https://youtu.be/UhcI-HXicwY?si=IOdMyabxfklRyBVo

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart.

Of all the “shortcuts” to happiness and “tips to a better life” that we see – gratitude is number one in my book.

The holiday season is a great time to start this new habit.

Maybe start a gratitude journal.

Maybe send a text a day to someone you are thankful for.

Maybe make a few calls to tell someone you are thankful for them.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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Resending this daily attitude email from last year….

If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share. – W. Clement Stone

Being thankful is a great place to start because it reminds us that we have something to give.

We weren’t put on this earth to consume all that we can and be thankful along the way. We were made to give.

If you are thankful for all the love in your life, show it and share it.

If you are lucky enough to have a little extra money, give it away.

If you have some free time, find a place to volunteer.

There are many ways we can share this holiday season.

A great place to start is that list you think of over Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. As you think of what you are thankful for, take a moment to think of a way to share whatever it is you are thinking about.

Our real opportunity to change this place forever lies in our ability to share and give the best of ourselves with others.

What are you going to share?

Make it a great day.

Jake

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The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up. – Paul Valery

And get to work!

Anything worth dreaming about will require real work at some point.

We must put in disciplined effort to make progress towards our dreams.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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Rule 2: Take care of yourself, the way you would take care of someone else. – Jordan Peterson from “The 12 Rules for Life”.

Imagine if there was some crazy new system where you were actually in charge of someone else’s life.

You got to choose how they spent their time, what they ate, whether they exercised, their inner monologue, all of it.

How would treat that person?

What would do to make sure that person was happy?

Now imagine you loved that person. That you would do anything to make them happy. Not happy like the commercials say we should be. But full of joy.

That person is you.

You are supposed to take care of yourself. Jim Rohn calls it “enlightened self interest”. You take care of yourself so that you can make the greatest impact.

You are worth it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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"To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness." —Bertrand Russell

Doing without is a skill I’m trying to work on.

To actively put myself in a position to do with some stuff and comfort.

I’m not that good at it so far, but it seems like something worth getting better at.

What’s something you could do without this week?

What’s something that subtracting it from your life would be adding happiness?

Got any tips on doing without?

Make it a great day.

Jake

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A toe tapper from a few years ago on Veterans Day.

https://youtu.be/bWcASV2sey0

Last night I watched the last of the “Band of Brothers” HBO series.

The last line really stuck with me.

They ended with interviews with the actual veterans.

The last one told the story of his grandson asking if he had been a hero in the war.

“No, but I served with some.”

Wow. It takes a lot of character to conduct yourself like that.

We should all be proud of the legacy left by the great men and women in our armed forces and those who are currently serving.

Thank a veteran today and this weekend.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army or in an office. – Dwight Eisenhower

I think a lot of us merely think about integrity as the honesty part of the definition.

An interesting second way to define integrity is: the state of being whole and undivided.

Part of having integrity is internal. Did we do what we committed to ourselves to do.

When we don’t meet our own standards, goals or ideals we become divided somehow. It creates a source of stress inside of us.

Integrity also comes as part of our dealings with others.

Do we do the right thing?

Jim Rohn summarizes this by saying "Do what is right all of the time, no matter what the costs."

We must develop this kind of "fanatical integrity" in ourselves in order to build the successful life we want to lead.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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All the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action. – James Russell Lowell

A single lovely action.

What a great way to think about all of our little interactions throughout the day.

What if we could turn all of the little moments throughout our day into an opportunity to be loving and kind.

Ok…all might be a stretch.

Think about one you might change for the better.

The first interaction of the day with your spouse or kids.

The last interaction with a co-worker before you leave.

The good night routine with the kids or your spouse.

Pick one and change it up a little. Make it a single lovely action.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better. – Albert Camus

For those of us lucky enough to live here in America – we get to experience quite a bit of personal freedom.

And we get to see what others do with their freedom.

For some, it’s an opportunity to do the least amount possible, lie, cheat, steal and indulge selfishness and self-gratification in every way possible.

For some, it’s an opportunity to be kind, charitable, patient, compassionate, generous, and selfless in every way possible.

Freedom is the ability to choose our direction and attitude.

To take the chance to do and be better.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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Resending this email from a while back as a reminder to myself….

“Busy is the new stupid.” – Ed Baldwin

Over the years I have become more and more convinced how “busy” has become a meaningless throw away word.

Something that just gets put in the place where another word should be instead, like good or nice or stuff or like or …..

The interesting thing about this one though is that at some point a lot of us bought into it. We bought into the idea that more busy equals more better.

We fill our time (and our homes and our cars and our….) with more and more busy until we feel like we are “winning” the busy contest.

Only to find out later that we are all the same amount of busy. 24 hours passes at exactly the same rate for us as it does Bono (or someone else who you think is really important).

Today I give you permission (ignore the fact that I have no actual power over you) to let go of busy. Let go of trying to cram it all in. Decide on what is important and do that. Make a top 5 list for the day (or a top 1 list to start).

And then do it again tomorrow.

Do it enough days in a row to build a habit.

Make it a way of life.

On second thought, maybe there is a way to win the “busy” game. Stop playing it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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