If you would be loved, love, and be loveable. – Benjamin Franklin
Simple, straightforward advice from Mr. Franklin on this one.
We all desired to be loved.
In order to be loved we should love others.
In order to be loved we should endeavor to become loveable.
Start working in this direction. Today.
Make it a great day.
Jake
A favorite move at the Davis house is “Night at the Museum”. In it they tell the Sacajawea story.
They talked about all the hardships and the enormous scope of their journey.
I think if we could ask someone like that from history what they were thinking about as they completed their epic journey or surmounted impossible odds the answer would interesting in its simplicity.
They would probably say things like:
I said I was going to do it, so I just didn’t quit.
Going forward just seemed better than quitting.
I didn’t really think about it at the time, we were having so much fun.
It seemed like something worth trying.
What they say maybe betrays part of what can hold us back from time to time. We make things too complicated. We try to climb the whole mountain in one day. We quit.
Whatever is on your goal list for this year, make a simple commitment today. Take the next step. However small that might be. However imperfect it feels. Just keep going.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Friday after Halloween deserves a Halloween song.
Hope everyone had a great Halloween.
Make it a great day.
Jake
When we work for a bigger purpose, we find an endless supply of happiness at work. — Jon Gordon
I liked how he said “bigger” in front of purpose in this quote.
It’s easy to get stuck on finding our one purpose and the biggest reason we are here. There’s a lifetime of work for most of us on that one.
But a bigger purpose is pretty easy.
Instead of working for a paycheck we can be working for the team or serving the clients.
Instead of working out we can be losing some weight or getting more energy.
Instead of making lunches for the kids we can be packing up some love.
Find a way to add some more purpose into the mundane today.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Today at Mavidea we’re have a lunch and learn and discussing the QBQ.
The book is about asking better questions that lead to personal accountability and action oriented thinking.
My favorite is “How can I help?”
So many of life’s little issues and problems could be solved by asking this one simple question.
Today I encourage all of you to find someone or some situation where you can honestly and sincerely ask this simple question.
Make it a great day.
Jake
“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
In order to find, we must look.
We must actively work towards finding what we desire for our lives.
It doesn’t just come to us.
We must find the relevant information.
We must ask others who might know where it is.
What are you looking for?
Make it a great day.
Jake
“Sounds like somebody’s got a case of the Mondays.”
It’s funny to me that Monday is the day of the week that is supposed to be the worst day. Seems to me that it should be the best day of the week.
It’s the start of a new week. A clean slate.
Everything is in front of you. Anything is possible.
Think of this week as a trial run. Think of it as a week full of possibilities and new beginnings.
What is the one thing you would like to get done?
Get on it.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Made to love.
Simple, great thought for the day and weekend ahead.
Make it a great day.
Jake
No one has ever become poor by giving. – Anne Frank
What a great way of explaining a simple truth – you can never be too generous.
I can’t explain to exactly how or why it works out but I’m sure that it does.
When we give generously, we end up better off.
In fact, I’ve come to believe that more joy lies on the giving side of the equation.
What are you holding on to that should be given away?
What part of your life could use some more joy?
Find a way to give more.
Make it a great day.
Jake
A while ago I watched the series “The Pacific”. The series was about the experience of a group of Marines during WWII.
At the end of the show they gave a brief “update” on each of the soldiers and their experiences after the war.
Next to one of the names it said “Sold cars for 46 years”.
That really struck me as an interestingly different experience than participating in WWII.
Think about it. You go from participating in one of the greatest battles and moments in human history (saving the world) to selling cars.
Not that selling cars is bad, I just have a hard time imagining waking up in the morning to that as compared to the significance that must have been felt at moments during war.
But as I thought about it, I wondered if there isn’t an interesting lesson in there somewhere.
Maybe the lesson is that the same kinds of things that led to success in WWII would allow someone to be successful and enjoy a life of selling cars.
Courage, integrity, responsibility, grit, humility, positivity.
Just some examples, but you can easily imagine how they would lead to success in whatever endeavor the possessor pursued.
Most of us are lucky enough to not have to test our character in the crucible of war.
Instead, we must test it in daily interactions with coworkers, our families and ourselves.
As I reflect on this whole picture, I am eternally grateful for those that have faced sterner tests on my behalf.
And I am inspired to do the best I can with the opportunity they have created for me to test myself against the smaller yardsticks I face each day.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Practical Steps for Friendship, Unity and Intimacy in Your Marriage
