EB – Parenting tip: "You need to learn how to twerk." – Jeff Shelton

JD – A failure is a man who has blundered, but is not able to cash in on the experience. – Elbert Hubbard

JW – Fools find no pleasure in understanding, but delight in airing their own opinions. – Proverbs 18:1

MS – The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; And he that winneth souls is wise. – Proverbs 11:30

The Jeff Shelton quote came from a lunch we had this week.

The Mavidea Dads took our newest Mavidea Dad (Mike) out to lunch to celebrate his becoming a father.

While Jeff’s genuinely brilliant piece of advice is really important. It wasn’t the most important lesson of the day.

The most important lesson of the day for me was to take the time and celebrate with each other.

Make the time to mark the important moments in the lives of those who are important to you.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month." – Theodore Roosevelt

I liked this quote because it was one of those where you laugh a little and then realize it is true.

We are responsible for most of the trouble in our lives.

It is one of those hard truths that requires humility and maturity to see in our lives.

I think this is also one of those things where we can choose to fight it or accept it.

We can spend our time blaming others and looking outside or we can accept responsibility and begin to make changes inside.

They both take the same amount of effort, but the difference in results is staggering.

That is where this quote and idea turn positive.

We get to choose.

Responsibility and growth through maturity and humility or continued frustration and poor results.

You choose.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Last night Maggie picked one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books, “Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are”.

Here is the quote to start the book:

“When I was quite young and quite small for my size, I met an old man in the Desert of Drize. And he sang me a song I will never forget, at least, well, I haven’t forgotten it yet. He sat in a terribly prickly place, but he sang with a sunny sweet smile on his face…”

“When you think things are bad, when you feel sour and blue, when you start to get mad… You should do what I do! Just tell yourself, Duckie, you’re really quite lucky! Some people are much more…Oh, ever so much more…Oh, muchly much-much more unlucky than you!”

The book is another classic example of Dr. Seuss. Only by being absurd and entertaining can he so pointedly remind us all that we are truly lucky.

No matter how bad you may think you have it at any given point, you are truly lucky.

But this isn’t an exercise in sending everyone on a guilt trip…..

When I am reminded of how lucky I am, I become more motivated to do something with it. I become even more focused on using what I have in order to make the biggest difference I can in the lives of others.

For whatever reason, we are the lucky ones. It is our job to do something about it. It is our job to help others move into the lucky column.

More people in this world fall into the lucky column than the unlucky one. All we have to do is find the unlucky ones and help them move to the lucky side.

And if you would like to hear the whole book (which I highly recommend), here is a link to hear John Cleese reading it:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcuw5p_did-i-ever-tell-you-how-lucky-you-a_fun

Make it a great day.

Jake

In “No Hero” a former Navy SEAL tells the story of his training in climbing.

He had an innate fear of heights and so he struggled with this portion of his training. At one point he found himself “frozen” on the side of a mountain, unable to make any progress.

His instructor climbed up to him and told him to “focus on your three foot world”.

Meaning to focus on the part that he could control.

Not the height, not the mountain, not the clouds; just his hand and foot holds and moving up the mountain.

The author then explains that he used that idea many times during his training and various deployments.

Any situation where we felt out of control, he would institute the “three foot world” and focus on what he could control.

Often times we get distracted by things outside our three foot world.

We let fear keep us from moving forward, one step at a time.

Just take the next step. Today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/9yRme0C2pmI

I’m guessing about 90% of you won’t care for this song, but wanted to change it up a bit.

Confidence is such a hard thing to get wrong.

Songs like this one take it a little too far and can show how you could turn people off by being too confident.

But confidence is also a good thing.

Not the “I’m better than others” confidence.

The kind of confidence that says “I’ve got a lot of room for improvement, there are a lot of people better than me, but why not me?”

We are all loved.

We are all miracles.

We are all uniquely made.

We should have the confidence that comes with that and the humility of knowing that everyone else has it too.

Be confident today. You are special and unique, don’t be afraid to let that show.

Make it a great day.

Jake

If your gift is leadership, do so with zeal. – Romans 12:8

Bill Hybels started the leadership summit out with this verse.

It reminded me of one of my all-time favorite quotes:

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

There is so much power in embracing and enjoying what we were called to do.

The power comes from embracing the idea of always doing your best.

And most of the time, it isn’t something glamorous.

It could be sweeping streets or filing paperwork or cleaning up after dinner or…

Things that most other people don’t even notice how good or bad of a job you did. Often, you (and God) are the only one that really knows whether you did your best.

Always doing your best is a difficult standard, to be sure.

But would you really have it any other way?

Make it a great day.

Jake

EB* – Who you listen to is who you are becoming. – Craig Groschel

JD – Giving ennobles the human soul.

JW – Indeed, all who desire to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. – 2 Timothy 3:12

MS – The path of the just is as the shining light, but shineth more and more unto the perfect day. – Proverbs 4:18

JR – Predicting behavior only predicts your own. – Jason Roush Original TM Copyright

Someone in the Global Leadership Summit shared the quote above about giving.

Immediately, I pictured how giving created nobility in someone.

What a tremendous opportunity each of us has to experience that nobility.

We truly and authentically are generous and benevolent towards someone else we get to experience nobility.

The best part is that it doesn’t take being born into nobility or buying your way in.

Anyone can give. We can all be made better by the giving of ourselves.

Rich or poor. It doesn’t matter, all that matters is the heart of the giver.

Choose nobility for you and your family. Be generous with your resources.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Grit is one of Mavidea’s values.

Since we starting using it I have noticed more and more speakers and authors talking about grit (I’m 63% sure it is because they are trying to copy how cool we are).

At last week’s Global Leadership Summit, it was one of the first subjects discussed.

Bill Hybels said “the archenemy of grit is ease.”

We grow and develop grit during times of adversity, not when everything is going easy.

In fact, since most of our goals and long term aspirations likely require a certain amount of grit and growth, we need to seek out some adversity and uneasiness.

So, today your job is to make things a little uncomfortable for yourself.

Get outside your comfort zone.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"Treat your body like a temple, not a woodshed. The mind and body work together. Your body needs to be a good support system for the mind and spirit. If you take good care of it, your body can take you wherever you want to go, with the power and strength and energy and vitality you will need to get there." — Jim Rohn

Like a lot of Jim Rohn’s wisdom and quotes this one falls into the category of a reminder.

We all know that we should treat our body’s well.

Maybe I don’t treat mine like the wood shed, but temple would be a stretch.

Maybe when you read this quote, some aspect of your health came to mind.

Maybe your weight.

Maybe your diet.

Maybe exercise.

Maybe a bad habit you need to kick.

Whatever it was, pick one thing and make today the day you get started making your body a temple.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/l-gQLqv9f4o

No better way to start a Monday than with a solid pep talk.

Enjoy.

Make it a great day.

Jake