I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sometimes a good way to decide which action to take in a given scenario is to think of the opposite.

It’s usually not as obvious as hate vs love. It’s usually a choice between more and less love. More and less selfishness.

But even when choosing between more and less, choices become more obvious.

The key is to take the step back to evaluate the decision based on your values.

And with Valentine’s Day yesterday, I hope we all remember to put love at the top of our lists.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/EKiqthx0GKw

All you need is love.

Love is all you need.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Love doesn’t make the world go ’round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile. – Franklin P. Jones

In honor of Valentine’s Day (and my Special Valentine) the next few daily attitude emails will center on love.

This quote seemed like a good place to start.

Love and loving relationships are what make everything worth it.

It’s worth the risk of heart break in order love someone.

It’s worth giving up some (or maybe all) of my selfish desires in exchange for a loving relationship for another.

It’s worth being vulnerable in a very real and scary way in order to truly give your heart to someone else.

By loving someone else and focusing on make their ride worthwhile we find meaning and substance in our own life.

Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it feels like you are on a roller coaster. Sometimes it seems like it will never work out.

But it will and it does. It works out. It makes the ride worthwhile.

Make it a great day.

Jake

JD – The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

EB* – To err is human, but to really foul things up, you need a computer. – Paul Ehrlick

JW – The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases. – Thomas Jefferson

MS – Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. Proverbs 9:9

JR – I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them. – Isaac Asimov

I like the quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow because it shows how easily we can miss simple truths.

I had never really thought about it, but all of those stars are still shining all day long, we just can’t see them.

It makes me wonder what other “hidden stars” might be out there that I am missing.

Those little nice things my wife does for me that I don’t even notice.

That stranger that went out of their way for me even though I didn’t see them.

That co-worker who steps into something that was about to end up on my to do list.

I’m sure there a bunch of those little things (and probably some big ones) happening in my life each day.

I hope my eyes will be opened a little and that my heart will be thankful for those little blessings I don’t even see.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"And my little daughter and I, because of random good luck and the interventions of a few decent people, had been saved." – Edith H. Beer

This line was in a book I recently read called “A Nazi Officer’s Wife”. It is a story of Jewish woman who finds a way to survive during WW II in Germany.

This quote really stood out to me because she credits good luck and a few decent people for her survival.

We all need a little luck sometimes.

The wake up call for me though was the line “the interventions of a few decent people.”

It reminded me that I should be actively working to be that for others.

That I should be taking action (intervening) to help others.

That it only takes a few decent people to make a difference.

Be that decent person in someone’s life today. Intervene in a positive way to help someone else out.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. – Henry David Thoreau

What a powerful and simple way to look at the stuff in our lives.

Not only does this apply to the amount of life we have exchanged to earn the money to purchase something, but also the amount of life required to maintain the thing.

As the abundance of things and material possessions continues to expand we are faced with a different set of choices than our ancestors.

We are not faced with questions like “What do I need to survive?” or “What do we need to make it through the winter?”

Instead we are faced with more philosophical questions like “How much stuff do I need?” or “How comfortable should I be?”

I believe that success and happiness comes to those who can find simplicity and peace with their stuff. To those who can maturely and wisely manage the amount of life they are giving up for the stuff in their life.

Think today about the price you are paying, and choose wisely what to spend your life on.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor. – Vince Lombardi

After watching the Super Bowl last night, I wanted to go looking for a Vince Lombardi quote.

This one stuck out to me because the word “excellence” has been stuck in my head lately.

What if you made a constant effort to add excellence into your life?

What would an excellent drive in to the office look like?

What would an excellent meeting look like?

What would excellence look like when you got home tonight?

Pursue excellence today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/cno20onK9dY

This week was a great week for the Mavidea sales team. We are off to a good start this year.

As I think about the team (and myself) I think of momentum.

How do we keep it going forward?

I think this applies to all of us as we pursue our goals and dreams.

With a little momentum, moving forward is actually easier than slowing down or quitting.

If we can get to the point where we are putting one foot in front of the other consistently (and metaphorically) we can build momentum that won’t be stopped.

Needing some momentum in your life?

Create small victories. Celebrate them. Find a way to put them close together. Don’t quit.

Make it a great day.

Jake

JW* – This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather.

EB* – Phil: It’s the same thing your whole life: "Clean up your room. Stand up straight. Pick up your feet. Take it like a man. Be nice to your sister. Don’t mix beer and wine, ever." Oh yeah: "Don’t drive on the railroad track."

Gus: Well, Phil, that’s one I happen to agree with. –

MS* – Piano Teacher: Not bad… Mr. Connors, you say this is your first lesson? Phil: Yes, but my father was a piano *mover*, so…

JD – Gus: Phil? Like the groundhog Phil? Phil: Yeah, like the groundhog Phil. Gus: Look out for your shadow there, buddy.

Tuesday was Groundhog Day and no one sent me a quote so we are going with nothing but quotes from the movie Groundhog Day.

The movie is funny, but it’s also a favorite because it goes a little deeper than that.

A guy lives the same day over and over again.

He tries all kinds of different things to figure out things (life).

He tries the hedonistic, do what you want all day long life and ends up empty.

He tries manipulating others to get what he wants and ends up empty.

He gives up and spends the day depressed and without hope.

He finally tries love, service, humility and authenticity. And it works.

Maybe we can take a short cut. We don’t have an unlimited number of days like Phil does in the movie, so let’s not waste any on the stuff that doesn’t work. Let’s skip to the good stuff.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an afterthought. Eat the delicious food. Walk in the sunshine. Jump in the ocean. Say the truth that you’re carrying in your heart like a hidden treasure. Be silly. Be kind. Be weird. There is no time for anything else.” – Richard Gere

Mikie sent me this quote in response to yesterday’s email about being more adventurous.

The part that stuck with me was “there is no time for anything else”.

What are we really spending our time on?

If life is short and tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, what should we spend more time on?

As with everything, there is a balance to be struck here. A balance between careless and unnecessary risk taking and creating more opportunities for awesome in your life by taking a few more risks.

My recommendation for those of us is to start now and start small. Take a small risk today. Go on a small adventure today.

Do something different, today.

Make it a great day.

Jake