picture is not mine either. Again, the song and picture are not mine. l youtu.be

The days are long but the years are short.

Not sure who this quote belongs to, but it is one I think of often.

It’s been a few long days for me already this week.

When that happens it is easy to lose perspective on the long term and the big picture.

We fixate on getting through the day and miss out on life.

Take the time to enjoy your day today, regardless of how long it is.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.

Apparently this is on a billboard in Dallas.

Funny how sometimes a simple one sentence billboard can have so much to say.

Regardless of what you did yesterday, today can be a better day.

Cheated on your diet? Today it begins again.

Took a shortcut on something at work? Today is your second chance.

A little short with the kids? Today can be a day of peaceful patience.

Blew your budget on that whiz-bang new thingamagig? Today can be a day to rethink and rebuild that budget.

Regardless of your past, you do, in fact, have a future. How bright that future is depends on you.

Make it a great day.

Jake