“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as 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.

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. day, I thought I would share one of his quotes I think of frequently.

This quote is my reminder of two important to dos.

First, to look for the little things to do for others. I don’t sweep streets, but there are little things that I can do every day to be of service to others. It doesn’t matter how small. Any time you have that moment of “what’s next”, try to think of something to do for someone else.

Second, no matter how small something seems, do it with a positive attitude and the best you can.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Yesterday was Meaghan’s (my wife) birthday. It was a great day to remember how lucky I am to have married such a beautiful younger woman.

But it also reminded me of something that maybe we can all learn from Meaghan.

For those of you that don’t know, Meaghan is retired (meaning she stays home with our kids).

Since very early on in our marriage (and probably before that) she knew she was going to stay home with the kids. She just knew she was meant to raise kids.

There is a lot of power in knowing something like that.

If someone had offered her a high paying job, she would have said no.

It wouldn’t matter what the offer was, she knew what she should be doing.

That kind of clarity is hard to come by. Most of us spend our time bouncing from idea to idea, unsure of our path.

So, what is the lesson here (besides “be more like Meaghan”)?

If you don’t have that kind of clarity around your purpose, get it.

Talk to others and ask them.

Read books and see what they have to say.

Spend some quiet time searching for the answer.

It will be worth it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/19/the-17-most-awesome-lego_n_468640.html

I had the thought the other day that your vocabulary is the Legos of your mind.

By putting together different words and concepts you can create a mental image of your current reality and a picture of the future realities that are possible for you.

Jim Rohn uses this concept to explain why many end up in prison. Their vocabulary and view on the world are so small that they end up in a cell the size of their vision.

Similar to Legos, the possibilities for combination and building something unique are almost endless.

So, what to do about it?

Read. Listen. Watch.

The opportunities to learn and grow your vocabulary are out there. Seek and ye shall find.

Having trouble with creating a vision for your life?

Having a hard time seeing how you can get past an obstacle?

Having difficulty seeing the new you after the achievement of your goals?

Go find the words. Go find the building blocks.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

I came home last night and Meaghan had written this on the chalkboard in our kitchen (just imagine it as being super cute and you will get the mental picture).

Above the quote she had written “2014” (with a heart for the 0, again, imagine it as super cute).

What a great way to start the year.

What if every day of the year got better than the last?

What if this year was a year of continual improvement and happiness for you?

What if you had the choice?

Choose wisely.

Make it a great day.

Jake

When you realize your time is limited, you begin to limit your time. – Andy Stanley

In a recent podcast from Andy he was talking about managing our time and priorities and this line stuck out to me.

Only when we see the hourglass and the sand running through it do we start to look at our time differently.

The priorities become clearer, the time wasters more obvious and those that are most important more important.

Spend a moment today and go through the mental exercise of picturing an hour glass with sand running through it and then imagine that represents your life. Your days are numbered.

The only question left is: what are you going to do with them?

Make it a great day.

Jake

http://youtu.be/7l_tFa4-5OM

We are at the point where it is easy to lose steam on your New Year’s resolutions and give up.

This reminded of the video above from Finding Nemo where Dory explains that they need to “just keep swimming.”

When you lose focus or enthusiasm towards your goals, just keep swimming.

Lost the first 5 pounds, but the second isn’t coming as easy. Just keep swimming.

Made it through the first week or so on your new budget, but now that new cool thing is coming out. Just keep swimming.

Whatever your goal, just keep swimming.

Make it a great day.

Jake