Friday Morning Toe Tapper

https://youtu.be/OBwS66EBUcY

Last night I watched the last of the “Band of Brothers” HBO series.

The last line really stuck with me.

They ended with interviews with the actual veterans.

The last one told the story of his grandson asking if he had been a hero in the war.

“No, but I served with some.”

Wow. It takes a lot of character to conduct yourself like that.

We should all be proud of the legacy left by the great men and women in our armed forces and those who are currently serving.

Thank a veteran today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 8 6 15

Today is the first day of the Global Leadership Summit.

To me, the coolest part of this event each year is the reminder of how important humility is.

The event is a gathering of leaders all over the planet that are listening in on content designed to improve their leadership.

We will all be getting together with the realization that we don’t know everything and that we could use some help.

Admitting this leads to growth and progress.

Is there an area of your life where you need to admit you don’t have all the answers?

Is there something nagging on you that needs the help of someone else to move forward.

If there is, have the humility to admit you don’t have all the answers and that you could use some help.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 8 5 15

Below is Rudyard Kipling’s “If”.

Quite a long and difficult list.

But quite the payoff in the end as well.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Rudyard Kipling – “If”

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Daily Attitude Email 8 3 15

I think that we all do heroic things, but hero is not a noun, it’s a verb. – Robert Downey, Jr.

I have been watching the “Band of Brothers” show lately after reading the book last year.

The book and the show are great reminders of the heroes that fought on our behalf.

They show over and over again what it means to be a hero. They show what an act of heroism looks like.

And hopefully they inspire heroic acts among us now.

I liked the quote above because it reminds us that we can all do little heroic things every day.

We can be the dad who after a long day still takes the kids out to play.

We can be the mom who says “no” when it would be much easier to say “yes”.

We can be the coworker who is there when someone needs a shoulder to lean on.

We can be the hero.

Think about that. Who doesn’t want to get up out of bed every morning and be the hero?

Lucky you, today’s your chance.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Friday Morning Toe Tapper

https://youtu.be/c7goifK_2qY

Heading home from Dallas later today and figured I would send out a good song about “home”.

No matter how good of trip you have, how long you have been away or where “home” is, it is always great to be heading home.

Home is one of those places that is easy to take for granted.

To complain about a little.

To wish away.

But a little time away always leaves me wishing to be back.

Make it a point to enjoy “home” today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 7 30 15

I hope everyone that is reading this is having a really good day. And if you are not, just know that in every new minute that passes you have an opportunity to change that. – Gillian Anderson

What a great reminder.

Every minute that passes is an opportunity to improve your day.

We choose.

We get to pick.

For me, it’s hard to get this one right 100% of the time. I have come to accept that my goal is just to work to increase the percentages.

To make small improvements each day to the ratio of positive to negative.

To remember to look at each moment as that opportunity to do better.

You may be on the other side of this one, with it all figured out. If so, maybe take the opportunity to help someone around you to improve their day.

You could probably help someone out even if you didn’t have it all figured out. Probably worth a shot.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 7 29 15

We in this country, in this generation, are — by destiny rather than choice — the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility — that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint — and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of “peace on earth, good will toward men.” That must always be our goal — and the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength. For as was written long ago: “except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” – John Fitzgerald Kennedy

While in Dallas this time I wanted to make sure it made it to see the Texas Book Depository and the scene of that fateful event.

Near the museum they had the excerpt above. It was intended to be part of a speech the President was to give later that same day.

His words seem just as powerful today as I am sure they would have during that time.

We are tasked with a great responsibility.

To protect and build upon the progress of previous generations. To take the sacrifices made by others and turn them into a better and brighter future.

Words like these are a great reminder.

That we have something to work toward. That what we do matters and adds to an already great legacy.

Be inspired as you go about your day today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 7 28 15

Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn’t know it so it goes on flying anyway. – Mary Kay Ash

Every time I fly somewhere I spend at least a few minutes mesmerized by the whole thing.

A big giant airplane made of metal full of people. And not just one, but a whole system involving flying thousands of airplanes and millions of people. Every day.

Maybe it is just that I don’t really fly that often, but it always amazes me.

It makes me think of all that we are capable of that we haven’t even tried yet.

So many people would have thought our current system of flying from place to place unthinkable not that long ago.

What else is out there that we are going to be doing next?

What impossible feat is going to be commonplace a hundred years from now?

What are you capable of that you haven’t even thought of yet?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Daily Attitude Email 7 27 15

There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self. – Ernest Hemingway

Am I getting better or getting worse?

Was today an improvement or a setback?

Improvement or decline?

Imagine the power of asking yourself these questions versus comparing yourself to your neighbors.

I especially like the simplicity of this.

We can make things overly complicated when we seek out what others have, when we seek to live the lives of others.

Instead, pursuing our better self each and every day brings with it clarity and simplicity.

Let’s all get better today.

Make it a great day.

Jake