Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first. – Mark Twain

As the year begins and we look towards achieving all we are capable of, we must let go of our old excuses.

At some point we need to let go of the idea that the world (or others) owe us anything.

No one and nothing owes us success.

We can’t let feelings of entitlement keep us from doing what needs to be done to get where we want to go.

Take an honest look at some of the reasons you are giving yourself for not accomplishing your goals.

Then let go of all of them.

Just forget all of them.

And then move forward.

Make it a great day.

Jake

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something. – Neil Gaiman

This quote captures an important idea for us as we start 2017.

We are all so blessed that it is easy to let the years go by without challenging ourselves.

We get comfortable and choose not to risk our comfort as we go about our lives.

But our potential lies on the outside of our comfort zone.

Regardless of how high or low you set the bar as you thought about 2017, make sure it requires you to make a few mistakes. You need to fall down and fail at least once.

I wish the best of luck with making mistakes in 2017.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/KTFwbVD2j80

This song (and New Year’s Eve) are a great reminder of one of life’s great balancing acts.

Last year went by so quick and this year looks like we have forever.

Each day we are challenged to live in the present.

To make the most of today.

While learning from the past and making wise decisions for the future.

This weekend, make sure to take a few moments to look back at this year and forward to next year. But don’t miss making the most of what you are doing right now.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Next up on the list of things to consider when setting your sights on next year…..dream big.

All too often, we sell ourselves short.

We let our past and others around us set the bar, when we are capable of so much more.

I think the key is to balance the short and long term as we dream big.

Start small and build towards the big.

Start by losing the first 2 pounds on the way to your goal weight.

Start by saving the first $100 of your new fortune.

Start by memorizing that first Bible verse on your path to personal peace.

Start by making that first lunch date with an old friend on your path to a life full of great relationships.

Dream big about the end of the road, but focus on right in front of you along the way.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Next up on the list of suggested to-dos before the new year – take a long hard look in the mirror.

Take the time to really look at where you are vs. where you could be.

Be brutally honest with yourself.

If you are working on your weight, use the scale.

If you are working on your finances, check your balances.

If you are working on your relationships, take the most honest and impartial in your life out to lunch.

Shine the brightest most objective light you can on whatever it is that is important to you.

Write down the results. Honestly reflect on what they mean.

Did you really do your best this year?

Are you really growing?

A large part of getting to where you want to go is knowing where you are starting from.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – Bonus point – don’t let this be a guilt trip. The point isn’t to let someone or yourself make you feel bad. The point is to find out what happened and where you ended up so you can keep going or change direction.

Well, Christmas has come and gone.

The time between Christmas and the new year is a great chance to reflect and set new goals.

The best place to start that process is from a place of gratitude.

Be thankful for everything you already have.

Be aware of everything that has already gone your way.

Make it a great day.

Jake

I am not alone at all, I thought. I was never alone at all. And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the world seemingly most indifferent. For this is still the time God chooses. – Taylor Caldwell

This is a great reminder before Christmas comes and goes.

You are not alone.

You are loved.

You are special.

Not in a way that makes you better than everyone else.

Not in a way that makes you just like everyone else.

You are loved and special in your own way. The way only you can be.

In the Christian faith, this is the reason got sent his son on that first Christmas. For you.

If that explanation of it doesn’t work for you, I can assure you that you aren’t alone, you are loved and you are special to someone.

Merry Christmas.

Make it a great day.

Jake

MS* – Clarence: [to George] Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he? – It’s a Wonderful Life

EB – Shitter’s full! – Cousin Eddie

JD – “Christmas was on its way. Lovely, glorious, beautiful Christmas, upon which the entire kid year revolved.” – A Christmas Story

JW – There’s room for everyone on the nice list. – Buddy the Elf

Buddy the Elf sure is a smart one.

There’s room for everyone on the nice list.

There’s always room for more nice.

There’s always room for more love.

There’s always room for more selflessness.

There’s always room for more family.

There’s always room for more friendship.

There’s always room for more hope, faith, peace, joy…..

As we cram our schedules and houses with more stuff, remember the things there is always more room for.

Merry Christmas.

jake

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love. – Mother Teresa

Love until it hurts.

I think she means love it until it starts to (and continues to over time) kill our selfishness.

We must seek out this place of giving up our own desires for others.

When we can love another like this we finally experience the life we were designed for.

The paradox is that when we are able to do so we become happier than we would have been had we acted on our selfish desires in the first place.

I’m sure you all believe this already. My hope is that this email inspires you to do act on it. Just a little. Today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

He HADN’T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME!

Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,

Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?"

"It came with out ribbons! It came without tags!"

"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"

And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn’t come from a store."

"Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!"

We also had the chance to watch the Grinch Who Stole Christmas over the weekend.

These few lines from the end always stand out to me.

I should be old enough to realize that Christmas isn’t about presents or decorating or any of that other stuff, but these lines still catch me off guard a little each time.

Hopefully these lines do them same for you. A reminder that Christmas is more than all of the stuff.

Make it a great Christmas.

Jake

PS – If you want to read the entire Grinch story, here you go: http://web.mit.edu/tere/www/text/grinch.txt