الجمعة، 31 يناير 2014

Is it Mid Life Crisis, or, is it just another Life Transistion? From 'A Life Coaching'.



Is it Mid Life Crisis, or, is it just another Life Transistion? From 'A Life Coaching'.

It feels like you've waken from a deep sleep (which was you life thus far) and now you feel like 'it' was a dream you are not completely satisfied with. You start to think, there should be more to 'it'. 'It' being life. You wonder why you're not happy, well real happy, sure you are content, but maybe you just don't feel that euphoria you thought happiness should feel like at this stage of your life.
You begin to ask yourself some key questions. Is this what I want out of life? What's my true purpose? What can I do for those around me who I care for? Is money important? Where has my life gone? Have I wasted my time? And probably a dozen more questions.
You go for walks and try to clear your head, but, your subconscious keeps asking the same questions. You start to think and convince yourself that you are going through 'Mid Life Crisis'. Are you? What can we do to move on in life?
Rather than a Mid Life Crisis, it may actually be a reflection on your life thus far, telling you to get your life aligned with your values. Our mind continually processes our actions and our memories to check if they are in agreement with our true values. Think of it as a hierarchical set of guidelines, where values developed from childhood and through to adult underpin how we want to act, what we think and what we hope to achieve. All the actions we therefore do will either be in agreement, or, out of agreement with these values.
It's clear that the more we feel our 'it' is out of agreement with our values, the more we feel uncomfortable and reflective of 'what's happening' in our lives. In the average person this manifests itself in many ways, one example is a mid life crisis. In some individuals where life has been conducted in a fashion which is opposite to ones values some issues may even manifest themselves in ways which affect health, both physical and psychological.
Is it really a mid life issue, or, is it just a life reflective issue? I would prefer to view it as a life reflective time. Many individuals will feel this way during different stages and at different ages of their lives.
So what can be done? The steps to move through a life reflective time and successfully implement a 'Life Transition' are actually quiet simple. Basically; review your values, detail what makes you happy, and what makes you sad and refine these lists into co-operative items. Then work through a process to implement changes which will transition your life to make it closer to your values. You will be amazed at how much life will be both happier and more fulfilled. The following is an extract from the 'A Life Coaching' Self Life Coaching solution pack, specifically from the pro forma self complete worksheets, details are available here : http://www.alifecoaching.com/servicesselfcoach.htm
Let's start the process. The first and very important step is to know yourself a little better. Start by writing a list of 20 items in your life which you are not completely happy with. The issues should cover the following parts of your life :
Relationship, Career, Family, Health, Wealth, Personal,
Friends, Habits, Other
Once the list is completed, rank each item for the level of dissatisfaction this particular item provides. Ranking from 1 to 10 where 1 is a low rating and 10 being the highest rating i.e. the greatest dissatisfaction.
We would like to resolve every issue in life, although sometimes this could take a lifetime to complete, so we must be realistic. Endeavour to refine your list and gain a deeper understanding of yourself. Now choose and list 6 items from the previous list which have been ranked 8 or higher. With this list write a detailed description of why, how and when these issues arise. Describing also how you feel when these issues are active.
Converse to the initial step we now review those parts of your life which bring you true happiness. Now list 12 items which bring you true happiness and joy. These items should once again cover the following parts of your life :
Relationship, Career, Family, Health, Wealth, Personal,
Friends, Habits, Other
Once the list is completed, rank each item for the level of satisfaction this particular item provides. The rankings are from 1 to 10 where 1 is a low rating and 10 being the highest rating i.e. the greatest satisfaction.
From the list above choose and list 6 items which have been ranked 8 or higher. With this refined list, now detail descriptions of why, how and when these items exist. Describing also how you feel when these issues are active.
After detailing and reviewing both the items in your life which bring you dissatisfaction and satisfaction, list eight items which you can change and which will bring happiness at a satisfaction level greater than eight. E.g. I will do more of this, I will do less of this, I will start doing this, I will stop doing this etc..
It is important to be very honest with yourself in this process. The list of eight items will be created as a composite of the items you are dissatisfied with and those items you are satisfied with. It is not important to labor over getting an equal
number of changeable items from each list, it is however important to identify items which can be changed and which you consciously rate as the most appropriate 8 items for changing in your life.
While the information gathered thus far is thorough and covers many aspect of your life, you should not take on a large number of life changes at once as the ability to effectively complete and handle this level of change may be difficult.
Now rank the Change items from the previous page from 1 to 10, 1 being the least important to 10 being the most important to you at this stage. From this exercise you then determine the 3 life transitions you would like to focus on initially.
After having ranked and selected the 3 most important new life transitions, you are ready to start the action process to achieve the desired outcome to transition.
There are two options to successful implement the entire process of reflection and change, one being to undertake the task alone. The most efficient way is to follow the process and steps in the 'A Life Coaching' Self Life Coaching guide as per link details above.
The other option is to gain help and support with a Life Coach through this very important time in your life. This could include help and support from a Life Coach by email, over the phone or face to face. Click here to see and hear Life Coaching options and view the media show on different Life Coaching styles, download times will vary depending on speed of your internet connection:
http://www.alifecoaching.com/websample9.html
You can review more on Life Coaching options and other very useful information on the 'A Life Coaching' website, visithttp://www.alifecoaching.com, or feel free to email me at info@alifecoaching.com
Hope you enjoyed this introductory information on Life Transitions. Let me know if it helps.
Life Coach Leo
A Life Coaching
http://www.alifecoaching.com
Life Coach Leo info@alifecoaching.com Information can be obtained by clicking here: [http://www.alifecoaching.com/aboutus.htm]

What Is The Secret of Life?



What Is The Secret of Life?

The question isn't, "Is there life after death."
Rather, the question is: "Are you alive before death."
Some folks say that Jesus is the secret of life, others say
that Buddha is, others say that Mohammed is. For just about
every religious sect, they have as the basis of their religion
a central figure which they claim is the secret of life.
And, as a side note, if these religions didn't believe that the
main character behind the religion weren't the secret, then
why would anyone even bother believing in them anyway?
Science has claimed the secret of life to be DNA.
In her song of the same title, Faith Hill sang:
The secret of life is a good cup of coffee
The secret of life is keep your eye on the ball
The secret of life is a beautiful woman
Tom T. Hall wrote:
It's faster horses,
Younger women,
Older whiskey and
More money.
But if there really is a true secret of life, then shouldn't
it stand to reason that this secret would be a constant.
Something that remains the same despite religious viewpoints,
despite centuries, and despite races of people.
A secret of life would be something that would be applicable
to all folks, in all times and ages and something that would
be of benefit to any and all, irregardless of their religion
or creed or race or region of the world, or era of history.
A good case could be made for love being the secret of life.
And if love was pure and unadulterated, then perhaps we
would explore this deeper. However love can be spent in
many less than virtuous avenues. There are those who have a deep,
passionate love for things like drugs, pornography, money,
the ways of the devil, and so on.
Is there a one single, true in all cases....secret of life?
If so, shouldn't this one thing be equal and beneficial to the
same degree for all.
Don't we all believe that the secret of life should be some
special knowledge that would set us all free, solve all our
problems and make us happy, contented and loved by everyone?
Down through the ages, the advice of the sages and prophets
has been, "know thyself".
I've got some good news for you.
The secret of life, that one elixir which has baffled
sages and seekers since time began, that one thing which
has been sought after for centuries on end, the one thing
that will provide all the answers.....is:
You
You are the secret of life.
You, the entire you, the fabulous you, You, the single
entity that is alive. You alone hold the key, you alone
have the answer. You alone already have and hold the
secret of life.
It is hidden in the I Am.
It is hidden in all that you are.
It is hidden in your identity.
It is called life.
The entire one single thing, the secret of life, is that
you are life. You are alive. You have the answer within
you to whatever it is you are seeking.
No one else does. Only you.
You.
The great I am is you.
There was once an argument among the gods over where to hide the
secret of life so that men and women would not find it. One god
said: Bury it under a mountain; they will never look there. No,
the others said, one day they will find ways to dig up mountains
and will uncover it. Another said: Sink it in the depths of the
ocean; it will be safe there. No the others objected, humans will
one day find a way to plumb the ocean's depths and find it
easily. Finally another god said: Put it inside them; men and
women will never think of looking for it there for a long time,
by the time they are intelligent enough to discover the secret,
perhaps they will also be wise enough to use it properly.
If there ever was a secret of life, it's that you Are.
It's that you should believe in you as being all that is life.
You already knew this....search and look deep inside yourself,
you will know this is truth.
Life is you. Life without you, wouldn't be life.
It's the exact same for every creature on this earth. It
never changes, indeed, it cannot. It's the same for all
races and for all ages.
The secret of life is never to be found external to oneself,
if you're looking outside yourself, you're looking in
all the wrong places.
It is always to be found as oneself.
And that's great news. You have your entire life ahead of
you. The past is over, it's history, it cannot ever be
replayed or re-done again. You have your future. You have
the very now, the very present to live and to be you
and to enjoy being the secret of life in.
Prosperity: The Choice Is Yours
Copyright ©
Dave's E-zine provides you with inspiration, motivation, and postive life values to assist you in having more Prosperity, Peace & Understanding in your life. Get your F R E E subscription today.

Life Insurance Basics



Life Insurance Basics

One of the most important things you can do as parents is to ensure the financial welfare of your children in the event of your death. Life insurance is the best way to be rest assured that your children will be taken care of if you die. Although we never like to think of that kind of thing happening, but it does.
What is Life Insurance
Life insurance is a policy that you can enter with your insurance company, which promises a certain amount to your beneficiary(ies) in the event of your death. Usually, a spouse will name the other spouse as well as their children as beneficiaries of the policy. As part of the agreement with life insurance, your insurance policy will be a monetary value, that you will in return, pay a monthly premium for. Premiums usually depend on your age, gender, occupation, medical history and other factors.
There are other types of life insurance that may provide benefits for you and for your family while you are still living. These policies can accrue a cash value on a tax-deferred basis and can be used for future needs such as retirement or your child's education.
Do I Need Life Insurance
Earning an income allows you and your family to do many things. It pays for your mortgage, buys cars, food, clothing, vacations and many other luxuries that you and your family enjoy. However, certain situations can cause you to lose your income, and those who depend on you also depend on your income. If any of the following statements about you and your family are true, then it is probably a good idea for you to consider life insurance.
1) You are married and have a spouse.
2) You have children who are dependent on you.
3) You have a parent or relative who is aging, or disable and depends on you.
4) You have a loved one in your life that you wish to provide for.
5) Your 401K retirement plan, pension and savings aren't enough to insure your loved one's future.
What Are My Life Insurance Options
There are four basic types of life insurance that can meet you and your family's needs:
Term Life Insurance
This is the least expensive type of life insurance coverage, and at least at the beginning, the simplest. Term life insurance policies do not accrue cash value, and are fixed over an extended period of time - usually one to 0 years, and they can be renewed. This life insurance policy pays the beneficiary of your policy a fixed amount in the even that you die in the period of time that your policy includes. The premiums of term life insurance are lowest when you are young and increase as you get older
Whole Life Insurance
This type of life insurance is similar to term life insurance, as well as provides cash value. Over time, whole life insurance generally builds up a cash value on a tax-deferred basis, and some even pay it's policy holders a dividend. This type of life insurance is popular, doe to the cash value that is accessible to you or your beneficiaries before you die. Used to supplement retirement funds, or to pay for your child's education, whole life insurance should be used for protection, rather than for accumulation.
Universal Life Insurance
This type of life insurance is a flexible kind of plan. These policies accrue interest and allow the owner to adjust the death benefits and premiums to their current life situation. You decide the amount of premium for universal life insurance, and of you skip a payment, this will be deducted from your death benefit. Universal life insurance stays in effect as long as your cash value can cover the costs of the policy. These rates are subject to change, but they can never fall below the minimum rate that is guaranteed when you sign up for universal life insurance.
Variable Life Insurance
This type of life insurance is designed for people who want to tie the performance of their life insurance policy to that of the financial market. The policy holder gets to decide how the money should be invested, and your cash value has the opportunity to grow more rapidly. However, if the market is poor, your life insurance policy's death benefit will be poor. As with whole life insurance and universal life insurance, you may withdraw against the cash value. Be reminded that withdrawals of this life insurance policy will be deducted from the cash value.
How Can I Save Money With Life Insurance
Below you will find some suggestions on ways to save money while purchasing the life insurance policy that is right for you.
1) If you don't need life insurance, don't buy it. Don't buy more insurance that you actually need in order to provide financial security for your family.
2) Shop around for competitively-priced life insurance policies while you are healthy. Don't smoke, or do anything that might increase your rates. Take care of yourself by exercising regularly and maintaining a moderate and healthy weight.
3) If you purchase a term life insurance policy, look for guaranteed and renewable policies. That way you won't have to periodically continue to shop around for those life insurance policies.
4) You should only buy optional forms of coverage such as riders only if necessary.
5) Shop around and compare life insurance policy rates and coverage. There are thousands of life insurance companies to choose from. It is advised that you get at least three separate quotations of life insurance, and then decide which is the best for you.
Brian M. Gardner is the Founder of Financial-Articles.com - An Online Money Making Resource. Learn how to make money and acquire wealth by investing in stocks and mutual funds, as well as how to be successful in sales, marketing and advertising.
Visit Brian's website at http://www.financial-articles.com. [http://www.financial-articles.com]

How To Create a Life Strategy for Business Success - Part One of a Series



How To Create a Life Strategy for Business Success - Part One of a Series

Ask yourself the following:
1. I have created a life-strategy plan for the next:
a.  20 years.................Yes  No

b.  10 years.................Yes  No

c.  5-years..................Yes  No

d.  1-year...................Yes  No

e.  1-week...................Yes  No
If you knew how to create a life strategy and implement it, would you be interested in doing so? ...................Yes No
Very few people take the time to think through, and commit to paper, a life strategy for the future.
Surely, we all set certain life goals such as finishing High School, obtaining a college degree, attaining a specific professional position, reaching an athletic goal, or achieving a particular level of personal income.
However, in general, few people look to the future and fashion a wide-ranging and cohesive life strategy that would reach 5-10-15, or even 20 years into the future.
Normally, people maintain much shorter life-strategy horizons because it is difficult and very challenging to look far into the future and predict an outcome. In addition, most people, from an early age, do not learn why it is important to create a life strategy.
The lack of long-term life-strategy horizons could also be an intrinsic consequence of our culture and its orientation to instant gratification and wanting everything NOW! You could say a lot about the importance of living in the moment and of not being obsessive to the point of planning one's life down to the last detail. After all what about spontaneity and embracing the naturalness of life as it unfolds?
We could not agree more.
However, we have always encouraged people to develop some form of a life strategy so they have something to look forward to, and, at the same time, set productive goals that have meaning, substance, and represent a raison d'être for their many years of living.
A life without some life strategy is like a boat without a rudder.
Your boat will definitely get you somewhere due to the forces of wind and water currents, but where you end up may not be where you really want to go.
For that reason, it is important to give your life some direction to end up where you want to be in life in the future.
Bear in mind that you do not have to give up spontaneity or the natural evolution of your life to embrace a life strategy even 20 years into the future. It is equally important to be open to all possibilities in your life so that you do not overlook opportunities that might come to you.
You will discover that when you have a life strategy that has a 15-20 year horizon you will be continually refining your life strategy as you gain more knowledge and experience in your life. Additionally, you will also learn to fine-tune opportunities as they present themselves, which further enhances the fulfillment of your life strategy.
Consider a long-range life strategy as a chart of your future, which has elasticity so that you can tweak it from time to time to perfect its outcome.
Conversely, you should build your life strategy on a solid foundation of clear life-goals.
Goals like self-reliance, financial self-sufficiency, and entrepreneurialism.
For instance, let us say that one of your major long-term goals in a 20-year life strategy is to retire a multi-millionaire at age 50. That certainly is a reasonable and worthy goal for anyone. However, let's say you get within 10 years of your goal and lose everything in a bad business deal. At that point, you literally have to start over to rebuild whatever portion of your multi-million dollar retirement nest egg that you had already accumulated.
Does your life strategy change? Yes, it certainly does.
The biggest change is that you now have to extend your retirement age to 60 instead of 50. Then again, based on all of the knowledge, valuable contacts, and business savvy you have acquired in your life thus far you might be able to shorten the time horizon to your goal.
More often than not that is exactly what happens with entrepreneurs who encounter a major setback, they come back even stronger. As a result, the life-strategy goal of retiring a multi-millionaire does not change, only the timeline changes.
Clearly, developing a life strategy makes a lot of sense and can be useful to just about anyone.
In future articles, we'll discuss these questions: How do you go about creating a life strategy? What are the steps, and how do you maintain a life strategy over time in order to reach your goals?
Charles and Holly Egner are veteran entrepreneurs. They have trained, coached, and mentored hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs. Their last entrepreneurial venture sold for just under $400 million in 1999. BuildOnYourDreams.com was founded to help promising entrepreneurs to build the business of their dreams.
For a f.ree Life Strategy Planning Teleseminar, visit http://www.BuildOnYourDreams.com today.

Be Successful : Take Back Control of Your Life



Be Successful : Take Back Control of Your Life

Expert Author Cheri Baumann
What would happen if you lived your life by design rather than by default?
What would happen if you took the time to choose what you wanted in life rather than letting life choose it for you?
I am sure that many of you know people who appear to be living their lives on 'autopilot', rather than in control of their own personal destiny. They get up in the morning, get ready to work, drive to work using the same route, do their daily work tasks, drive home from work using the same route as before, eat dinner, perhaps play with the kids, watch TV and then go to bed. The next morning it starts all over again. Before you know it, weeks have gone by, months and then even years.
Sometimes a 'life crisis' happens, a severe accident, a life-threatening illness, the death of a loved one, or perhaps just mid-life, and these people who have been on 'autopilot' for so many years suddenly appear to 'wake-up' and take a good look at the lives they have been living. They realize that they have not been in control of their own path of personal success, and that they have been 'human doings' rather than 'human beings,' living their lives for everyone and everything other than themselves.
What is ironic about this situation is that, whether we like it or not, we are the author's of our own lives. Everything that we have right now is the RESULT of the choices and decisions we have made along the way, even if for the most part they were made on 'autopilot' or based according to some sort of 'should,' 'could,' or 'ought to'. We get hooked into these external expectations of what success is supposed to be and the idea of our own personal and authentic life goes down the tubes. A life crisis does not have to be the precipitating factor to making positive change in your life though. Take a good hard look at you life right now and ask yourself:
"How is it possible for me to successful if I am not in control of my own life?"
"If I am not the one in the driver's seat, then who or what is?"
Living your life in the driver's seat means that you know what you want and what is most important to you. You live a balanced and happy life filled with purpose and meaning. You have taken the time to create an authentic, vibrant and happy life, because if you don't take the time to choose what you want, life will choose it for you. You simply cannot be truly successful until you take back your control, and get back in the driver's seat of your life!
The way to get back into the driver's seat of your life is to create a life strategy.
If you want to get the most out of your money you create a financial strategy. The same is true for your life. If you want to get the most out of your life you need to create a life strategy. The greater the detail of your strategy, the greater your experience of personal success.
A sound life strategy can be described as a house. The bottom foundation of your house is your personal foundation. The stronger it is, the less likely your house/life will crumble under stress. The four cornerstones of your house/life are:
1. clarity of what your life is like now
2. clarity of what you want your life to be
3. cleaning up unfinished business from you past
4. clarity of the beliefs and attitudes
The roof of your house is made up of the strategies that you set in place to build the life you desire and get you moving in the direction of your own personal success.
For example, let's say that I do not have a life partner and I want one.
The first thing I do is look at how strong my personal foundation is. Have I set high standards, requirements and boundaries in my life? Have I taken the time to find out what is most important to me and discover what needs are driving me? Do I have reserves in every area of my life and do I look after myself well?
Once my personal foundation is strong then I begin to build the cornerstones of my house/life.
1. I take the time to describe what my life is like without a life partner - exactly as it is right now.
2. I create a long term vision with absolute explicit detail about the kind of life partner I would like to have and how my life would be different with him or her in it.
3. I look at past relationships that may be in some way getting in the way of attracting a life partner now and deal with it.
4. I look at my beliefs and attitudes that may or may not be serving me in my quest of having a life partner. I reframe the beliefs and attitudes that are not serving me into ways that they will.
Now, I am ready to start building a strategy/the roof for my house. Because of the work I have already done I am now actually ready to receive a life partner and have the relationship work. My strategy is going to be made up of specific goals, all based on my intention of having a life partner. They may include online dating, asking friends to introduce me to people, joining a single's club, or getting a coach. There are infinite ways of going about developing a strategy and becoming successful within my own life. The key is that I have taken back control of my own life, and can define it now in anyway that I want.
This approach can be used for every area of your life. Once your personal foundation has been built, you can build many rooms in your house, each with different cornerstones, for all of the other areas of your life. Without you in control of your life, however, without you in the driver's seat, you will never have the life of your dreams and be truly successful. Take back control and begin LIVING your life for you! Begin creating a Life Strategy NOW!
Remember, "If you can DREAM it, you can DO it." - Walt Disney
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©Cheri Baumann, Life Strategist, Personal Development Coach & trainer with My Private Coach, Personus Coaching & Training, and the University of British Columbia. Her mission is to help people create vibrant, happy and authentic lives. Her coaching style is quiet, with an intuitive strength that promotes self-discovery and positive change in an accepting and playful atmosphere.
You can get more information about Cheri at [http://www.MyPrivateCoach.com/cbaumann] and contact her for a complimentary coaching session at either cheri@myprivatecoach.com or cbaumann@telus.net . This article may be published without the consent of the author as long as the publisher’s box is included in the post.
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Accept Life On Its Own Terms



Accept Life On Its Own Terms

Expert Author Saundra L. Washington
Those living on the highest levels of life have learned to accept life on its own terms. There are some realities about life that we must accept. This is the key to living joyfully in communion with the heavenly while abiding here on earth.
Life, no matter how we choose to look at it, is a challenge. It is the beginning of a struggle that continues until we breathe our last breath. Life is something that we did not request. None of us asked to be born. Neither did we ask to be poor, or Black, tall or short. We did not ask to be a part of one family as opposed to another.
Life is full of risks. There is a certain element of risk taking that is inherent in every venture we undertake; whether it is in business, or in marriage, in a profession or in athletics. We never have complete security within ourselves. For we know that every moment we live, our lives are in constant danger. A stray bullet may hit us, a car emerging out of nowhere may crush us, and a slip of the foot may result in our death. So life is unpredictable. We get no warning, we are afforded no red alert, and we get no second chance at life.
And we might as well face the fact that our life is a dying life. As soon as we are born, we begin to die and every day we manage to somehow survive, we have only gained another step towards our grave. Each morning when we wake up from a refreshing sleep, we have died a little during the night. As we go through the streets of the city, we are dying a little. As we go about our business on the job, we are dying a little. In essence, we are living in the land of the dying.
It will help you to accept life on its own terms rather than struggle against it. Identify and move from the limiting and conflicting, "either/or," "black or white," "all or nothing", illusory perception of life to an attitude that is open to all aspects of reality. We do this by accepting life on its own terms - accepting that pleasure and pain, happiness and unhappiness are all a natural part of the human experience.
Fighting against life's realities and adopting a stance of negativism only create unnecessary pain and difficulty in your life. Accepting life allows you to understand your frustrations, grow from them and experience life's abundance.
You have heard people who make comments such as "I go with the flow." What they are saying is this: I accept in life what I cannot change. I deal with it as it comes within the framework of my own knowledge and capabilities and spirit. When inner negatives are dissolved, our outer life will be more harmonious and fulfilled.
Understanding life helps you make the unconscious conscious; to see your misguided beliefs and negativity clearly, to understand their roots and causes, and most importantly - to transform them. A complete path, it offers a practical, rational, honest, and above all, gentle and self-accepting way to move from an attitude of you versus the world to one of you and the world; from you versus life to you and life.
Fundamental to accepting life is to give recognition to the supreme life-giver. Whenever we praise God or give God recognition and acknowledgement, it is for life. Whenever we give God a spiritual applaud or standing ovation, it is for life. Think about it as Life. God has given us life, something so tremendous, potent, and marvelous that no scholar has ever been smart enough to detail its composition or understand from where it derives its sustaining energy. Life is a force so complex that it cannot be duplicated. And, most amazing and thrilling of all, He has given us minds! It is through our minds, the thoughts we think with it, and the impressions we store in it, that we are conscious of living. In short, your life becomes just what your mind makes it for you and just what it tells you life is.
Few people go deep enough within their soul to realize in its entire fullness, breadth and scope the amazing gift of life that enables them to pursue a lifetime of accomplishment. What a marvelous gift. What power! God has endowed us with the power to think, to believe, to create, to imagine, to choose, to feel, to aspire. Having a wonderful sense of appreciation puts all our petty complaints and frustrations, irritants and negativity into perspective. You live on a realm beyond grudges, ingratitude, selfishness and take-for grant-ed-ness. You enjoy and value each moment and are determined to get the best out of every second.
Don't forget that God is a living energy to quicken, increase, and guide our own energy. The Infinite Power Source is a living elixir to lift up, sustain, and establish our own spirit. Being negative takes the spirit out of you. What is the point of God increasing your spirit while you at the same time decrease it with negatives? If you refuse God's gift of an abundant life, then you must do without it.
Our minds, which thinks so ceaselessly and insistently, is the most marvelous instrument imaginable; but it is up to us to control it and to choose the kind of thoughts we think, to train ourselves in appreciating all flowers that come into our life, and deal with the weeds.
Yes, we must come to terms with the silent and perennial truth that the field of human life will always consist of the good, the bad and the ugly coexisting together. We all experience the good in our lives, but intertwined with the good is the bad and the ugly. Finding the ugly and unpleasant mixed in with the wheat is an everyday experience and each of us has to deal with the inherent difficulties involved.
But lest we become arrogant, we also understand that not only do we live with and intermingle with both the wheat and the thistles but they exist within each of us. Collectively and individually, we are capable of heart-touching kindness towards one another as well as heartbreaking evil. We are capable of building up and capable of tearing down, capable of great love and capable of seething hatred, capable of horrendous evil as well as remarkable good.
When you are able to appreciate life and accept it on its own terms, you harmonize your mind with God's mind; with the universal intelligence, power and glory.
Every day lift yourself up in your own mind, mood, imagination, sheer inner conviction. Everyday, give praise to the author of life and glory in its wonders. Every day do something with a sense of freedom and spontaneity, something you have wanted to do or felt you should do, but have shirked because life is not going the way you want it. Every day try to do something to make life pleasant for someone else for no other reason than the joy experienced from it. Then watch as these active, happy, positive inner states increase and grow, to bless you and transform you, to bless and transform the world!
Learn more about the wealth of spiritual resources offered by AMEN Ministries including a library of helpful e-books that ministers to wounds of the soul.

Choosing the Best Life Insurance Option for You



Choosing the Best Life Insurance Option for You

Expert Author Claire Bowes
Life insurance in the UK is becoming more and more popular with many people now realizing the importance and the benefits of a good life insurance policy. There are two main types of popular life insurance, both of which offer a range of invaluable benefits to UK consumers.
Level Term Life Insurance
Level term life insurance is the most popular type of life insurance policy with UK consumers, and this may be because it is also the cheapest form of insurance. With level term insurance, you and your family can enjoy peace of mind at an affordable price. If you die during the term of this insurance policy, your family will receive a lump sum payment, which can help to cover a number of costs as well as provide some degree of financial security at what will inevitably be a difficult time. The money could assist with costs such as:
  • Mortgage repayments
  • Funeral costs
  • Education costs for the children
  • Day-to-day living
One of the reasons that level term life insurance is a fair bit cheaper than other life insurance is because the insurer only has to make a payment if the insured party passes away, and even then the insured party has to die during the term of the policy for the next of kin (or the named beneficiary) to be eligible for a payout. One of the great things about levels term insurance is that you can benefit from cover for just a few pounds each week, and because the payments remain the same throughout the term of the policy, you'll never have to worry about rising payments.
The reason why a level term insurance policy is so called is because the repayment remain level throughout the term of the policy, so you will never have to worry about the cost of your policy rising. The policy is also taken over a fixed term, which is where the 'term' part of the policy comes in. This means that you can enjoy easy budgeting and low cost repayments, and you'll know exactly how long you will be making payment for. On the downside, once the policy expires you will not be able to reclaim any money and the policy will be cancelled, so you will then need to look at taking out alternative life insurance cover.
The average term of a level term life insurance policy - unless otherwise specified - is fifteen years. There are a variety of factors that contribute to the cost of the policy such as whether you go for the most basic package or whether you include a bolt-on such as critical illness cover, whether you are a smoker, your general health, and the term over which you take the policy out.
Whole Life Insurance
Unlike level term life insurance, whole life cover offers a guaranteed payout, which to many people makes it better value for money in the long run. Although the repayments on this type of cover are more expensive than level term insurance, the insurer will make pay out whenever the insured party passes away, so the higher monthly payments will guarantee a payout at some point.
There are a number of different types of whole life insurance policies, and consumers can select the one that best fits their needs and their budget. As with other insurance policies, you can tailor-make your whole life insurance cover to include additional cover such as critical illness insurance. The variations on whole life insurance cover include:
Non-profit UK whole life insurance policies: This is the simplest form of whole life cover, and enables you to enjoy the convenience of level payments through the term of the policy until you die. Upon death, your family received a payout and the policy becomes null and void. If you want to pay a little extra, you can take out a policy that is fixed over a specified term, which means that you will only be making payments for a certain amount of time, but your family will still receive a payout when you die.
With-profit UK whole life insurance: This is a cover and investment type scheme, where your monthly payments are split between your cover premiums and the investment side of your policy. You will enjoy a guaranteed assured sum, and you may find that your insurer adds discretionary bonuses.
Low cost UK whole life insurance: One of the cheapest forms of whole life cover, this type of policy features a decreasing term plan, and the policy is combined with a profits fund. As bonuses are added to the profit side of the policy, the policy term decreases. This provides a cost effective solution for those that want to enjoy the benefits of whole life insurance cover without having to make high monthly payments.
Unitised UK whole life insurance policy: When you purchase this type of whole life cover, you will also be investing in with-profit units. This means that when the insurer makes a payout, the sum awarded will be dependent upon the value of the units in comparison to the value of the death benefit (the payout will be based upon whichever is the highest in value). Each month units are cancelled in order to increase levels of death benefit cover, with reviews carried out from time to time to ensure adequate levels of death benefit cover.
Summary
Both level term insurance policies and whole life policies offer valuable peace of mind to policyholders. The cost of this type of life cover is a small price to pay for the peace of mind that comes with being protected, and you can increase this peace of mind by adding extras such as critical illness to your policy for just a small extra fee.
As a nation, we like to insure just about everything we can...our cars, our homes, our belongings, our pets, and even our credit repayments. It therefore makes sense that we should insure the most important thing of all - our lives.
Claire Bowes is a successful freelance writer and owner of [http://www.a1-life-insurance-quotes.co.uk] where you will find further information on [http://www.a1-life-insurance-quotes.co.uk/term-life-insurance.html] [http://www.a1-life-insurance-quotes.co.uk/whole-life-insurance.html] and [http://www.a1-life-insurance-quotes.co.uk/mortgage-life-insurance.html].

Balance Your Managerial Life



Balance Your Managerial Life

We have only one life, but we live in three overlapping worlds--our business world, our family world, and our other social world. Imagine bringing your spouse and kids to a meeting with seven of your salespersonnel. Sitting off to your left, Miss Wright asks the question on the minds of all her fellow sales colleagues, "Why did you bring your family to our meeting today? Will they be playing any sort of role in our discussion?" You simply respond, "No, they're just here so I can tend to their needs."
Of course, this is a highly unlikely scenario. You don't bring your family into work with you every day. However, Heather Howitt does. Howitt, the CEO of Oregon Chai in Portland, Oregon, balances motherhood with her responsibility of running an eleven million dollar manufacturer of tea lattes. "Our office is a very casual place. We've got a family element going on here."
Living in the rain soaked city of Portland, 32-year-old Howitt often arrives at her office lightly splattered with mud. She often spends her lunch break taking her one-year-old son, Sawyer, to a nearby park, or to her nanny who takes him home. On other days, she simply places him in his crib in her office.
With the growth of her company, Howitt hired some key executives including a chief operating officer to manage operations and finance. She also delegated the sales calls that she used to make herself. "I used to come in at 6 a.m. and make calls nonstop," she explained. "I don't have to do that anymore." Howitt positioned herself in a way so that she is no longer personally over-worked or over-challenged by her daily responsibilities at the company. She balanced her business and private life. She not only recognized her strategic contribution to the success of Oregon Chai, but she also appreciates her unique role in the life of her young son.1
As an entrepreneur or a business executive, you must give your best in two entirely different worlds. The needs of your business and the needs of your family and friends compete for your time and attention. And both expect the very best from you. Heather Howitt found one way to do it; you may have another way.
To enjoy both the rewards of business success and family fulfillment, you need to constantly work to keep your balance. To successfully tackle the challenges of a fast-growing company, you need all the personal resources that come from a balanced life. "How do you develop a balanced business personality?"
Some entrepreneurial executives suffer from dangerous imbalance. Others achieve top excellence in maintaining optimal balance. "Early in my career, I use to think that entrepreneurship was more an art than a science, that it was a gift or something," says Cherrill Farnsworth. "I don't believe that anymore."2 Entrepreneurial leadership is not some automatic personality trait or some artistic talent some people are just born with and others happen to lack. Instead, entrepreneurial effectiveness with a balanced life is a dynamic process that you must constantly work at. If you don't keep developing and nurturing your entrepreneurial personality, it might just die. Then, only drastic action might revive that entrepreneurial spirit.
That's exactly what happened to Sam T. Goodner. His software company, the Austin-based Catapult Systems Corp., ranked 77th among the fastest growing companies in America while Goodner served as the founding CEO. At age 33, Goodner decided to step down as CEO of Catapult to take on the new challenge of serving as CEO of Inquisite Inc., a Catapult subsidiary that sells software over the Internet. But Goodner soon found his new digs to be "harsher, more spartan" than what he was accustomed to. "Half of it is actually under ground," he explained, describing his much less attractive new office space.
But Goodner was not complaining. After all, it was his own idea to leave the comfortable CEO position of Catapult with a staff of 115, to head Inquisite Inc., with only 20 employees. But now something was wrong. To be sure, there were plenty of challenges to attend to. The phone rang for his attention, paper kept filling the "in" box, and email messages steadily came in from employees, venders, and customers. Every day, and every hour, urgent decisions had to be made, so much so that anyone in his shoes could have been overwhelmed by the "tyranny of the urgent."
But increasingly, he felt like he was only reacting to demands and not taking a visionary proactive role any longer. And too often, long hours of work would crowd out what he'd prefer to do in his home and personal life. Even worse, he realized that even if he could experience any gratification in his personal world, it could not make up for what was missing in his business world.
"I had none of my entrepreneurial creativity left," Goodner reflected. "I was falling back on what was easy. You know that's happening when you start just going through your email all day long." Recognizing that his former entrepreneurial spirit was gone, he resigned and hired a new CEO to head the company.
Perhaps Goodner had already achieved financial independence and had other worthy goals to pursue in life. In that case, relinquishing his CEO position could be the best decision to make. But could there have been another way to recover his entrepreneurial spirit with a healthy balance of attention to work, family, and friends?3
Entrepreneurial functioning can range from the low level, "You are personally over worked and over challenged"--to the most desirable level, "You regularly implement action plans to improve every aspect of your life."
The lowest level of functioning leaves your company endangered. Top management is personally over worked and over challenged. The unrelenting urgent matters of your business seem to demand so much of your time that you go to work earlier and earlier, and stay later and later into the evening. You are like a runaway tire, rolling down a steep hill, turning faster and faster and faster until finally, you run out of control and then crash.
Or, you might think of it this way: The underlying foundation of your life at work and at home is built on sand instead of a solid rock. Even the slightest storm will plunge you into a danger area, damaging your relationships with your business associates and with your family and friends.
You are barely surviving, but you are endangered like a stick of dynamite that has been lit; you don't have much time before things will blow up in your business, or in your family life, or in both. You must get out as soon as possible. But how? You can't help but think, "There must be a better way." And you are right! There is.
An ancient Hebrew writing warns, "In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat--for he [the Lord God] grants sleep to those he loves."4 God, who created our reality, designed us and the world for a better set of options.
"Over the past three years, I've been able to identify gradually what things I can give to my CPA, or to my bookkeeper, or to my office manager. I read about people who work 60 or 90 hours a week and build multimillion-dollar businesses at the expense of their health and family. Those aren't success stories in my book. Success is having a multimillion-dollar business and the other stuff, too," says 40-year-old Tom Melaragno, founder of the $7.6-million Compri Consulting, an IT consulting and staffing firm founded in 1992. Although he put in 12-hour days when he started the business, today he works just 8 or 9 hours and makes sure he's there to watch his two sons' Little League baseball games in the summer and coach the older one's football team in the fall.5
Taking a proactive stance means you take control to invest your life wisely. Scott Tinley is an extraordinary triathlete who has competed in more than 350 triathlons including 19 Hawaii Ironman triathlons. The triathlon is an endurance sport involving swimming, bicycling, and running. Amazingly, Tinley has won nearly 100 races. "This sport is about a combination of personal challenge, camaraderie, and achievement of self-knowledge," Tinley explains.
Tinley is more than just an athlete; he is also a successful entrepreneur. He co-founded a company that produced athletic clothing--Tinley Performance Wear. He and his partners built the business over 8 years, reaching about $10 million in sales. In 1992, they sold the company to Reebok. But even more than just being a triathlete and a wealthy businessman, Tinley is also appreciated as a writer, traveler, father, and husband. As productive as he is in many areas of life, he has not lost sight of the balance he needs.
Tinley explains the work-life balance he maintained over his 20-year career as an athlete, husband, father, and entrepreneur: "A lot of people have this image of self-management, that it means you have to drive yourself and force yourself to get things done without somebody looking over your shoulder. It is actually quite the opposite: You have to force yourself to have balance in your life and be efficient in all things you do."6
He has recognized the importance of what he calls a "precarious balance between preparation, competition, professionalism, support systems, and the world of family, friends, and paying the rent." He has not lost sight of the fact that among the best things in life are family, friends, and a quiet run in the park.
This is the kind of balance that John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems has also achieved. An interviewer, asked, "What would you like to have accomplished and what's next after Cisco?"
"The most important thing to me is my family, and that doesn't change. My wife of 25 years is a perfect balance for me. When I get down, which I occasionally do, she brings me up, and on rare occasions if I get a little bit too confident she brings me back down to earth too."
"I've got two kids I'm tremendously proud of and they are my life; so my family is first, second, and third in terms of my priorities. And when I'm at home, as my wife reminds me when I walk in the door, I'm not the CEO anymore. So at home, I'm like anybody else. Carrying out the garbage, changing the light bulbs, and so on."
"And what will I do after this? I will teach when I retire. I think giving back to the community is the right thing to do. It'd be terrible to be perhaps the most successful company in history and not give back. So I'm not going to go work for another company after Cisco. When I retire from Cisco, I'm done with the business world and I will probably go teach. Young people are so much fun to interface with .... How do you teach ethics, and how do you teach integrity earlier on? To do that would just be a blast!"7
Chambers illustrates how a proper balance between one's executive performance and other dimensions of life can contribute to both personal fulfillment and business success. An awareness of the need for balance has prompted many executives to make some crucial decisions in their day-to-day business and personal life that protected them from failure so they could just become an "enduring survivor."
But, no doubt, you want more from life than just maintaining a mere survivor level. You want to excel as an executive leader, and also thrive, not merely survive, in your personal life. So beyond the awareness that comes from self-assessment and evaluation of your priorities, there are additional steps to take in order to reach the top level of having all that life can offer.
Forty-year-old Mark Holland is the founder of a thriving company, Ascend HR Solutions. At the beginning of every workweek he pulls out a message that reads: "Wendi is the most important person in my life. My family comes before work and other activities. I live my religion. I provide the financial security for my family. Our home is a retreat from the challenges of the world. I have a positive attitude, looking for and developing the strength in others. I help people develop and grow, including, when appropriate, holding them accountable. The outdoors provide a needed sanctuary and retreat for me."
Holland wrote this personal mission statement in 1998 following a major crisis in his business. That year the firm lost $800,000, which caused significant problems in his partnership. Holland experienced so much stress that he lost nearly 20 pounds.
Then a business seminar inspired him to write down his life mission statement. Holland admits that the seminar gave him "a good smack upside the head." He resolved to never again sacrifice his family and health for the sake of his business.
Over a two-year period, Holland's personal mission statement grew into a life plan for himself and his wife. "We asked, 'What are the important things? What do we want to have happen before we die?'" Now they have a 30-year planned life itinerary on a spreadsheet that covers college savings, retirement, vacations, exercise regiments, relating to God and spiritual activities, work goals, personal growth, and personal relationships.
Holland constantly improved himself by regularly pursuing clear, written personal goals and life motto. Writing down your personal goals and a life motto not only helps you clarify the kind of balance you want to achieve, but also gives you a written reference to check week by week. Many people refine their goals and motto over several year's time.
Mark Holland and his wife, Wendi take long walks together at least twice a week with their two-year-old daughter on Mark's shoulders and their five-month-old son snuggled in Wendi's front pack. Once a month, on one of those walks, they discuss and review their life plan thoroughly. "The plan is dynamic--it changes. It's been really good for getting our relationship and our lives back to where they needed to be," Holland says.8
This practice of regularly reviewing their life plan indicates that Holland progressed to the highest level of functioning under balancing ones managerial life. At this top level, you constantly implement action plans to improve the balance of all five dimensions of your life.
Paul N. Howell, CEO of Howell Corporation, named an additional crucial characteristic of a successfully balanced entrepreneurial executive: "The willingness and demonstrated ability to conduct him--or herself--on a high moral and ethical level in both business and personal life. Without it, success is uncertain and short lived."9
At the highest level, people who interact with you can see the sterling qualities of your servant leadership. Your executive actions are guided by clear plans that continually balance and rebalance all the dimensions of successful living: 1. Executive Success: Servant leadership, management skills, and career development. 2. Loving Relationships: Serving family, friends, and the needy. 3. Healthy Lifestyle: Regular exercise, good diet, and regular medical care. 4. Emotional Well-being: Stress management, recreation, and psychological stability. 5. Spiritual Maturity: Ethical character, commitment to ultimate values, peace with God, and devoting oneself to life's greatest spiritual priorities.
At this level, you regularly "retreat" from your usual executive responsibilities to rethink your personal mission, vision, and action plans. You deliberately make a continual concerted effort to maintain the delicate balance you need for a fulfilling life.
Through years of identifying the best practices of leading companies, 33 Dynamics, LLC has identified 33 essential dynamics for managerial excellence. These dynamics are grouped under 6 major goals which address such realities as leadership, creating loyal employees, and achieving market dominance, just to name a few.
The staff of 33 Dynamics Consulting is interested in helping people in their given profession to become leaders in commerce by implementing sound business principles in these 33 areas of management.
There's no need to live from job to job or pay check to pay check. There are ways to get from survival mode to success, and the 33 Dynamics team can help you get there! Whether your company is struggling or solidly performing, the first step to moving up to even higher levels is to rate your own company in these 33 areas of business dynamics. This practical rating tool is included in our book, There's Room at the Top, available at [http://www.33dynamics.com] or http://www.amazon.com.
John Hammond, a sales executive was once quoted saying, "From where I stand, the elevator to the top is, has been, and always will be 'out of order.' In order to get to the top, you'll have to take the stairs--and you'll have to take them one at a time."
Now is the time to consider the steps that will take you to the top of your game!
"Balance Your Managerial Life" was excerpted from There's Room at the Top: 33 Dynamics for Managerial Excellence, 2004, pages 44-51.
© Copyright 2004, by Uxbridge Publishing Ltd. Co. All rights reserved.
1 Greco, 2000, page 106.
2 Barker, 2000, page 18.
3 Hyatt, 2000, pages 9-11.
4 Psalm 127:2.
5 Greco, 2000, page 110.
6 Inkpen, 2001, pages 76-81.
7 Donlon, 2000.
8 Greco, 2000, page 107.
9 Beatty & Burkholder, 1996, page 41.We have only one life, but we live in three overlapping worlds--our business world, our family world, and our other social world. Imagine bringing your spouse and kids to a meeting with seven of your salespersonnel. Sitting off to your left, Miss Wright asks the question on the minds of all her fellow sales colleagues, "Why did you bring your family to our meeting today? Will they be playing any sort of role in our discussion?" You simply respond, "No, they're just here so I can tend to their needs."
Of course, this is a highly unlikely scenario. You don't bring your family into work with you every day. However, Heather Howitt does. Howitt, the CEO of Oregon Chai in Portland, Oregon, balances motherhood with her responsibility of running an eleven million dollar manufacturer of tea lattes. "Our office is a very casual place. We've got a family element going on here."
Living in the rain soaked city of Portland, 32-year-old Howitt often arrives at her office lightly splattered with mud. She often spends her lunch break taking her one-year-old son, Sawyer, to a nearby park, or to her nanny who takes him home. On other days, she simply places him in his crib in her office.
With the growth of her company, Howitt hired some key executives including a chief operating officer to manage operations and finance. She also delegated the sales calls that she used to make herself. "I used to come in at 6 a.m. and make calls nonstop," she explained. "I don't have to do that anymore." Howitt positioned herself in a way so that she is no longer personally over-worked or over-challenged by her daily responsibilities at the company. She balanced her business and private life. She not only recognized her strategic contribution to the success of Oregon Chai, but she also appreciates her unique role in the life of her young son.1
As an entrepreneur or a business executive, you must give your best in two entirely different worlds. The needs of your business and the needs of your family and friends compete for your time and attention. And both expect the very best from you. Heather Howitt found one way to do it; you may have another way.
To enjoy both the rewards of business success and family fulfillment, you need to constantly work to keep your balance. To successfully tackle the challenges of a fast-growing company, you need all the personal resources that come from a balanced life. "How do you develop a balanced business personality?"
Some entrepreneurial executives suffer from dangerous imbalance. Others achieve top excellence in maintaining optimal balance. "Early in my career, I use to think that entrepreneurship was more an art than a science, that it was a gift or something," says Cherrill Farnsworth. "I don't believe that anymore."2 Entrepreneurial leadership is not some automatic personality trait or some artistic talent some people are just born with and others happen to lack. Instead, entrepreneurial effectiveness with a balanced life is a dynamic process that you must constantly work at. If you don't keep developing and nurturing your entrepreneurial personality, it might just die. Then, only drastic action might revive that entrepreneurial spirit.
That's exactly what happened to Sam T. Goodner. His software company, the Austin-based Catapult Systems Corp., ranked 77th among the fastest growing companies in America while Goodner served as the founding CEO. At age 33, Goodner decided to step down as CEO of Catapult to take on the new challenge of serving as CEO of Inquisite Inc., a Catapult subsidiary that sells software over the Internet. But Goodner soon found his new digs to be "harsher, more spartan" than what he was accustomed to. "Half of it is actually under ground," he explained, describing his much less attractive new office space.
But Goodner was not complaining. After all, it was his own idea to leave the comfortable CEO position of Catapult with a staff of 115, to head Inquisite Inc., with only 20 employees. But now something was wrong. To be sure, there were plenty of challenges to attend to. The phone rang for his attention, paper kept filling the "in" box, and email messages steadily came in from employees, venders, and customers. Every day, and every hour, urgent decisions had to be made, so much so that anyone in his shoes could have been overwhelmed by the "tyranny of the urgent."
But increasingly, he felt like he was only reacting to demands and not taking a visionary proactive role any longer. And too often, long hours of work would crowd out what he'd prefer to do in his home and personal life. Even worse, he realized that even if he could experience any gratification in his personal world, it could not make up for what was missing in his business world.
"I had none of my entrepreneurial creativity left," Goodner reflected. "I was falling back on what was easy. You know that's happening when you start just going through your email all day long." Recognizing that his former entrepreneurial spirit was gone, he resigned and hired a new CEO to head the company.
Perhaps Goodner had already achieved financial independence and had other worthy goals to pursue in life. In that case, relinquishing his CEO position could be the best decision to make. But could there have been another way to recover his entrepreneurial spirit with a healthy balance of attention to work, family, and friends?3
Entrepreneurial functioning can range from the low level, "You are personally over worked and over challenged"--to the most desirable level, "You regularly implement action plans to improve every aspect of your life."
The lowest level of functioning leaves your company endangered. Top management is personally over worked and over challenged. The unrelenting urgent matters of your business seem to demand so much of your time that you go to work earlier and earlier, and stay later and later into the evening. You are like a runaway tire, rolling down a steep hill, turning faster and faster and faster until finally, you run out of control and then crash.
Or, you might think of it this way: The underlying foundation of your life at work and at home is built on sand instead of a solid rock. Even the slightest storm will plunge you into a danger area, damaging your relationships with your business associates and with your family and friends.
You are barely surviving, but you are endangered like a stick of dynamite that has been lit; you don't have much time before things will blow up in your business, or in your family life, or in both. You must get out as soon as possible. But how? You can't help but think, "There must be a better way." And you are right! There is.
An ancient Hebrew writing warns, "In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat--for he [the Lord God] grants sleep to those he loves."4 God, who created our reality, designed us and the world for a better set of options.
"Over the past three years, I've been able to identify gradually what things I can give to my CPA, or to my bookkeeper, or to my office manager. I read about people who work 60 or 90 hours a week and build multimillion-dollar businesses at the expense of their health and family. Those aren't success stories in my book. Success is having a multimillion-dollar business and the other stuff, too," says 40-year-old Tom Melaragno, founder of the $7.6-million Compri Consulting, an IT consulting and staffing firm founded in 1992. Although he put in 12-hour days when he started the business, today he works just 8 or 9 hours and makes sure he's there to watch his two sons' Little League baseball games in the summer and coach the older one's football team in the fall.5
Taking a proactive stance means you take control to invest your life wisely. Scott Tinley is an extraordinary triathlete who has competed in more than 350 triathlons including 19 Hawaii Ironman triathlons. The triathlon is an endurance sport involving swimming, bicycling, and running. Amazingly, Tinley has won nearly 100 races. "This sport is about a combination of personal challenge, camaraderie, and achievement of self-knowledge," Tinley explains.
Tinley is more than just an athlete; he is also a successful entrepreneur. He co-founded a company that produced athletic clothing--Tinley Performance Wear. He and his partners built the business over 8 years, reaching about $10 million in sales. In 1992, they sold the company to Reebok. But even more than just being a triathlete and a wealthy businessman, Tinley is also appreciated as a writer, traveler, father, and husband. As productive as he is in many areas of life, he has not lost sight of the balance he needs.
Tinley explains the work-life balance he maintained over his 20-year career as an athlete, husband, father, and entrepreneur: "A lot of people have this image of self-management, that it means you have to drive yourself and force yourself to get things done without somebody looking over your shoulder. It is actually quite the opposite: You have to force yourself to have balance in your life and be efficient in all things you do."6
He has recognized the importance of what he calls a "precarious balance between preparation, competition, professionalism, support systems, and the world of family, friends, and paying the rent." He has not lost sight of the fact that among the best things in life are family, friends, and a quiet run in the park.
This is the kind of balance that John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems has also achieved. An interviewer, asked, "What would you like to have accomplished and what's next after Cisco?"
"The most important thing to me is my family, and that doesn't change. My wife of 25 years is a perfect balance for me. When I get down, which I occasionally do, she brings me up, and on rare occasions if I get a little bit too confident she brings me back down to earth too."
"I've got two kids I'm tremendously proud of and they are my life; so my family is first, second, and third in terms of my priorities. And when I'm at home, as my wife reminds me when I walk in the door, I'm not the CEO anymore. So at home, I'm like anybody else. Carrying out the garbage, changing the light bulbs, and so on."
"And what will I do after this? I will teach when I retire. I think giving back to the community is the right thing to do. It'd be terrible to be perhaps the most successful company in history and not give back. So I'm not going to go work for another company after Cisco. When I retire from Cisco, I'm done with the business world and I will probably go teach. Young people are so much fun to interface with .... How do you teach ethics, and how do you teach integrity earlier on? To do that would just be a blast!"7
Chambers illustrates how a proper balance between one's executive performance and other dimensions of life can contribute to both personal fulfillment and business success. An awareness of the need for balance has prompted many executives to make some crucial decisions in their day-to-day business and personal life that protected them from failure so they could just become an "enduring survivor."
But, no doubt, you want more from life than just maintaining a mere survivor level. You want to excel as an executive leader, and also thrive, not merely survive, in your personal life. So beyond the awareness that comes from self-assessment and evaluation of your priorities, there are additional steps to take in order to reach the top level of having all that life can offer.
Forty-year-old Mark Holland is the founder of a thriving company, Ascend HR Solutions. At the beginning of every workweek he pulls out a message that reads: "Wendi is the most important person in my life. My family comes before work and other activities. I live my religion. I provide the financial security for my family. Our home is a retreat from the challenges of the world. I have a positive attitude, looking for and developing the strength in others. I help people develop and grow, including, when appropriate, holding them accountable. The outdoors provide a needed sanctuary and retreat for me."
Holland wrote this personal mission statement in 1998 following a major crisis in his business. That year the firm lost $800,000, which caused significant problems in his partnership. Holland experienced so much stress that he lost nearly 20 pounds.
Then a business seminar inspired him to write down his life mission statement. Holland admits that the seminar gave him "a good smack upside the head." He resolved to never again sacrifice his family and health for the sake of his business.
Over a two-year period, Holland's personal mission statement grew into a life plan for himself and his wife. "We asked, 'What are the important things? What do we want to have happen before we die?'" Now they have a 30-year planned life itinerary on a spreadsheet that covers college savings, retirement, vacations, exercise regiments, relating to God and spiritual activities, work goals, personal growth, and personal relationships.
Holland constantly improved himself by regularly pursuing clear, written personal goals and life motto. Writing down your personal goals and a life motto not only helps you clarify the kind of balance you want to achieve, but also gives you a written reference to check week by week. Many people refine their goals and motto over several year's time.
Mark Holland and his wife, Wendi take long walks together at least twice a week with their two-year-old daughter on Mark's shoulders and their five-month-old son snuggled in Wendi's front pack. Once a month, on one of those walks, they discuss and review their life plan thoroughly. "The plan is dynamic--it changes. It's been really good for getting our relationship and our lives back to where they needed to be," Holland says.8
This practice of regularly reviewing their life plan indicates that Holland progressed to the highest level of functioning under balancing ones managerial life. At this top level, you constantly implement action plans to improve the balance of all five dimensions of your life.
Paul N. Howell, CEO of Howell Corporation, named an additional crucial characteristic of a successfully balanced entrepreneurial executive: "The willingness and demonstrated ability to conduct him--or herself--on a high moral and ethical level in both business and personal life. Without it, success is uncertain and short lived."9
At the highest level, people who interact with you can see the sterling qualities of your servant leadership. Your executive actions are guided by clear plans that continually balance and rebalance all the dimensions of successful living:
1. Executive Success: Servant leadership, management skills, and career development.
2. Loving Relationships: Serving family, friends, and the needy.
3. Healthy Lifestyle: Regular exercise, good diet, and regular medical care.
4. Emotional Well-being: Stress management, recreation, and psychological stability.
5. Spiritual Maturity: Ethical character, commitment to ultimate values, peace with God, and devoting oneself to life's greatest spiritual priorities.
At this level, you regularly "retreat" from your usual executive responsibilities to rethink your personal mission, vision, and action plans. You deliberately make a continual concerted effort to maintain the delicate balance you need for a fulfilling life.
Through years of identifying the best practices of leading companies, 33 Dynamics, LLC has identified 33 essential dynamics for managerial excellence. These dynamics are grouped under 6 major goals which address such realities as leadership, creating loyal employees, and achieving market dominance, just to name a few.
The staff of 33 Dynamics Consulting is interested in helping people in their given profession to become leaders in commerce by implementing sound business principles in these 33 areas of management.
There's no need to live from job to job or pay check to pay check. There are ways to get from survival mode to success, and the 33 Dynamics team can help you get there! Whether your company is struggling or solidly performing, the first step to moving up to even higher levels is to rate your own company in these 33 areas of business dynamics. This practical rating tool is included in our book, There's Room at the Top, available at [http://www.33dynamics.com] or http://www.amazon.com.
John Hammond, a sales executive was once quoted saying, "From where I stand, the elevator to the top is, has been, and always will be 'out of order.' In order to get to the top, you'll have to take the stairs--and you'll have to take them one at a time."
Now is the time to consider the steps that will take you to the top of your game!
"Balance Your Managerial Life" was excerpted from There's Room at the Top: 33 Dynamics for Managerial Excellence, 2004, pages 44-51.
© Copyright 2004, by Uxbridge Publishing Ltd. Co. All rights reserved.
1 Greco, 2000, page 106.
2 Barker, 2000, page 18.
3 Hyatt, 2000, pages 9-11.
4 Psalm 127:2.
5 Greco, 2000, page 110.
6 Inkpen, 2001, pages 76-81.
7 Donlon, 2000.
8 Greco, 2000, page 107.
9 Beatty & Burkholder, 1996, page 41.
Matthew Rekers, M.B.A., is the President and CEO of 33Dynamics LLC. He previously served as the President and COO of Rekers and Company LLC. Mr. Rekers earned his B.S. in Business Administration, cum laude, from the University of South Carolina with a major in accounting, and his M.B.A. degree from Winthrop University. He is a business consultant for 33Dynamics Consulting LLC. He can be contacted atmatt@33dynamics.com. Visit our website at www.33dynamics.com [http://www.33dynamics.com].
George Rekers, Ph.D., M.B.A., is a tenured professor at the University of South Carolina, and the Chairman and CEO of InterAct International, Inc. Dr. Rekers has 22 years of executive experience in leading four corporations as President or CEO, and has served on seven corporate boards. As a Research Fellow at Harvard University, Dr. Rekers was mentored by Professor David McClelland who is internationally known for his practical studies of executive and employee motivation. Professor Rekers has presented hundreds of seminars, and lectures in dozens of countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and the Middle East. He received his Ph.D. in human developmental psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author or editor of ten books and over 100 academic publications in applied psychology. He is a seminar leader for There’s Room at the Top Executive Seminars offered by 33Dynamics LLC. He can be contacted atgeorge@33dynamics.com.