There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still. – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Going forward is the key.

It’s funny, we sure are good at convincing ourselves of the need to stand still.

We hem and haw and put things off.

We worry and calculate.

We let small obstacles become mountains.

If only we could apply all that creativity to moving forward.

What have you been stuck on?

What has been excused and explained away only to standstill?

Move forward today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith. —Billy Graham

Father’s Day is a day that reminds me to think of the idea of legacy.

Mostly of the legacy that my father and his father have left behind for me.

We all have benefited from the legacy left behind from someone else.

We have the opportunity to leverage this and build upon it.

What kind of legacy are you building?

I’m so very thankful for those that have come before me and left such a great legacy for me to build on and I hope that I can do the same for those in my life.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/7CUKQxPTjpY

One of my favorite simple ideas for a better life is to smile – a lot. Like all the time.

This song/video is a funny, catchy reminder that even when life is hard we can choose to smile.

Life hasn’t been easy so far this year for many of us.

It hasn’t gone the way we would have wanted.

It’s been hard and upsetting and scary.

We can still smile.

“I know God is working so I smile”…..that’s my favorite line from the song and something I try to remind myself of constantly this year.

Hopefully you can find a smile today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Choose your love, Love your choice. – Thomas S. Monson

Another great lesson learned after 18 years of marriage – love is a choice.

It’s a choice to take action.

To put another before yourself.

Marriage isn’t the only place this matters.

It matters with work.

It matters with team mates.

It matters with friends.

All represent an opportunity to choose love. To choose selfless action over selfish desires.

Let’s choose our loves carefully, then love those choices.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Childhood is a short season. – Helen Hayes

I feel like this could be said for every season of life.

Captain Obvious reminder of the day – life is short, make the most of it.

I’m rooting for you.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/Yr7Wkz7W7Vs

In this video by Tony Robbins, he asks “what kinds of questions are you asking yourself?”

Are you asking yourself questions like:

Why am I so fat?

Why don’t I have any friends?

When am I going to get it together?

Instead, you must learn to ask yourself positive questions. Questions that allow you to take responsibility for your actions and lead to action in a positive direction.

What can I do today to lose weight?

What can I do today to create a new relationship?

What book can I read to learn to get more organized?

We must learn to ask ourselves the right questions if we are to find the answers we are searching for.

Make it a great day.

Jake

There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage. – Martin Luther

Meaghan and I had our 18th wedding anniversary over the weekend.

Every time I see a couple post one of these milestones, it reminds of the something special that a good marriage is.

Marriage is a unique opportunity for those that engage in it.

Essentially, you sign up to spend the rest of your life placing another person’s before your own. Sure, you sign up for this when you become a parent as well, but you have to live with your spouse for the rest of your life.

I believe more and more each day that our happiness lies in those moments when we can be of service to others and to place our own needs behind that of another’s.

Marriage is a lifetime of those opportunities.

And for those that seize that opportunity, it is a lifetime of bliss.

I am sure even the best marriages miss most of those opportunities, but I am also sure that they capitalize on far more than the average marriage.

I am thankful every time I hear or see of someone reaching a major milestone year with their marriage, because it reminds that it can be done. It is possible to put another’s needs before our own, to let go of that selfish side of ourselves in order to love another better.

Seize the opportunity to be of service today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Bonus point – when you see someone who reaches a milestone like this, seek out any wisdom you can get. Ask them questions. Ask them to mentor you.

Bonus point 2 – for the singles only – practice, practice, practice. Want to find a spouse? Want to be a better husband/wife when you do get married? Practice, practice, practice. Find others to serve and serve them. Find a way to put others first and do it. ​

https://youtu.be/UelDrZ1aFeY

Not really a toe tapper but hopefully a Beatles’ song that will make Meaghan smile.

Sunday will be our 18th anniversary.

Hard to believe that I could get so lucky to be married to Meaghan for that long (or that she put up with me for that long).

Thanks to Meaghan for 18 great years!

Make it a great day.

Jake

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

This is one of my favorite ideas from Mere Christianity.

This quote reminded me a lot of the ideas sent out in these daily attitude emails every day.

A big part of changing for the better is letting go of what we are currently.

At some point we must be willing to tear down our current habits and idiosyncrasies.

It’s hard. It’s painful. It isn’t much fun.

We want to change, but maybe aren’t quite ready to let go of ourselves and our ego in the process.

But it has to happen in order to really change.

We are capable of much more than we ever dreamed.

We are capable of greatness.

If we are willing to be torn down in the process.

Make it a great day.

Jake

We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship. – C.S. Lewis

CS Lewis had a lot of interesting and deep thoughts about friendship (I think mostly in the 4 Loves book).

I hope that a positive side effect of the shelter in place orders is that we will come back together with a greater appreciation for each other.

Friendship takes on a whole new perspective when you haven’t seen one in a while.

Hopefully we can be more loving, kind and thoughtful towards others after this period apart.

Who do you need to reach out to and connect with?

How can you be more patient and kind with those in your life?

What should you do differently after this time away?

Make it a great day.

Jake