Life Matters - Creating a Dynamic Balance of Work, Family, Time, and Money

A. ROGER MERRILL
REBECCA R. MERRILL

McGraw-Hill

Copyright 2003 by FranklinCovey Co. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a data base or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

1234567890 DOC/DOC 09876543

ISBN 0-07-142213-7

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Merrill, A. Roger.
Life matters : creating a dynamic balance of work, family, time, and money / by A. Roger Merrill and Rebecca Merrill.— 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-07-142213-7 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Conduct of life. 2. Work and family. 3. Married people—Time management. 4. Married people—Finance, Personal. I. Merrill, Rebecca
R. II. Title.
BJ1581.2.M47 2003
158—dc21
2003007675

To our parents, children and grandchildren— the roots that give us strength and the fruits that bring us joy; and to all who sincerely believe
that “life matters!”

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our deep appreciation to:

• Stephen R. Covey and to many others whose modeling, mentoring, research, and writing have had a significant impact on our thoughts and in our lives.

• Greg Link for his valuable insights, friendship, help, and constant support.

• Ken and Marci Redding of themoneyplanner.com for their collaboration in the area of personal finance.

• Kathleen Bahr and Cheri Loveless for their scholarly insights in the area of family work in the modern world.

• Nancy Hancock and her associates at McGraw-Hill for all their help—especially for input that has pushed us to new levels of organization and communication.

• Jan Miller and her associates at Dupree-Miller.

Annie Oswald, Sean Covey, Debra Lund, Boyd Craig,Toni Harris, and others who have been helpful and supportive in many ways throughout this effort.

Most importantly, we would like to express gratitude to our parents and to our incredible children and their spouses. Not only have they provided tremendous help in reviewing and contributing to this manuscript, but—along with our wonderful grandchildren and our marvelous work opportunities—they have provided the rich, meaningful life experience that has given us something to write about.

About the Authors

Roger Merrill has had over 36 years of experience as a senior executive, writer, teacher, and consultant. He was a cofounder of the Covey Leadership Center—now The FranklinCovey Company— and is a principal of Agilix Labs, which is involved in the creation of software applications for the new Tablet PCs.

In addition to her primary focus on home and family over the years, Rebecca Merrill has assisted Stephen R. Covey in writing The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families. She also assisted Roger, Stephen, and DeWitt Jones with The Nature of Leadership.

Together, Roger and Rebecca wrote Connections Quadrant II Time Management and, with Stephen Covey, coauthored First Things First—the best-selling time management book of all time. They have seven children and fifteen grandchildren, and live in Lehi, Utah. E-mail the authors at [e-mail].

Life Matters is the Mr. Rogers bible for adults. The Merrills’ stories, wisdom, and navigational tools will help you achieve your greatest goals and make your life’s journey more enjoyable.
—Pat Croce, former President of the Philadelphia 76ers and the author of I Feel Great! and 110%

Read this book, Life Matters—it’s the fourth “Gotta Do.” This book clearly articulates and demonstrates that balance in work, time, and money is not only achievable but critical to winning in the game of life.
—Pete Beaudrault, former President and CEO of Hard Rock Caf Intl., President and CEO of RLE Intl Consultants

Congratulations! You have discovered how to control and maximize one’s full potential and not lose but gain quality of life. The world needs alignment and this book!
—Stedman Graham, entrepreneur, author, speaker

At last, a way to “sync” what matters most with what we actually do! And with an approach that helps people understand, simplify, and incorporate the power of technology in resolving life balance issues. The Merrills present the ideal solution for knowledge workers who want to have quality family life.

—Curt Allen, former President and CEO, MyFamily.com, President and CEO, Agilix Labs

Roger and Becky Merrill understand that life balance isn’t a static condition that you obtain, but a dynamic skill that you learn. From the opening self-quiz to the last insightful conclusion, this book gives personal and individualized help in developing true balance.
—Richard and Linda Eyre, authors of Lifebalance and The Book of Nurturing

One of the reasons Life Matters is unique is because it recognizes what a huge factor money plays in life balance issues. As well as dealing with work, family, and time, this book provides a positive, practical, integrated approach to creating financial balance and solving money problems.
—Marci Redding, Chief Operating Officer, themoneyplanner.com

Other Books by the Authors

First Things First: to Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy
(with Stephen R. Covey)

The Nature of Leadership
(with Stephen R. Covey and Dewitt Jones)

Connections: Quadrant II Time Management

About

FranklinCovey (NYSE:FC) is a global leader in effectiveness training, productivity tools, and assessment services for organizations and individuals. Our clients include 90 percent of the Fortune 100, more than 75 percent of the Fortune 500, thousands of small and mid-sized businesses, as well as numerous government and educational institutions. FranklinCovey provides professional services and products in 39 offices and in 95 countries worldwide.

FranklinCovey’s purpose is to help organizations succeed by unleashing the power of their workforce to focus and execute on organizational priorities. We do this through a series of assessments, work sessions, and tools designed to get everyone focused on the few “wildly important”goals that, if achieved, make all the difference.

Our core products and services include:

xQTM Survey and Debrief (to help leaders assess their organization’s “Execution Quotient”)

Workshops

Aligning Goals for Results

FOCUS: Achieving Your Highest Priorities

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The 4 Roles of Leadership

Planning Systems

Tablet Planner for the Tablet PC

PlanPlus for Microsoft Outlook

FranklinCovey Planning Software

Palm OS and Pocket PC Software

For free trial versions:

Tablet PlannerTM software, www.franklincovey.com/tabletplanner.

PlanPlusTM for Microsoft Outlook, www.franklincovey.com/planplus.

For speaking engagements with Roger and Rebecca Merrill:

FranklinCovey Speakers Bureau, www.franklincovey.com/speakers or call 1-800-240-1706.

For information on all other products and services:

www.franklincovey.com/forbusiness

2200 West Parkway Blvd.
Salt Lake City, Utah, 84119-2331
USA

1-800-868-1776
(International callers: 001-801-817-1776)
Fax: [phone]