How old are you? by Steve Anderson

In tough times like these it helps to laugh. I can remember one time I was reading my daughter, Molly, a story in bed. She was a really cuddly kid. As we lay there on her bed, I got all choked up because I felt so lucky to be her father. After I gathered myself, I said, "Molly, one day when you grow up and move away I'm really going to miss these times."

She paused for a moment and said, "Oh, don't worry Dad." I thought that the next thing that she was going to say was that she would come home and visit me after she moved away, so I said, "Why?" And she said in the sweetest voice you can imagine, "You'll be dead!" I died laughing.

Balance by Steve Anderson

A lot of people say that their family is the most important thing to them, but then they spend all of their time at the office. When asked why, they often reply, "My job is to provide for them." But if you asked their family what they wanted them to provide, it would be more time and more love. Why do people so often act in ways inconsistent with their values that creates imbalance and unsustainability?

I would argue that most people who struggle with balance do so for two reasons:

1. They haven't taken the time to sit down and determine their priorities and compare their behavior with their values.
2. In the absence of a plan they react to the fear of losing their job.

We can never create the life we dream about unless we build it around a plan we can get excited about. I urge you to take the time to decide the things that really matter to you and regularly commit yourself to building your life around those values.

Are you Crazy? by Steve Anderson

Do you ever have ideas that you think are crazy? Is your next thought, "I can't do that, everyone will think I am...crazy!" I am writing this to urge you to start to do more crazy things. Ingrid Bergman said, "Be yourself, the world worships an original." The thing that is most special about you probably seems crazy by today's standards, but if no one ever tried anything crazy, we'd still be back in the dark ages. When Einstein developed his theory of relativity, he used to lie in bed and imagine himself riding on a rocket ship through the universe. A lot of his theories came from his imagination. In fact, he came up with the theory of relativity in 1908 and spent the next ten years proving it mathematically. Pretty crazy, right? On a personal note, when I left my family's business in 1994, many people told me I was crazy to leave such a secure business. I wasn't sure they were wrong. But I decided that I could help more people doing what I am doing now, so I set off on this journey. Thank goodness I did something crazy! Here are some thoughts about using crazy ideas to become more fulfilled and successful:

1. Make time in your day to be quiet to generate crazy ideas. We get new perspectives on present problems by being still.
2. Once you get an idea, write about it. You can do a lot of trouble shooting on new ideas by thinking critically about them.
3. If your idea has passed the writing test then get someone you trust to talk about the idea with you. Never do this with a cynic. They hate risk!
4. If you think the crazy idea might work, try out a small experiment first. If you are pretty sure you can fly off the Empire State Building by jumping off the edge and flapping your arms, I suggest you try it on a chair in your living room first!