The sky has never been the limit. We are our own limits. It’s then about breaking our personal limits and outgrowing ourselves to live our best lives.

I read this quote recently and thought of the process a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly.

We are all going through a similar process all the time. Changing and growing into something new and different every day.

That’s why goal setting and planning your future is so important.

If you don’t take the time to sit down and write it out, who knows what you will be growing and changing into?

That’s the difference between a caterpillar and a person.

The caterpillar doesn’t get to pick what it changes into, a person does.

What are you changing into?

Make it a great day.

Jake

BAD – No matter what it is, no matter what your job is, the more relaxed you are, the better you are. Bill Murray

JD – I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific. -Lily Tomlin

JW – Forgive and you forget. Forget what you forgave. – Edwin Spinks

EB – There are no traffic jams on the extra mile. – Zig Ziglar

MS – Pleasant words are as a honeycomb. Sweet to the soul and health to the bones. – King Solomon

The Bill Murray quote reminded me of one of life’s greatest challenges.

We have to care so much that we are driven to results without allowing that care to swamp us with worry.

We must desire a better future enough to drive action without letting ourselves get caught up in only focusing on the future.

We must have an internal fire so bright nothing can stop us without letting that fire overheat us.

Is there an area of your life where you are overthinking it and not making progress?

Is there an area of your life where you spend more time worrying and thinking about than you do making progress towards it?

Relax. Let go of your worries and concerns. Let yourself make progress.

Make it a great day.

Jake

It was only a sunny smile,

And little it cost in the giving,

But like morning light it scattered

The night and made the day worth living

F Scott Fitzgerald

What a great little poem about smiling.

Make it a point to smile more today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that things are difficult. – Seneca

Sometimes we make things much harder on ourselves than we need to.

We play it safe.

We say yes to too many requests.

We say yes to too much stuff.

We hold back when we should push forward.

I think that is what this quote is getting at.

If we dare and embrace the unknown and the challenging, we open ourselves up to a greater and more fulfilling life.

Is there a chance in your life that needs taking?

Do you need to set your sights a little higher?

Go for it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

One of the good things about having kids is all the waiting. It’s a great lesson in patience.

You are always waiting on them to do something, but it gives you a chance to pause and look around a little.

When I was waiting on Annie in the shower I had the chance to look around at our old house and started thinking of all the memories it must hold.

Children’s first teeth (and their first lost teeth).

New babies and new parents.

Little kids and big kids.

Good times and bad times.

I was reminded that we are adding to those memories right now.

A simple idea came to mind. If we are always adding to the memories somewhere we might as well make it a good one.

We can leave each place we visit better than we found it by leaving a great memory.

We can leave each person we interact with better than we found them by leaving them with a great memory.

Make it a great day.

Jake

EB – I’ll go last.

JD – If you don’t change direction, you may end up where you are heading. – Lao Tzu

JW – Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death. – Omar Bradley

MS – True friends know, accept, love, serve and celebrate one another. – Bill Hybels

BAD – Never cut what you can untie. – Joseph Joubert

I liked the quote on bravery.

I have heard that courage is not just a value on its own, it is the testing of all the values at some important point.

We all have moments when our goals, values and priorities will be tested.

Standing up to these tests requires bravery, even when scared half to death.

And you don’t have to be in the army to be scared half to death.

You can be scared half to death of having your heart broken.

You can be scared half to death of succeeding.

You can be scared half to death of change.

Is there an area of your life that needs a little more bravery?

If so, I have a little secret to tell you (as long as you won’t tell anyone else)….

You can do it.

You are brave enough.

You are strong enough.

You can and will push through.

As soon as you decide to.

Ready? Ok, get started.

Make it a great weekend.

Jake

http://youtu.be/x1LZVmn3p3o

Hope this is good for a laugh from most of you.

Remember to not take yourself or life too seriously today.

Don’t forget to laugh and goof off a little.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

This famous poem by Robert Frost is a great reminder as we start another day. As we begin anew and look at the paths available to us as we go about our day.

Today, take the path less traveled.

Change things up. Even if it is a tiny change.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Yesterday was the official first day of fall.

Here in Illinois the farmers are starting to get out into the fields to start the process of the harvest.

Jim Rohn calls it the ultimate in maturity to reap in the fall without complaint if we haven’t done well and with gratitude if you have done well.

We all are at different stages with different parts of our lives.

In some areas we are planting.

In some areas it’s winter.

In some areas we are tending our garden for the summer.

In some areas we are reaping what we have sown.

If we are in the season of reaping in an area of life, we must do so in a mature manner, no matter the yield.

It’s also a time to understand what results from how we planted and cared for the different areas of our life. To look at the fruit of our life to see if maybe we could do something different next time.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. – John Wooden

Today’s challenge: make the best of the way things turn out.

Regardless of what happens today, make the best of it.

Make it a great day.

Jake