What I Am...

When Meaghan showed me this the other day, I knew it would be the Friday Morning Toe Tapper….



Seriously, spend the 1:52 to listen to this, if it doesn’t make you smile you might want to crawl back into bed. I listened to it like 4 times…

What I Am.

Think about that. Part of being happy is realizing who you are and what you are capable of becoming.

Think about yourself while he sings the song, do any of the below fit you? I guarantee at least one does.

What I am is musical.
What I am is thoughtful.
What I am is friendly.
What I am is super.
What I am is magical.
What I am is smart.

And those are just the ones I caught…

There is only one you. It is up to you to try. It is up to you to reach high. You can do it. You can get stronger, smarter, faster, better; whatever you want.

Be the best you you can be.

Make it a great Friday and have a great weekend.

Jake

Decorations for Our Mirror

Today’s daily attitude email is going to be more like “today’s random goal setting idea/tip”.

While listening to Jeffrey Gitomer’s Sales Bible in the car, I heard his post it note goal setting technique again (it is also in the Customer Satisfaction is Worthless book).

But this time I decided that I am going to give it a try.

And in the interest of maybe helping a few of you and in holding myself accountable, I thought I would send it out as a DAE.

The idea (as I remember it) is to come up with 3 short term goals and 3 longer term goals.

After coming up with these goals, you write them down on post it notes and place those post it notes on your bathroom mirror.

As long as the goals are on your bathroom mirror you look at them every morning and night and read them out loud to yourself.

You do this until you have completed them.

Once you have completed one you take that post it note and put it on your bedroom mirror (and replace it with another short or longer term goal).

The idea is that you will (slowly but surely) move your goals on to your bedroom mirror and end up with a ton of accomplished goals on it. By doing this, you will get affirmation about yourself and your accomplished goals.

So, I sat down last night and typed up this email and wrote out my post it notes.
They are:
Read a book on parenting
Read a book on communication skills
Run 26.2 miles (total) before fly to Ireland
Increase personal income by 50%
Run a mile in less than 6 minutes
Double my monthly savings amount

Hopefully this helps you a little as you look to accomplish your goals.

Jake

{he really did this. there are six post-it notes on the frame of our bathroom mirror. last night i was in the shower and jake started talking. i kept saying "what?" (quietly because the girls were sleeping), but he just kept talking. i finally poked my head out and said "are you talking to me, or yourself?!" and he replied, "just reading my goals out loud!" :-) }

Short-term Comfort vs. Long-term Rewards

"There are risks and costs of a program of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction."
John F Kennedy

I was reading "Getting Things Done" (I would highly recommend it) and came across the above quote and thought that it belongs in a daily attitude email.

I was thinking that the perceived risk and costs are the reasons that most people don't get started on their goals.

They think:

What if I fail....

A gym membership is expensive, what if I don't use it....

What might other people think....

I'll get started tomorrow...

Short term all these feel comfortable. It feels comfortable not to add something to your seemingly overflowing plate. It feels comfortable not to challenge yourself. It feels really uncomfortable to fail.

But I think JFK had it right. The long term consequences of these short term decisions are not even close to worth the short term "gains". I put gains in quotes because I believe that with a little practice and persistence, meeting your goals and challenging yourself becomes even more comfortable.

Think about some of the habits you have right now that you would like to change. Take a risk. Make a change to one of them today.

Replace a bad habit with a good one today and start the process of reaping those long term rewards that far outweigh the short term comfort.

Jake

Major Factor

Hard work. We all know that a major factor in being successful is hard work.

Mavidea has the hardest working staff, hands down. My favorite thing to notice lately is how many green lights there are in OCS when I am working at odd hours.

It never fails that whenever I log in there is another Mavidean out there with a green light in OCS. I am writing this at 8pm on a Monday night and there are 3 other green lights right now.

And this is just Jake and my hours….I know there are others that are on later at night or earlier in the morning than me.

Why do I think we are such hard workers?

Why are we on the computer at odd hours?

Ok….I’ll admit it….a small portion of this is probably just the result of a small bit of insanity.

But the major reason (at least for me) is that it isn’t hard. It’s easy.

It’s easy to put in a little extra work when you work with such an awesome group of people.

It’s easy to go the extra mile when you get to help a customer.

It’s easy to read a little more if you have a burning desire to be the best you you can be.

It’s easy to log in and work on email for a few minutes when you see those other green lights.

If I haven’t said it lately, I apologize. I appreciate you. I appreciate the hard work you do. I appreciate your little green light in those odd hours. I appreciate everything you do for our company and our customers. Without you we wouldn’t have a business this awesome.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Important as Bathing

{you mean most people bathe every day? hmph.}

“People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing. That's why we recommend it daily.” Zig Ziglar

I heard this on the Zig Ziglar audio book I listened to a while back and then saw it again recently and thought I would send it out.

This is definitely a lesson that I have taken to heart since I have started writing these emails. Motivating yourself to improve and make changes isn’t just a one time thing that happens when you read a particular book or hear a particular audio recording.

It is a way of life.

It is a constant process where consistent and focused effort needs to be applied.

I love that Zig compares it to bathing. Something we all do (I hope) every day without even thinking.

Think about all the things you do in your life without even thinking. Think about whether they really belong there or not.

Automatically turn on the TV when you walk in when you get home?

Automatically grab something unhealthy to eat when you sit down to watch TV?

Grab something crappy for breakfast on your way out in the morning without thinking about it?

For me, focusing on my attitude and motivation every day by writing this email has been a huge change in my life. It has made a difference in the choices I make every day.

Find a way to motivate yourself every day. It is as important as bathing. Start thinking about motivation and attitude as just as important as bathing, shaving, brushing your teeth and make it a priority.

Make it a great week.

Jake

Footprints

Below is a short story/poem that I think of often as I go about my life. You have probably seen it before on a poster, it is called "Footsteps in the Sand".

Besides the obvious religious and spiritual aspects of this story, I always think there are important lessons learned for other relationships in our lives.

For the other relationships in our lives, there are two sides to the coin.

One side is remembering that at different points in your life others will pick you up when you are down. It could be as simple as a coworker taking a couple of tasks off your plate while you are out sick for a day or two. Or it could be as profound as a loved one sitting by your bedside as you go through major surgery or the death of a loved one.

We must count our blessings for the people in our lives that are willing to pick us up when we are down. We must guard these relationships closely and not let little things get in the way of the important relationships we have and should cherish.

The other side of the coin is being the person who lifts someone else up. Whether it is picking up a little extra work at the office because someone is sick or being at someone's bedside at a time of dire need, we need to be there for the loved ones in our lives.

The funny thing about being there for others is that it is usually the little things that really matter. It usually doesn't require some monumental sacrifice on our part. It is usually as simple as a kind word, a hug, even just a smile. We must be that positive force in the lives of those we encounter so that we can lift them up during those hard times.

Thank you to those of you who have picked me up over the years, it has not gone unnoticed.

Make it a great day.

Jake


One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,
"You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?"
The Lord replied, "The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you."

Mary Stevenson, 1936

R-E-S-P-E-C-T (for the President)

Today's is Presidents Day. I had another email in mind and was going to just skip writing something about Presidents Day until I thought about it for a few minutes.

First, I thought about how for most people I know, Presidents Day is more of a nuisance holiday. The stores are pushing sales, the kids are out of school and parents still have to work, and the President is someone who gets made fun of on Saturday Night Llive.

But after those thoughts passed, I began thinking of all the great men that have served as President of the United States. Men who blazed trails and helped our country go from a third world country to the leader of the free world. Men who stood up to evil in many forms over the centuries. Men who made impossible decisions under dire circumstances. Men who made an entire nation believe in the good of people and our ability to help others.

I began thinking of FDR, Lincoln, JFK, George Washington, and all the others that immediately pop into your head when you hear President.

When I decided I wanted to write something was when I started thinking of all the rest of the Presidents. Regardless of your politics, you have to have a tremendous amount of respect for the President.

The amount of pressure that this person is under at any given point is almost mind boggling to think about. Just the decision about how many and where to deploy our troops would be enough to make any normal person crumble.

I have personally made a concerted effort to be less cynical about politics lately. Sure, it is an imperfect system of imperfect individuals and a lot of the actions taken are less than ideal (to say the least). Part of being less cynical about politics is a conscious decision to respect the office of President of the United States, regardless of who is in office.

Remember today to, at the very least, be thankful to live in such a great country with a President that is doing his best for all of us, every day.

Jake