What You Can Expect from this Book

So how do you do it? How do you achieve competence in handling each of these four areas and also blend them into a synergistic life system that creates this capacity and positive momentum?

That’s what Life Matters is all about.

Thirty-five years of personal and professional experience have convinced us that there are three focused, high-leverage Gotta Do’s that are absolutely essential in order for any individual to create effective life balance. In Chapter 2, we’ll explore these essential Gotta Do’s. In Chapters 3 through 6, we’ll use them as a framework to show you how to create positive change in the way you deal specifically with work, family, money, and time. In Chapter 7, we’ll show you how you can develop the wisdom to blend these four life elements into an effective and satisfying whole.

As we explore these essential elements of life balance, we’re going to ask you to ask yourself some hard questions about your deepest values, attitudes, motives, and habits. The greatest asset you can bring to this experience is a deep inner honesty that will enable you to face these questions—and the answers—head-on.

We’ll also make specific, practical suggestions as to how you can implement your answers. These suggestions, though simple, are not simplistic. In the spirit of Oliver Wendell Holmes—“I wouldn’t give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity; I would give my right arm for the simplicity on the far side of complexity”—we have gone through literal mountains of material and tried to boil it down into simple, high-impact, high-leverage ideas and applications. The practical to do’s “on the far side” have reason, research, and experience behind them. And as people worldwide attest, they work. They’re doable. They grow out of timeless principles. They can be adapted in any situation. We’ve also included a categorized bibliography of selected works for those who are interested in further study.

As you read, though, we ask you to always keep in mind that you are in the driver’s seat. An application that’s perfect for somebody else might not be right for you. We’ll share our experience and hope it provides insight. But always remember: you are unique. Your situation is unique. Your family, your relationships, your work, and your challenges are all unique. That’s why you’re the only one who can make the choices regarding how these principles will best apply in your situation.

The resources we’ve brought to this book will most likely challenge your thinking. But we assure you that with a genuine willingness to question your deepest paradigms and work through the issues, you have the capacity to create a sense of balance in your life that will radiate from your deepest inner core to your major decisions to the smallest details of your everyday life.

Our own struggles and our work with people worldwide have convinced us that if you approach the material in this book openly and with sincere desire and commitment, you’ll be able to create a personalized, principle-based approach robust enough to handle the challenges and opportunities of effectively balancing work, family, money, and time in an increasingly whitewater world.