https://youtu.be/mzDVaKRApcg

Your love keeps lifting me higher.

My initial reaction to songs like this is to think of Meaghan and how wonderful she is and how lucky I am to have her.

But then my thoughts turn to figuring out how to be this person for her.

That’s the real challenge.

To love someone in a way that lifts them higher. For them. Not for what it does for you.

Each day we have the opportunity to once again lay down our life in love and service to those around us.

Find a way today to lift a loved one higher.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.” – Francesca Reigler

This goes for complaining too.

It takes the same amount of effort to complain as it does to say something positive.

Given these simple truths, we must ask ourselves a simple question.

Why think negative any more?

Why complain?

Jake’s answer – we’ve allowed ourselves to be poorly trained.

By ourselves, others, the media, whoever. We’ve allowed ourselves to get into mental habits that won’t get us where we want to go.

Pay attention to your thoughts today.

Don’t leave any room for complaining or negativity.

Crowd them out with positive thoughts and action.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

This a quote used a lot in “Daring Greatly” by Brene Brown.

She uses this quote as a centerpiece to her idea that daring greatly by being vulnerable is the key to living a wholehearted life.

What pops into your head when you read this quote?

A conversation you need to have with someone?

A bad habit that needs to be kicked to the curb?

A new habit that needs your focus?

Find a way to dare greatly today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew. – Marshall McLuhan

We all have our part to play.

Whether it is a small part or a big part.

There are no passengers. No free loaders. No one gets to do nothing.

Embrace your crew membership. Take pride in the roles you play, however small.

Do your best with whatever role you are playing today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Last night was the big game. The Super Bowl.

We don’t watch many sportsing shows at the Davis house, but we try to watch the Super Bowl every year.

There’s a lot wrong in the world of professional sports, but there’s also something magical about it.

We all can appreciate the excellence and hard work represented by those at the top of their profession.

But I think the real magic lies in the shared experience.

The shared experience shared by the teammates.

The shared experience of knowing so many others are watching the game.

The shared experience of a little family watching the game in their home.

Shared experiences have power.

Pay attention to your days and your moments this week.

How can you create a better shared experience with teammates, family and friends this week?

What can you do to bring the group together?

What part can you play in making things better.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/_7xMfIp-irg

The Beatles get played a lot in our house.

This song is a great reminder that love is all you need.

Each day is an opportunity to prioritize and lean into love.

Whether it be with our spouse or a waitress taking our order, we have the chance to infuse our interactions with love.

Andy Stanley talks about making decisions based on the question “What does love require of me?”

We can choose to treat others with love and make that our priority each day.

In the end, love will lead us to the good in life.

Make it a great day.

Jake

I was looking through old daily attitude emails and found one where I shared a bunch of CS Lewis quotes.

Here they are again, sure to be something in this list to get you thinking today.

Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives.

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art… It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.

Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.

We all want progress, but if you’re on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.

Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.

Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.

It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.

Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.

Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.

Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours.

What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ‘Make me feel important.’ Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life." -Mary Kay Ash

We are all in need of encouragement and desire to feel important.

Not in a false or flattering kind of way, but in an authentic and genuine kind of way.

This simple truth can propel all of us towards better and longer lasting relationships.

I know that I’m at my best when I’m genuinely and thoughtfully doing my best to think of and serve the needs of others.

What could you do to make someone feel important today?

What email could you send?

What call could you make?

Who deserves an honest “look you in the eye” thank you?

Make it a point today to make someone else feel important.

Make it a great day.

Jake

What you reap, you also sow.

We have all heard some version of this. Whether we read it in the Bible or a newer version of it in books like “The Go-Giver”, this little truth has been around for a long time.

One of the important things to realize about this is that it is like gravity. It is there whether you are paying attention or not. It is there whether you are purposeful about leveraging it or are just dealing with the consequences of it.

Each and every day, we are sowing seeds that will grow.

We are sowing seeds in each interaction we have with others.

We are sowing seeds through our daily habits.

We are sowing seeds through our thoughts and attitudes.

The question becomes, what are you sowing?

An inexperienced gardener doesn’t know the difference between a carrot seed and a tomato seed. An inexperienced gardener doesn’t know whether the seeds he just planted need lots of sun or room to grow.

This is where most of us get stuck. Without some wisdom and knowledge, we aren’t sure what seeds we are sowing or what to do with them once they are planted.

Fortunately, there is help.

First, we can look at the fruit we currently have. This is a great way to learn what kinds of seeds you are sowing. Take stock in your life. Look around and see what kind of fruits are growing. Then decide if you want more or less of a certain fruit.

Second, we can read books. All kinds of people have written books about their experiences sowing seeds and the fruits they experienced. Reading a book can help you determine whether those seeds you are sowing are carrots or tomatoes and what is the best way to get the most fruit you can from them.

Lastly, we can ask a mentor or coach. Asking someone else to help us identify the seeds we are planting and the fruit we are growing can illustrate how we could do things differently. They can also share their experiences and show us the results they have gotten from sowing similar seeds.

Make it a great day of sowing.

Jake

To see things in the seed, that is genius. Lao Tzu

We all must learn to be patient with ourselves a little.

Be kind and compassionate to yourself.

The new seeds in you require your belief and patience.

Be patient with yourself and the new habits you desire.

Be kind to yourself when things don’t go well.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – Unless you need a kick in the pants….then do that and get on with it. (I wish I always knew which one needed to be applied when.)