CablesAndKits Blog

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Archives for April 2021

CK Daily – 4.30.2021

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In This Issue: Cisco 3650 Series 24 Port Switch | Friday Encouragement | News to Start Your Day

Can you actually believe tomorrow is May 1st?! Us either. Today is quite the day for national holidays! It’s National Raisin Day, National Oatmeal Cookie Day, National Hairball Awareness Day, National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, and the list goes on! Which one are you celebrating today? 

The CK Daily – Looking back or looking forward?

It’s Friday, so it’s time to queue up your favorite Friday song!

I’m looking forward to the activities we have planned for this weekend. My oldest daughter (who is twelve) loves to fish. Anytime she has an opportunity to go fishing, she’ll go, and I’m looking forward to spending the time with her.

 I think back to the time spent with my parents growing up and how much of a blessing that was. Fishing was one of those activities that we did together. Now rather than yearn for the past, I focus on creating memories with my family that I know they’ll be able to carry forward and share with others one day.   What are some activities that you did growing up and that you’re passing along to your family?

Chris 

Product Spotlights & Updates:

Happy Switchday! It’s a made-up term that we created to celebrate the transition between the weekday and the weekend! It’s also known as Friday and boy do we have a Switch to spotlight for you! The WS-C3650-24TD-S is a more than capable non-PoE switch with a boatload of features including dual redundant fans, 4GB of RAM, 2GB of Flash, optional stacking capability, switching capacity of 92 Gbps, and 2-gigabit uplinks. 

This switch allows for full wired and wireless junction on a single multilayer switch platform. The 3650 series was designed to work hand in hand with the Cisco StackWise-160 technology. StackWise-160 gives the user the needed expandability when they want it and also lowers the initial cost of ownership when compared to other switches with stack bandwidth reaching 160 Gbps. 

Cisco’s new Unified Access Data Plane (UADP) application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) powers the switch and enables uniform wired-wireless policy enforcement, application visibility, flexibility, and application optimization. Did we mention that this switch is on sale too? 42% off retail! Hurry and get one while supplies last!

Be a Super Hero – No Cape Required from Jon Gordon

Today’s Friday Encouragement is from the Jon Gordon Blog.

When Superman took off his Superman outfit who was he?

When I ask audiences this question most people say Clark Kent but the answer is, he was still Superman. It didn’t matter what clothes he was wearing. He was still Superman on the inside. His strength came not from the uniform he wore but from the power within.

The same goes for you and me.

Your power does not come from your job, uniform, career, status, circumstance, fame, or label people give you. Your power comes from your heart, soul, spirit, passion, and love that exists inside you and you are more powerful than you think.

You are not just human. You are superhuman.

If you don’t feel powerful it’s because you have come to believe the illusion and lie that outside circumstances have power over you. You have forgotten the truth that you create your world from the inside-out.

You don’t realize the power you possess. It’s as if you have been given the power of superman or wonder woman but are living the life of Clark Kent or Diana Prince instead.

But deep down you know the truth. It’s why these words resonate with you. It’s why so many love superhero movies. You know you were made for more and there is more within you.

You have been given superhuman power and you are meant to use it. Not just to create your life but also to help others.

Like all superheroes you have been given the greatest power in the universe. The power to make a difference in the life of another human being. You were made with a superpower to empower others.

You don’t need a special suit, a title or a super hero name. You just need to tap into the love, spirit, passion, soul and purpose inside you to create your life and a better world today.

No cape required!

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

  • As of this morning, in the US, there are 6,813,287 active COVID cases, 25,641,574 have recovered and there have been 589,207 deaths. 
  • 32 players were drafted to their new home away from home last night in the NFL Draft! How do you feel about the picks? 
  • As homeowners start to prep swimming pools for the season, they will face a widespread chlorine shortage. In some parts of the country, pool supply stores have imposed quantity restrictions. In other areas, prices for chlorine tablets have already doubled from last year. A pandemic swimming pool boom created higher demand for chlorine, then a major chemical plant fire in Louisiana knocked some production offline, resulting in a shortage.
  • After three successful test flights, NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity is ready to push the envelope in the skies of the Red Planet. The small chopper has attempted its fourth flight at its Wright Brothers Field in Mars’ Jezero Crater, where it landed with NASA’s Perseverance rover, and this one aims to be its biggest and boldest yet. 
  • After months of a steady climb in vaccinations, the U.S. is experiencing its first true slowdown in the rate of daily shots. Meeting existing vaccine demand is no longer the main challenge, and states are employing strategies to addressing access and hesitancy barriers.

CK Daily – 4.29.2021

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In This Issue: 5ft Blue CAT6 Ethernet Patch Cables, Easyboot (Ferrari-style) | Apple’s Privacy Updates | News to Start Your Day

Happy National Shrimp Scampi Day! On this day, we honor the delicious dish of shrimp cooked with butter, garlic, lemon juice, and white wine. Is your mouth watering just reading that? Same here.  

The CK Daily – Where did April go?? + Coupon Code

If you are anything like me right now, you are wondering where in the world did April go???? I mean, May starts on Saturday…that is just nuts! This year is flying by. This month has been an absolute blur, but so much good stuff going on. 

I am in the house and everything is about 95% set up. I am loving this place! Moved the guest bed into the guest room last night. That was the last big piece of furniture to move. Thank goodness! Got the Green Egg set up yesterday and I am ready to start cooking on it and the weather is helping with that. Can’t wait to smoke some chicken or do a brisket on there. Looking forward to enjoying the big backyard too!

Some other awesome things going on right now have to do with work and our website. We are making some big moves to make improvements for all of you when you go to the site to shop, read articles in the learning center, or need help with something. We are working to improve our site search to help get you to what you need more quickly. We are looking to add some product recommenders to product pages and we will be improving the shopping cart and checkout areas. Most of these things have been worked on or pushed to the site this month. We are also looking at adding some awesome new products to the site over the next few months. It has been a busy month!

So as we look back through April and all that has gone on, we can look forward to an amazing May! Remember, April showers bring May flowers. With that in mind, here is a coupon to help celebrate April and jump into May:

15% OFF CableAndKits Coupon Code: REWIND

Have a good one!

Jason

Product Spotlights & Updates:

We aren’t sure about the origin of the Ferrari-style name, legend has it that Enzo Ferrari himself named this style of cable (even though Cat5 wasn’t released until 7 years after his death). We may never know where this name came from, but to avoid confusion, we decided to call it Easyboot. Why? Well because it makes it easy to grab a hold of the RJ45 end of the patch cable to remove it from a port. 

Moonboot cables, while they have their place in the world, are a pain to grab a hold of. Some of us have even had to resort to using a small screwdriver to push down the RJ45 ends in order to get it out of a port. Not so with the Easyboot, not only is it more comfortable to handle, but it looks good too! We can’t stress this enough… your fingers will thank you with our Easyboot cables! We’re astonished that these weren’t invented sooner. 

Right now the 5ft Blue Cat6 version, PC6-BL-05-EZ, is on sale and is lower than the cost of a traditional moonboot cable. In fact, all of the Easyboot cables are either the same price or lower than the Moonboot cables! Once you switch to the Easyboot you’ll forget the moonboot even existed… Make Enzo Ferrari proud and tell your friends that you have Ferrari-style cables in your network closet. 

Apple’s Privacy Updates and its Impacts on Your Facebook App

OK, iPhone owners, it’s decision time.

Apple has released updates to its device operating systems that will require apps to ask for permission to track your activity online.

Once you update to iOS 14.5 on your iPhone – or update your iPadOS – and you launch apps such as Facebook, you are likely to get some prompts asking whether you want to let the apps track you across other companies’ apps and websites.

This has been a sore spot for Facebook, as less access to such data could crimp its U.S. digital advertising business, estimated by eMarketer to be about $40 billion. Consumers should appreciate the tracking because it helps Facebook deliver better, targeted advertisements, the company says. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said data collection is excessive and could be exploited.

“The way it is going to work is that users have to ‘opt in’ to what Facebook wants,” said Patrick Moorhead, founder and president of Moor Insights & Strategy.

Consumers who opt-out of tracking will likely see fewer relevant ads and Facebook could see U.S. advertising revenue decline as much as $3 billion annually. 

To learn more about Apple’s update, check out this video! To read more about this update, check out the article from USA Today. 

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

  • As of this morning, in the US, there are 6,810,611 active COVID cases, 25,584,747 have recovered and there have been 588,337 deaths. 
  • Tonight is the first night of the NFL Draft! Who will your favorite team select! Be sure to tune in tonight at 8 pm EST to find out!
  • Meet the pumpkin toadlet, a new species of poisonous frog! This new species was discovered in the Mantiqueira Mountain range. The most obvious thing about them is that they’re colored like a hearty, delicious pumpkin soup! Check them out here!
  • Apple is on a hot streak at the moment, but it turns out they are dealing with the same microchip shortage that has snarled companies and industries around the world. This issue is impacting their supply of iPad tablets and Mac laptops and desktops. 
  • President Biden, in his first address to Congress, pitched an ambitious new government-spending plan to boost the economy, recover from the pandemic, and support families and children. 

CK Daily – 4.28.2021

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In This Issue: Premium Singlemode Duplex 9/125 Fiber Optic Cable | Learning the Chromebook Keyboard | New to Start Your Day

First off, can you believe it’s almost May?! Where has the time gone?? Second, today is National Superhero Day and we would love to hear who your favorite superhero is! 

The CK Daily – It’s All About Balance

Happy Wednesday! 

I am currently on week 3 of testing out the food meal subscription company, HelloFresh. After getting the countless amounts of marketing material, I decided to give it a try to see if it is worth the hype. The meal prep service gives easy-to-follow recipes with clear nutritional info, pre-portioned ingredients that fit our healthy lifestyle. 

My husband and I dream of a perfect world of eating low-carb, delicious yet healthy meals 3 times a day. But in reality, we are both working from home with a toddler in tow, so we tend to eat out at fast-food restaurants a good bit. With the invitation to try out HelloFresh, we figured we would give it a whirl. 

I am pleased to announce that the pre-set meals are GREAT! Each week, I’ve chosen low-carb meals that I think would be appetizing for the next week and typically take 20-30 minutes to prepare. I must admit, we have still eaten out a few times a week, but it’s all about balance, right? Yes, I want to be “summer time fine”, but I also want to spend as much time outside of the kitchen enjoying my family. So having grilled chicken and brussels sprouts on Monday vs burgers and greasy fries on Friday is a-ok in my books. 

What have you recently changed in your life where you find yourself balancing between your goals and reality? I can’t say I have it all figured out, but I think I am making some good strides to finding a healthier life for my family. 

Shanyce

Product Spotlights & Updates

It’s Wednesday once again and we have another premium product to spotlight! Premium is in its name and it’s the 1 Meter LC to LC Premium Singlemode Duplex fiber cable we’re talking about the PS9D-LCLC-01.

What makes this cable premium? It’s the Rolex of the Fiber Optic world, see all of the premium features below: 

– The cable is built with Corning brand Optical Fiber Glass, an ultra-pure glass made with precision and ensured with the highest degree of strength. This means that it will give you the lowest attenuation and lowest occurrence of signal loss on the market. 


– Now we know that fiber isn’t always run in a straight line. I mean you would be so lucky if that was the case! That’s why when we developed our premium fiber cables, we made sure that the fiber was Bend Insensitive (BIF), meaning you can bend or twist the fiber beyond the normal bend radius of fiber cables without losing any signal. 


– Our premium brand cables come with Ultra Physical Contact Polish (UPC) – it gives a lower ORL (Optical Return Loss) and Back Reflection than standard PC cables. This is integral for signal reliability!


– We also made sure that our premium brand cables had a premium jacket material made of Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LSZH) material which reduces toxic and corrosive gas that would normally be emitted when exposed to fire. Some building regulations require all cabling be made out of this material. 


– We also made sure that our Premium Optic cables came with the ability to reverse polarity without the use of any special tools! This could potentially save you lots of time or money if the fiber is accidentally installed incorrectly. 


– Last but not least we designed the cable with a smaller fiber cable footprint at 2.0 mm as opposed to the standard 3.0 mm. 1 mm may not seem like much of a difference, but it’s a huge difference at scale allowing for better airflow, cooling, and cable management. 

While it may be the Rolex in terms of quality, the Premium Singlemode Duplex fiber cables we carry don’t come with the Rolex price! These are just a few dollars (and in some cases less than a dollar) more than standard fiber optic cables. We’re willing to bet that it’s worth it to buy something you know you can trust, install it once, and never have to touch it again rather than buying a competitor fiber cable and worrying about whether or not that fiber will hold up! Get one today and if you aren’t completely satisfied, let us know and we’ll make it right!

Learning the Chromebook Keyboard

Do you have a Chromebook? They’ve been the talk of the town recently with being a very effective option for a laptop. Have you struggled with learning how to use the keyboard and the function keys? 

Computer keyboards are all pretty similar, but Chromebooks break the mold. Instead of the typical function keys, there’s a row of keys for specific Chrome OS functions. However, the function keys are still present if you know where to look.

It may not look like it, but there are function keys hidden in the top row of the keyboard! The keys between ESC and Power/Lock double as F1 through F10.

This article from HowToGeek will show you how to use them.

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

  • As of this morning, in the US, there are 6,817,794 active COVID cases, 25,521,913 have recovered and there have been 587,384 deaths. 
  • President Biden will call on Congress to pass $1.8 trillion in investments and tax credits aimed toward children and families.
  • Pfizer’s experimental oral drug to treat Covid-19 at the first sign of illness could be available by the end of the year. The drug is part of a class of medicines called protease inhibitors and works by inhibiting an enzyme that the virus needs to replicate in human cells.
  • YouTube is on pace to bring in annual revenue comparable to Netflix’s. The Google-owned video platform is seeing a rise in more traditional television advertisers.
  • A rare pink supermoon lit up skies across the globe on Monday and Tuesday night. The April full moon is named, in accordance with Native American traditions, after the herb moss pink, also known as creeping phlox, one of the earliest flowers of spring in the eastern United States. This year, the pink moon is also a supermoon, which occurs when the moon is within 90 percent of perigee, its closest approach to Earth.

CK Daily – 4.27.2021

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In This Issue: GLC-LH-SMD | Deals of the Week | News to Start Your Day

Today is National Prime Rib Day and National Tell a Story Day!! Seems like the perfect day to go out, grab a Prime Rib and share a story with someone over dinner! 

The CK Daily – Getting Back to Normal

Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a great weekend!

I took Friday off and spent the day outside hiking (of course)! It was so nice to get outside, breathe some fresh air, and see some awesome views! If you’re in Georgia and enjoy hiking, I would highly recommend checking out Johns Mountain and Pinhoti Loop! On Saturday, I attended a wedding for one of my friends from high school, and I must admit, it felt so “normal” that it was almost weird! I’m very much a homebody and don’t mind spending time by myself, but it sure was fun to be around friends that I haven’t seen in over a year! The wedding was absolutely gorgeous, and it was a blast catching up with everyone. I’m so thankful for that little taste of normalcy and am hopeful that there will be more “normal” in the coming months!

I’m looking forward to living life again… I can’t wait to catch some baseball games, concerts, and meals with friends! Have you gotten a chance to do anything recently that brought you back and felt like old times? What are you most looking forward to? I’d love to know! 

Rebecca

Product Spotlights & Updates:

Happy Tuesday! Today’s product spotlight is our Cisco Compatible 1000BASE-LX SFP SMF E-Temp DOM! It is 100% Cisco compatible. It’s the same look, same function, lower cost!

Cisco’s industry-standard SFP is a hot-swappable input/output device that plugs into a Gigabit Ethernet port/slot, linking the port with the fiber-optic network. SFPs can be used and interchanged on a wide variety of Cisco products and can be intermixed in combinations of IEEE 802.3z- compliant 1000BaseSX, 1000BaseLX/LH, or 1000BaseZX interfaces on a port-by-port basis.

The Cisco GLC-LH-SMD fully complies with the IEEE 802.3z 1000BaseLX standard. The GLC-LH-SMD also operates with digital optical monitoring. However, their higher optical quality allows them to reach 10 km over single-mode fiber (SMF) versus the 5 km specified in the standard.

Deals of the Week:

Have you taken advantage of our incredible Deals Of the week? This week, you could save $579 on a single item! This week’s deals of the week include: 

-Stack Power Cables

-Premium Singlemode Fiber Cables

– Cisco Hot-Swappable SFPs

-Cat6 Ethernet Patch Cables

-and Cisco 3650 Series 24 Port Switches

Get these incredible deals before they’re gone! 

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

  • As of this morning, in the US, there are 6,812,794 active COVID cases, 25,477,507 have recovered and there have been 586,647 deaths. 
  • Spotify has launched a podcast subscription that will allow creators to make more money than they would through Apple. 
  • Apple just released IiOS 14.5, it big new software update for iPhones. it adds a lot of new features, but the one that’s been grabbing headlines is its new privacy change, which gives users more transparency and control over apps that way to track them for advertising. 
  • The Department of Homeland Security will delay the requirement for air travelers to have a Real ID. The deadline was supposed to be October 1st but has now been pushed back. The Department of Homeland Security will shortly announce the new deadline.
  • Crocs reported record first-quarter sales and raised its sales outlook for the full year. Some have called Crocs the “it” shoe of the pandemic, as consumers have been seeking comfort at home. But celebrities like Justin Bieber have also helped to boost the rubber clog’s fashion status.

CK Daily – 4.26.2021

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In This Issue: Cisco 3750X/3850 Stack Power Cabe | Google Storage Updates | News to Start Your Day

Today, on National Pretzel Day, we recognize one of America’s favorite snacks! Take your pick of a bag of nice crunchy, salty pretzels or a big, warm, soft, cinnamon pretzel – both are delicious! Fun fact: Pennsylvania produces 80% of the nation’s pretzels!

The CK Daily – Busy but Grateful

Happy Monday CK Fam!

It’s Corey again! It’s also Monday morning again. So easy to be bummed that the weekend is already over. A weekend celebrating the birthday of my wife, eating pizza, visiting friends and family, playing games, and trying to keep up with chores around the house.

Instead of choosing to be bummed out because I’m back at work or frustrated that there wasn’t more down time, I’m taking this morning to count my blessings and remember how good we have it. The distraction of more is something many people are anxious about. More money, more time, more entertainment, more vacation days, the list goes on.

Today, instead of wishing for more, I implore you to look at what you have and choose to be grateful. 

Do you have a piece of scripture, devotional, or daily affirmation that you reference in order to keep you happy with what you have?

One of my favorites is Psalm 118:24. 

Thanks for tuning in. Have a stellar Monday and week!

Corey

Product Spotlights & Updates:

The Cisco 30cm Stack Power Cable connects multiple 3750X series switches in order to share power between them.

Switches with StackPower Technology allow for power supplies to be stacked as a shared and common resource. By using this StackPower cable, you can connect switches with the StackPower technologies. This is different from the StackWise-480 cables. The StackPower can be deployed in either power-sharing mode or redundancy mode.

What’s also great about this technology is its feature of zero-footprint redundancy, basically where you can add one additional power supply to any switch in the stack and that power supply will provide redundancy to the entire stack. You can also assign priorities to switches and ports for higher availability during outages. As long as the total available power is more than the power in use in the stack, the StackPower technology will use the excess power for redundancy.

Storage on your Google Account & Upcoming Updates

Have you been getting notifications that your storage is almost full on your Google Account? 

Every Google account comes with free storage, but if that’s not enough for you, more can be purchased. Regardless of how much you have, you probably want to keep tabs on how much you’re using. We’ll show you how.

Google offers two cloud storage options. You can stick with the free 15GB option that every account gets or upgrade to “Google One” and pay for more. Before we check how much storage you have left, it’s important to understand what counts toward it.

What counts toward Google Storage? 

Before Google One, the company’s cloud storage went through Google Drive. However, it was never just Google Drive. Gmail and Google Photos also counted toward your storage allotment. To clarify things, Google One was created.

Whether you pay for Google One or not, your storage is spread across three products: Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. Here’s everything that counts toward your storage:

–Google Drive: Everything in the “My Drive” section and the Trash folder

–Gmail: All emails and attachments, including items from Spam and Trash folders

–Google Photos: All photos and videos stores in “Original” quality. 

Beginning June 1, 2021, however, the following will also count toward your storage:

-All new photos or videos uploaded to Google Photos. 

-New Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, and Jamboard files. 

How to check your Google Account Storage? 

Checking how much storage you have left is as simple as clicking a link. Simply go to drive.google.com/settings/storage. If you’re a Google One subscriber, it will automatically redirect to the appropriate page.

Want to learn more? Check out this article from HowToGeek. 

Today’s News to Start Your Day:

  • As of this morning, in the US, there are 6,858,406 active COVID cases, 25,379,831 have recovered and there have been 586,152 deaths. 
  • The 93rd annual Academy Awards made history before the first award was even handed out. Chloe Zhao took home the best directing trophy, becoming the second woman to claim the title. Her film, “Nomadland,” also snagged the top prize of the night, best picture. 
  • Netflix won seven Academy Awards at the Oscars, the most of any distributor. Heading into the Academy Awards ceremony, the streaming service has 36 Oscar nominations across 17 films. 
  • Johnson & Johnson vaccinations resumed in several states after regulators confirmed the COVID shot’s safety. An unusual blood clot was listed as a very rare side effect. 
  • SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavor spacecraft had a close call with an unidentified object before reaching the International Space Station. US Space Command warned the crew aboard the spacecraft of a possible collision with an unknown object after launching into orbit on Friday. 

CK Daily – 4.23.2021

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In This Issue: 3650 Rack Mount Kit | Pooped or Pepped | News to Start Your Day

April 23rd is National Picnic Day! Hopefully, the weather where you are is nice enough today for you to pack up your lunch and take it outdoors! What are your favorite foods to enjoy on a picnic? 

The CK Daily – How can we serve you?

Happy Friday, folks! 

I’m going to start today’s post with a customer story. We recently had a customer (we’ll call him John) whose switch died, and he came back to us to get it replaced under our Lifetime Warranty. What did we do? We served his face off (as Shanyce says) and sent him a replacement out fast! What made this situation unique is the customer bought the switch from us 7 YEARS AGO! When we launched the Lifetime Warranty years ago, our goal was to help customers know that they could stretch their budget by buying pre-owned equipment.

So why am I sharing this story today? We’re in the process of updating our Mission statement. One of the questions that a Mission statement should answer is “What value do we provide our customers?” Launching the Lifetime Warranty many years ago was a way for us to provide value to customers. And replacing a unit that died after seven years shows that we’re still here to provide that value. This brings me to a couple of questions I have for you: Where have other vendors or partners dropped the ball in serving you, and what did they do to make it right? Or what things would you like to see your partner or vendor do to serve you more? 

Chris

Product Spotlights & Updates:

TGIF! Today we’re spotlighting the 3650 Rack Mount Kit, the RACK-KIT-T1. There’s not much to say about this steel rack kit aside from its durable construction, lifetime warranty, and 100% compatibility to Cisco 3650 Switches! These rack mount kits also come with screws and everything you need for installation. We’ll tell you a little secret, these rack kits not only work with the 3650 series, but the 3850 and 9300 series switches as well. If all else fails you could also use them to rackmount decorations to your rack… be creative and use lots of electrical tape! 

Pooped or Pepped – Jon Gordon

What can a little 3-month-old puppy teach me about the keys to happiness and success? Everything!

I remember two years ago when I was about to take our new puppy Dharma for a walk I stood outside the door with a leash in one hand and a plastic bag in the other and I thought to myself, “Great, I’m going to be picking up dog poop every day for about the next 13 years.” I even did the math and counted 3 poops a day times 365 days times 13 years. Then I realized how negative that was and knew I needed to change my thinking. So I then thought, “But think of all the joy she brings and will bring to my children, my wife, and me. The love and joy is clearly worth all that POOP.” Immediately after thinking this positive thought, I started to feel pepped while the negative thoughts made me feel bad. So the lesson I learned and want to share with you is don’t let poop… get you pooped. 🙂 Instead, change your thinking, shift your perception, and get pepped!

Every moment of every day we have a choice to think positive thoughts that make us feel good or negative thoughts that make us feel bad. Positive thoughts strengthen us while negative thoughts weaken us. There’s even scientific evidence that shows that you are physically stronger while thinking positive thoughts versus negative thoughts. We also know that positive thoughts enhance health, happiness and longevity. When we start paying attention to how we feel in response to our thoughts we’ll notice that our emotions are signals that alert us to how we are thinking. Good thoughts lead to good feelings and negative thoughts lead to bad feelings.

The key is to start paying attention to your feelings and thoughts and when you are feeling bad, switch to a thought that feels good. And if you are unsure of as to what positive thoughts you should be thinking, all you have to remember is gratitude and appreciation. Being grateful and appreciative will always make you feel pepped. You may not like your job but you can be thankful you have one. You may have to drive in traffic but thank God you can see while others can’t. And while your life may not be where you want it to be you can choose to believe that the future is bright and great things are happening every day. Your thoughts and perception will determine your reality. Try the following action steps this week to be pepped instead of pooped.

Action Steps

1. Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. On the left side make a list of your common negative thoughts.

2. Now, change your perception and replace your negative thought with a positive thought. Write these down on the right side of the paper.

3. This week pay attention to your thoughts and feelings and choose the thoughts that make you feel pepped instead of pooped.

We hope you enjoyed this Friday Encouragement from Jon Gordon.

Today’s New to Start Your Day:

  • As of this morning, in the US, there are 6,848,237 active COVID cases, 25,236,658 have recovered and there have been 584,226 deaths. 
  • Microsoft is releasing a preview version of Office 2021 for Mac and Office LTSC. Office 2021 for Mac will support both Apple Silicon and Intel-based Macs and require at least 4GB of RAM and 10GB of storage space. It’s designed to be a static release of Office, but during the preview, there will be monthly updates that could include new features. Once Office 2021 for Mac is final and released, no new features will be added.
  • Presumptive No. 1 draft pick Trevor Lawrence will join the Gatorade team in a multi-year deal. 
  • An invasive species of mussel has been found in north Georgia. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources posted that zebra mussels were found on a boat at Lake Lanier after it was used on the Tennessee River near Chattanooga, TN. 
  • Gymnast Simone Biles is departing Nike to partner with Gap’s Athleta brand. Biles is going to have her own performance wear line.