Quality is everyone’s responsibility. – W. Edwards Deming

Good thought here. As a business, the idea is easy but the application is a little more complicated.

It’s easy to go about our day focused on “my stuff”. Letting your own goals and work become your only focus.

Instead – the ultimate quality of what is delivered is everyone’s job – together.

As a team better results become possible.

As long as everyone takes responsibility.

I believe this also works at home and in our relationships. Quality is everyone’s responsibility.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

Resending this daily attitude from a few years ago. This prayer seems particularly relevant given the tenor of the current election cycle.

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.

St. Francis of Assisi

Meaghan has this hanging in the office at home where I was working yesterday.

I had the thought, “What if I could really keep this thought in my heart? What if I could actually make this my priority each day?”

It’s easier to spend the day thinking about yourself.

Our own needs and desires are so close and powerful, they are hard to ignore.

This prayer reminds me that true peace, joy, love and happiness happens when I can retrain myself to focus instead on others.

Our opportunities for greatness lie in our ability to serve and love others.

I believe this more and more every day.

I fail at this every day as well, but I’m getting better.

My challenge for you today is to read this prayer out loud to yourself. Then to move on to your day with as much of a focus on others as you can muster. Then try to do better tomorrow.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more. – Jonas Salk

Such a great way to look at this.

When we do work and life well, we are rewarded with the opportunity to do and be more.

The goal is to be of more service.

How can you be of more service today?

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – I think the other little secret here is that joy lies on the other side of service with love. When we combine the two, we find joy.

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

Nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time. – Theodore Roosevelt

Our time is a precious asset.

To be spent wisely.

It’s so easy to waste time. To let little trivialities of life get more than their fair share of your time and attention.

A simple solution is to schedule the important stuff.

Pick something important – schedule it this week.

Don’t let something less important get in the way.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

https://youtu.be/DykVJl6wr_4?si=eAACm8FL6FXPr9Tg

Last night was Bourbon and Broncos at our little group of companies.

Every time we have any kind of event I feel so grateful for the great team of people I get to work with.

Everyone played some part in making it a great event.

We all had fun helping and doing the best we can.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously. – Henry Kissinger

I heard about a study once to see how people would buy jelly under different circumstances. The first one was an entire aisle of many different kinds. The next option was just a few choices that were very straightforward. People bought more jelly in the second scenario.

In 2024 we are bombarded with options. We can buy so many different kinds of jelly that we just walk away confused and don’t buy anything.

When we limit our field of options – choices and priorities become clearer.

The lesson for our lives is to simplify our options whenever possible.

I’m convinced most people would be at least 16.2% happier if they could cut the number of choices they have to make in a day by at least 47.6%.

What can you cut out?

What will you be better off without?

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

We’ve all heard the analogy of looking in the rear view mirror vs looking through the windshield.

Life is meant to be lived moving forward.

Our rear view mirror represents looking at our past.

The windshield represents looking forward.

The rear view mirror is small and is meant for short glimpses that lead to adjustments.

The windshield is where most of our driving should occur. It’s large and represents all of the possibilities and choices ahead of us.

Sometimes we need to back up in order to move forward – requiring a concentrated review of the rearview mirror.

But it’s only meant to be used sparingly.

Which one do you spend the most time looking at?

Where does your focus lie?

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much. – Blaise Pascal

Kindness is such an underrated idea.

Kindness and niceness are basically super powers.

They have the power to both lift up the person receiving and the person giving.

They can change the whole dynamic in a relationship.

They are the glue that holds together our relationships.

And they really aren’t that hard.

For most of us, it’s probably as much about developing the habit. The habit of being kind and nice.

I know you already know all this (like every one of my emails) – it’s a reminder.

Consider yourself reminded!

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

Change before you have to. – Jack Welch

We’ve all heard the story of someone who had to make extreme changes because they had to.

The heart attack patient that has to make drastic life changes in order to stay alive.

The husband who has to make big sacrifices at work now after not paying enough attention to his family all those years.

The retiree who has to make difficult decisions now because of a lack of forethought when they were younger.

Cautionary tales, to be sure.

I’ve also heard this idea phrased as choose your hard.

It’s hard to eat right and exercise, but it’s also hard to live chronic health problems.

It’s hard to balance work and family, but it’s harder to come back from a life out of balance.

It’s hard to budget and plan out our money, but it’s harder to live on less because you have to.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

https://youtu.be/lR1Hk0FVi_k?si=foQaeyH9veep5TnF

Apparently this was shot, sung and created during quarantine during the pandemic.

It seems just as appropriate during the election cycle.

We are in this together.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.