A smile is the universal welcome. – Max Eastman
Start today off with a smile.
Whatever that thing or whoever that person or whatever the activity, make yourself smile to start today.
And then try to pass it on.
Get someone else to smile too.
Try to see how long you can keep it going.
Try to see how many others you can get to smile today.
Make it a great day.
Jake
In honor of President’s Day, I thought I would resend this past daily attitude email:
Jim Rohn has a speech entitled “I am a wealthy man because….”
One of the reasons he considered himself wealthy was his heritage.
President’s Day is today and it reminded me of the wealthy heritage we enjoy.
We enjoy the fruits of hundreds of years of great men and women working on our behalf. They have put the infrastructure in place for us to live and enjoy our lives the way we do.
They fought wars we don’t have to fight.
They fought evil we don’t have to face.
They stood for something we now get to stand on.
We will also have our battles to fight, our evil to face and we must choose something to stand for. But we get to do so from a position of strength because of our past.
Today is a great day to be thankful for our heritage and our presidents.
Make it a great day.
Jake
It seems appropriate for everyone to do the Cupid Shuffle today in honor of Valentine’s Day.
This song reminds me of weddings. When a bunch of people are dancing together and having fun.
Have some fun today.
Get a little silly.
Let loose a little.
Make it a great day.
Jake
“Busy is the new stupid.” – Ed Baldwin
(Forgive me ahead of time on this one. I just came off of listening to Essentialism and then read the article below on LinkedIn.)
This is the title of an article I read recently.
Over the years I have become more and more convinced how “busy” has become a meaningless throw away word.
Something that just gets put in the place where another word should be instead, like good or nice or stuff or like or …..
The interesting thing about this one though is that at some point a lot of us bought into it. We bought into the idea that more busy equals more better.
We fill our time (and our homes and our cars and our….) with more and more busy until we feel like we are “winning” the busy contest.
Only to find out later that we are all the same amount of busy. 24 hours passes at exactly the same rate for us as it does Bono (or someone else who you think is really important).
Today I give you permission (ignore the fact that I have no actual power over you) to let go of busy. Let go of trying to cram it all in. Decide on what is important and do that. Make a top 5 list for the day (or a top 1 list to start).
And then do it again tomorrow.
Do it enough days in a row to build a habit.
Make it a way of life.
On second thought, maybe there is a way to win the “busy” game. Stop playing it.
Make it a great day.
Jake
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/busy-new-stupid-ed-baldwin-sphr-gphr?trk=hp-feed-article-title-like
It’s the world, dear. Did you expect it to be small? = Mrs. Beaver from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
Annie and I were watching this movie again the other day and this line stuck out to me.
Peter had just been complaining about how far they still had to go on their journey.
Mrs. Beaver’s quote is a great reminder – changing the world isn’t easy. It’s not small.
As you seek out purpose and the place where you can be of greatest value, don’t expect it to be small.
There is greatness within you.
You were built to change the world.
It’s going to be tough, but you got this.
Make it a great day.
Jake
If you have only one smile in you give it to the people you love. – Maya Angelou
Valentine’s Day is a great reminder to show and tell those around us how much we love them.
This quote is a great reminder of a simple way to show it.
Too often we give the best of ourselves to those outside our immediate circle.
We use nice manners and smile at the strangers in our lives but can be demanding and impatient with those at home.
We treat clients and coworkers like kings and treat loved ones like the hired help.
Let Valentine’s Day be a reminder to change things up.
If you only have enough nice in you for a few interactions a day, make sure they are with those you love the most.
Make it a great day.
Jake
A little inspiration for ya…. https://youtu.be/pahij2ZMkMw
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. – Abraham Lincoln
Yesterday was Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.
The Gettysburg Address is a great example of the kind of short but powerful thoughts that President Lincoln was capable of. The quote above is from the address and the entire thing is below.
This quote seemed appropriate to celebrate his life.
It is for us, the living, to be dedicated to the unfinished work of Lincoln’s life.
It is for us, the living, to be dedicated to building a better country together.
It is for us, the living, to make the most of the sacrifices of those who have went before us.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Abraham Lincoln
November 19, 1863
This video reminded me of the good feelings you get from working out and being physical.
It just feels good to get all sweaty.
Make it a point to do something fun and physical this weekend.
Break out of your normal routine and get your blood pumping.
Maybe even listen to a little Flo Rida while you are at it.
Make it a great day.
Jake
"Don’t find fault. Find a remedy." – Henry Ford
Finding faults in ourselves and others is the easy way out.
If you look for them, there will be plenty.
All of us are imperfect in our own ways. All of us fall short at one point or another.
What if we looked for the good in ourselves and others?
What if we looked for solutions instead of making excuses?
Focusing our efforts on improvement and progress instead of excuses and complaints will make us happier, healthier and more successful.
Take care today to focus on the positive.
Make it a great day.
Jake
The doer alone learneth. – Frederich Nietzsche
Progress requires action.
Action creates mistakes.
Mistakes create the opportunity to begin anew but better.
So many are afraid of taking action out of a fear of making mistakes.
Really we should be more afraid of not taking action.
The key word in the quote above is “alone”. As in, you can’t learn and grow without doing things. Without mixing it up. Without making some mistakes.
Too many times I get stuck in over-analyzer mode and think too hard about something before getting started only to realize that I really just don’t know.
I don’t know the best way to do something I’ve never done before.
I don’t know the best way to do something I’ve already failed at.
I don’t know the best way to…….fill in the blank.
Only by trying (and probably failing, at least a little) will I really learn how best to tackle a particular situation.
Keep yourself moving.
Keep yourself learning.
Make it a great day.
Jake
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