JD – Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. – Theodore Roosevelt

MS – In proportion as man rises in the intellectual scale, does he give prominence to mental and moral enjoyments in conjunction with his daily meals. -H Clay Trumbull

EB – Yeah, thanks for being a team player.

JW – For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. – James 3:16

JR* – Love is the greatest refreshment in life. – Pablo Picasso

What if we enjoyed our intellectual and personal growth as much as we did our meals?

Jim Rohn says “Miss a meal, but don’t miss a book!”

I’ve always been a curious fellow and always looking to grow and learn, but I don’t know that I’ve ever missed a meal….

Maybe we don’t need to miss a meal.

Maybe if we could just desire learning and growth as we do that next meal.

I encourage you to find something inspirational and challenging enough to read that you look forward to it in this way.

And then share that with all of us.

If you’ve already had a similar experience with a book, send everyone the title to jumpstart them on their way.

Make it a great day.

Jake

We must replace the fear of the unknown with curiosity about the future.

I think our tendency is to look at all of the what if’s of life through a risk-reducing /risk-averse mindset.

To start, maybe removing all of our fears is unrealistic. Maybe we just add in some curiosity.

Think about those situations where you have some apprehension about the future.

Now add in a little curiosity. A little bit of “I can’t wait to see how this goes….”

Each day and each new challenge is an opportunity to learn and grow if we are curious or stand back and fret if we are fearful.

Be a little more curious today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/VcjzHMhBtf0

Don’t stop believing.

We all reach a point with our goals and vision of the future where we are tempted to stop believing in our picture of the future.

Don’t.

Keep picturing that better future.

Write it down (again if you need to).

Rekindle those feelings you first had when you set the goal.

Get your mind back into that state of mind you had when first had when you were fired up and just getting started.

Make it a great day.

Jake

We must give more in order to get more. It is the generous giving of ourselves that produces the generous harvest. – Orison Swett Marden

As you think about the harvest you would like in your life, consider this question:

Are you giving enough?

Make it a great day.

Jake

You can’t plow a field by turning it over in your mind. – Gordon B. Hinckley

I tend to over analyze things.

Trying to think about all the angles, what is the best way to do something, etc.

But this thoughtfulness must be balanced with action.

As I get a little older, I am beginning to think that you don’t want to balance these two out.

There must be a bias towards action.

The scale needs to tip towards doing something.

Is there something in your life that you are over-thinking?

Do you need to take some action today?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light. – Albus Dumbledore

Maggie has been reading a few of the Harry Potter books lately and so we watched some of the first movie over the weekend.

The books and movies do such a great job of taking you into a different world.

But they also do a great job of weaving in universal truths like the one from the quote above.

We can take inspiration and encouragement from the Harry Potter series.

If you aren’t already, I would encourage you to pick up a fiction book or book series.

Learn lessons and hone your personal philosophy by comparing it to the imagined world you are reading about.

Weigh their choices as if they were your own.

Face their fears as if they were yours.

Be inspired by their success.

Make it a great day.

Jake

It’s so hard when I have to, and so easy when I want to. ~Annie Gottlier

Attitude is such an important determinate of where we end up in life.

Lately, the example that pops into my head is ice cream vs exercise.

Imagine two different possible attitudes.

The first one says:

I had a bad day, I need some ice cream.

I had a great day, let’s celebrate with some ice cream.

I’ll exercise tomorrow.

I don’t have the energy to exercise.

The second one says:

I had a bad day, I need to go for a run.

I had a great day, let’s all go for a walk.

I don’t need any ice cream today.

If I eat some ice cream I’ll just feel bad later.

Before everyone gets mad at me, I’m not trying to make anyone feel bad for eating ice cream. Eat all the ice cream you want.

My thought has been more about how we much of an impact if we could turn some of the “have to’s” of life into “want to’s”.

What if we could feel as good about exercising as we do about eating ice cream?

What if could feel as good about saving as we do about spending?

What if we could feel as good about reading and studying as we do about watching TV?

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/N_lCmBvYMRs

Last week I asked for “What is your favorite song and why?”

Someone sent me this one and said “she was so proud to be an American”.

We aren’t a perfect nation and we have our faults, but I am proud to be an American too and this song reminded me of that once again. Maybe it will do the same for you.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Saying No.

I assume that at some point we have all struggled with this one in one way or another.

It’s never fun to tell someone or something no.

Most of us are nice people and like to say yes whenever possible.

We think we can do it all and squeeze it in, but then find ourselves stretched too thin.

The key is to make our no’s worth it.

Having meaningful goals and a powerful purpose makes saying no a lot easier and totally worth it.

It’s worth it to say no to ice cream when you are fired up about the new you.

It’s worth it to say no to that new committee when you are completely committed to the one you are on.

It’s worth it to say no to watching more TV when you are really excited about exercising.

Make your no’s worth it. Turn them into something meaningful.

Make it a great day.

Jake

JW: Why does God listen to us? – Zach Warmbir

JD – It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary. – Winston Churchill

EB* – If you’re going through hell, keep going. – Winston Churchill

MS* – There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. – 1 John 4:18

Is it a little weird that 1 John 4:18 reminded me of Star Wars?

I’m an amateur on all things Star Wars, but it seemed to me that one of the themes involved was just what is described in the Bible.

Somehow, we must create a loving heart that is not driven by fear.

In the movies, the characters are faced with their fears and those that are able to conquer them and replace them with love end up being Jedi and those that can’t end up on the “Dark Side” (by the way, seems to me that if your side is ever called the “Dark Side”, you might want to rethink things).

As we contemplate this verse and the lessons from Star Wars, we can think about our own fears.

What are we really afraid of?

What would love require of us in this scenario?

Make it a great day.

Jake