Courage is knowing what not to fear. – Plato
2020 has included an abundance of things to afraid of.
COVID 19.
Economic disaster.
An election.
In the end, we have a choice of whether or not be afraid of faces these challenges with courage.
Some have looked at this year with fear while others have looked for the blessings.
My hope is that we can focus on the good.
Make it a great day.
Jake
The return we reap from generous actions is not always evident. – Francesco Guicciardini
The law of reaping and sowing falls into the category of “obvious but not quantifiable”.
Like a lot of the mysteries of life, it makes sense at a high level – we reap what we sow, but the amounts and timing don’t always seem so obvious.
The return for our investment of sowing generosity is not always self-evident or immediate.
The return is sometimes so mysterious that it creates doubt about the underlying truth. We can lose faith in the simple truth – we reap what we sow.
Time and time again it proves to be true.
What we spend our time and efforts on today will determine the future we experience.
I’m sure you are all smart enough to know this, I’m merely hoping to remind you.
Sow what? (See what I did there?)
Sow positivity instead of negativity.
Sow love instead of hate.
Sow forgiveness instead of bitterness.
Sow generously instead of miserly.
Sow virtue instead of vice.
Sow faith instead of doubt.
Sow exercise instead of cake.
Sow saving instead of spending.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Good is the enemy of great. – Jim Collins
One of the most difficult challenges of life (especially for those of us that are lucky enough to live in America) is that “good” is everywhere. It is easy to fall into the trap of settling for good instead of going for great.
Good is the enemy of great because good is so comfortable. Good lulls us into complacency. Good makes it easy not to go for our best.
And that is where the problem lies. Good means we miss out on great. They can’t coexist. it is one or the other.
Is there an area of your life where you are settling for good instead of great?
Are you avoiding facing the reality that you can be great?
In “Good to Great” Jim ends with a great conclusion.
Over time it is no more difficult (in fact he believes it is easier) to be great than it is to just achieve good results.
Up front it might seem a lot more difficult, but that is a false sense of security.
At Mavidea we are in the process of moving our organization from good to great and I am excited.
I can’t wait to see what the future holds as we become a great company.
I can’t wait to see what the future holds for each of you as you become the great version of yourself.
Make it a great day.
Jake
"For you have been called to live in freedom. Use your freedom to serve one another in love." – Galatians 5:13
The freedom that we celebrate on the 4th of July is really just an opportunity.
An opportunity to do something with our freedoms.
An opportunity to make the world better.
An opportunity to serve one another in love.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Love unlocks doors and opens windows that weren’t even there before. – Mignon McLaughlin
Love represents the ultimate change in perspective.
This quote says it well.
Options that once seemed impossible or closed off now seem easily available and in plain sight.
Giving becomes easy, even mandatory.
Sacrifice becomes joy.
Hardship turns into opportunity.
Love is also a verb.
Activity filled with love greases the skids, making everything else seem easy.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Last day of the first half of 2020.
It will go down as one to remember to be sure.
At Mavidea and Maxlider, we got a little extra crazy thrown in there this year.
I’m working not to complain about it though. I’ve got a lot to be thankful for.
The clients that have chosen to stay.
The new staff we’ve been able to add.
The old staff that have been steady as she goes.
The family and friends that have come closer and offered to help.
It’s been tough, but the future is still bright.
We’ve got this.
Make it a great day.
Jake
On Friday, we had a party to celebrate Mavidea’s 13th birthday.
It was a great time to remember all that we have to be thankful for and to celebrate.
All of the families and lives that have been positively impacted by our little company continues to amaze me and make me proud of our team and the work we do for and with each other and our clients every day.
I saw a lot of smiles, some illegal hugging and heard some laughing.
I saw people lending a hand to help set up and clean up.
I saw new relationships forming and beginning.
I saw lots of little kids doing what little kids do.
We aren’t perfect, but we are special. We do have something unique and meaningful going on. We are making the world a better place, in our own way.
I’m thankful for all of you who were there and participated. We missed those that couldn’t make it.
I’m looking forward to our future together.
Make it a great day.
Jake
The kids were listening to this one last night and I thought it would be appropriate to send out on the day of Mavidea’s anniversary party.
We’ve been through a lot over 13 years and maybe we haven’t always been “champions”, but we’ve always strived to conduct ourselves like champions.
We’ve got a lot to be thankful for and a lot to look forward to.
Make it a great day.
Jake
"A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence." – Jim Watkins
Lasting accomplishments take time.
We have a tendency to underestimate what we are capable of over long periods of time.
The persistent application of effort based on faith towards a worthy goal often meets with success.
Think about where you are and where you would like to go.
Find a way to apply consistent effort towards your desired destination.
You may not make it overnight, but persistence will pay off in the end.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Invite people into your life who don’t look or act like you. You might find they challenge your assumptions and make you grow. – Mellody Hobson
This reminds me of the advice given by Zig Ziglar – spend time with someone under 5 and over 70.
Whether it is someone’s age or background or simply their likes and dislikes; we can all grow and learn by being around someone different than us.
Who are you currently spending time with that is different than you?
Do you need to seek and find a relationship to challenge yourself in this area?
Some quick ideas on how we might do this:
Travel
Volunteer
Attend an event you wouldn’t normally attend
Visit a nursing home
Volunteer in the nursery at church
Make it a great day.
Jake
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