Happy Thanksgiving!
Tomorrow is the official kick off of the holiday season (although I think all the retailers wants us to believe it starts with Halloween now).
One thought for everyone for tomorrow (in addition to being thankful).
Be present.
Don’t let the holiday pass by in a blur without slowing down (at least a little).
Enjoy the moments. Take a few deep breaths. Maybe even relax a little.
Make it a great day and have a great long weekend.
Jake
BAD – "I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." G.K. Chesterton
MS* – Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. – Melody Beattie
EB* – Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.- William Arthur Ward
JW – High fives for John, kids. For being awesome. – Jamie Warmbir
JD – When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude. – Gilbert K. Chesterton
In our leadership team meeting this week, Jamie shared a quick story of a store employee that went above and beyond to help him out.
High fives for John, kids.
His story reminded me of how the little things really do matter.
It really does matter that John went the extra mile to help a customer.
It really does matter that Jamie took a moment to thank him in front of his kids.
It really does matter that Jamie shared the story with his team.
Make it a great evening.
Jake
Be grateful for what you have and stop complaining – it bores everybody else, does you no good, and doesn’t solve any problems. – Zig Ziglar
Zig really hits the nail on the head here.
One of the great things about being grateful is that while you are saying or thinking a positive thought you can’t simultaneously be thinking or saying a negative. Thus, for every positive thought or word you are cancelling out the possibility for a negative one.
Zig points out three things about complaining:
1. It bores everybody else.
2. It does you no good.
3. It doesn’t solve any problems.
We all have a lot to be thankful for. Let’s choose thoughts of gratitude today.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Last chance to send a thankful song for the toe tapper and I came across this one.
“I thank you” – what a great name for a song.
If only we could hold that sentiment for more of our day, we would find ourselves having much better days.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Neal: [riding in back of pickup truck in freezing cold] What do you think the temperature is?
Del: One.
This is one of my favorite scenes from Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. It has been posted on the FaceBox a few times lately since it has been a little bit cold around here already.
It’s funny how holiday movies can set the mood for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The favorite quotes and scenes bring back memories of the past and remind us of all we have to be thankful for and happy about.
This time of year also tends to get busy. We run from place to place and from event to event.
What if we slowed down a little this year?
What if we made time for all our old favorite movies?
What if we made time for silence and prayer?
Make it a great day.
Jake
JD – We consume our tomorrows fretting about our yesterdays. – Persius
BAD – Silence is the wit of fools. – Anatole France
JW – Mistakes are the usual bridge between inexperience and wisdom. Phyllis Theraux
EB* – “Do a loony-goony dance, ‘Cross the kitchen floor, Put something silly in the world, That ain’t been there before.” – Shel Silverstein
MS* – “What does it mean to be the best? It means you have to be better than the number two guy. But what gratification is there in that? He’s a loser—that’s why he’s number two.” – Jarod Kintz
I came across the quote above from Shel Silverstein and was reminded of how cool I thought “A Light in the Attic” was when I was a kid.
What a great mental picture. Just being goofy and silly to put a fun and silly something into the world.
Next time you are alone, do something really goofy. Make yourself giggle.
Make it a great day.
Jake
“I have for many years endeavored to make this vital truth clear; and still people marvel when I tell them that I am happy. They imagine that my limitations weigh heavily upon my spirit, and chain me to the rock of despair. Yet, it seems to me, happiness has very little to do with the senses. If we make up our minds that this is a drab and purposeless universe, it will be that, and nothing else. On the other hand, if we believe that the earth is ours, and that the sun and moon hang in the sky for our delight, there will be joy upon the hills and gladness in the fields because the Artist in our souls glorifies creation. Surely, it gives dignity to life to believe that we are born into this world for noble ends, and that we have a higher destiny than can be accomplished within the narrow limits of this physical life.” ~ Helen Keller
What a great attitude.
Let this quote sink in a little.
Let it remind you to be happy regardless of the circumstances of your day.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Last Friday as we finished up signing the paperwork for the new building, the banker says something like “I am excited to see you guys get this building. I just know those Mavidea guys are going to be good stewards of this property.”
And he did this without any prompting from Erik about stewardship being one of our aspirational values.
It was a great moment of seeing how impactful our Mavidea values can be out in the marketplace and it was a great reminder of what being a steward really means.
To me, one of the most interesting ways that life appears to work is that being a good steward of something results in your being a steward of more things.
Jim Rohn talks of being faithful when the amounts are small and that is how the value starts adding up.
The small things really do matter.
Do you show up early or late?
Do you waste the little bit of extra money you have or do you invest it?
Does your house/car/stuff look better now than when you bought it?
Do our customers businesses perform better now than when they signed up?
Find something small in your life and make sure you leave it better than you found it.
Make it a great day.
Jake
I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself. – Maya Angelou
On Friday, we signed the papers for Mavidea’s new home. We still have a ways to go, but the prospect of creating a new home is exciting.
Home is a word that brings up so much emotion and feeling.
We all have a need to feel at home, whether it be in our own skin or that place where we happen to sleep at night.
We have all had those moments where a particular place started to “feel like home”.
Take a moment today to appreciate the place and people you call “home”. Give them a hug and tell them you love them. Say a prayer or word of thanks for the place itself.
And let yourself “be” home when you get there. Just enjoy the feeling of home.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art… It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival. – CS Lewis
We watched Toy Story at home and it reminded me of this quote from CS Lewis.
As I thought about this quote and the movie, I thought of it like black and white TV and movies versus those in color.
Black and white is functional. It can get the story and emotion across. It can leave you understanding the point.
But everything is so much better in color.
Friendship and other great relationships are like this.
A meal can satisfy the basic necessity of food and sustenance, but a meal with loved ones is a whole different experience entirely.
Enjoy the color in your life that is thrown off by those great relationships you have.
Make it a great day.
Jake
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