https://youtu.be/vjUyM_xd6IA

We’ve been watching “Remember the Titans” while we work out and this song was in the movie.

It’s a great story of how sports can bridge the divide between people with differences.

The divisions today may be different, but divisions still exist.

The movie and this song inspired me to try to think more positively about what might be possible.

Now I’ve been happy lately

Thinking about the good things to come

And I believe it could be

Something good has begun

Oh, I’ve been smiling lately

Dreaming about the world as one

And I believe it could be

Someday it’s going to come

Peace is possible.

One of my favorite Bible verses is Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;

God wants all of these for us. The fruit of a better spirit and heart attitude.

Today I hope you find this fruit in your life. If you don’t see any, time to go looking.

Make it a great day.

Jake

You don’t have to plant weeds, they grow automatically. – Tony Robbins

This is one Tony’s go to sayings.

He is reminding us all that negative thoughts and emotions don’t require purposeful cultivation and practice.

Negative thoughts grow automatically.

Without effort and discipline, they take over.

I really like the analogy of the mind as a garden.

What we plant and cultivate grows.

Without proper maintenance and management, the weeds take over.

Take an honest look at your “garden”.

Are there weeds that need to be pulled?

What are you planting?

What are you cultivating?

Make it a great day.

Jake

We tried snowboarding over the weekend this last weekend…..it was a great exercise in humility.

Nothing like watching some little kid fly down past you with a big smile on their face while you huff and puff and check yourself for injuries while muttering some less than nice words under your breath.

I feel like God sends me these moments to make sure I keep myself in perspective.

Trying something new is humbling and challenging.

Growth requires this humility and challenge.

Even though I never really “got it” with snowboarding going through the exercise of trying will hopefully keep the prospect of growth alive.

I may never learn to properly snowboard, but hopefully I can learn and grow in other ways.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Life is a long lesson in humility. – James M. Barrie

A large part of maturity is gained through humility.

As we seek to become a better version of ourselves and to be the best we can be, we bump up again and again against humility.

Only when we take an honest, humble look at ourselves and our role in this world can we begin to maximize it.

We all have the same 24 hours a day.

We all seek love and to love.

We are all out of control of much more than we are in control of.

When we can get ourselves into this simple and basic mindset we can begin to do the best with what we have been given.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“This is the true joy in life: Being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and, as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.” – George Bernard Shaw

Does this describe you:

A mighty purpose….

A force of nature….

Or does this describe you:

A feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances…

Complaining that the whole world will not devote itself to making you happy…

We all have the same opportunity to find our purpose. To clarify as best we can. To live it every day.

And when we do….

Our splendid torch, which we have a hold for the moment, will burn brightly before we pass it on to the next generations.

The beginning of the year is a great time to contemplate our purpose again and to pursue it with everything we’ve got.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/3GwjfUFyY6M

Tonight’s the annual (after) Christmas party at Mavidea/Maxlider.

A night where we get to celebrate our team and the good fortune we’ve had to spend another year together.

Every year is a reminder of how lucky I am to be surrounded by such a great group of people.

Glad we get to find some time to celebrate together.

Make time to celebrate in your life.

Lots to celebrate and be thankful for.

Make it a great day.

Jake

You can’t change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction. – Jim Rohn

This one has been on my mind as New Year’s came and passed. We all didn’t wake up in a different place on January 1st. There wasn’t some magical moment right after we made our resolutions when we changed into this whole different person who does or doesn’t do those new things you came up with for resolutions.

Sorry, but you woke up at the same destination you went to sleep (at least hopefully), but you (hopefully again) did change your direction.

Hopefully, New Years represented a new direction for you. A decision to change and head towards something better. A time when you decided to move away from something and towards something else.

To move from candy to fruit.

To move from no exercise to exercise.

To move from not saving money to saving money.

To move from no studying to disciplined learning.

Whatever the direction change you chose, seize this time of renewal and enthusiasm and build it into a habit. Look at the long term results you are going to get and then get excited about it.

Focus on it. Make it a priority.

And then make it happen.

Jake

Pray with your feet.

I read this in a book once and thought it was appropriate for around the New Year.

It is important that we all learn to work through our worries, concerns, dreams and goals in some form of prayer.

But it is also important that we take action.

We can’t just pray, we need to be moving forward as well.

Take action today. Move forward on one of your prayers.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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

The Final Countdown.

Feels like I send this one out at the end of every year.

Use the last few days of the year to build some momentum to take into 2020.

Wrap up a few last to dos.

Get started early on the diet.

Get an extra work out or two in.

Read that book you’ve been wanting to get to.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.

The above is the very beginning of the movie “Love, Actually” (a Christmas favorite at our house).

It’s a great reminder that love is all around us.

Sometimes we forget.

Sometimes we let ourselves fall into the trap of thinking only of ourselves. We forget that we are happiest and at our best when we are loving others.

At Christmas we are reminded of these simple truths.

Keep the Christmas mojo going on past Christmas this year. Keep the feelings of love and selflessness at the forefront – where they belonged all along.

Make it a great day.

Jake