Juggling Elephants: An Easier Way to Get Your Most Important Things Done--Now! [Hardcover]

Jones Loflin (Author), Todd Musig (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 6, 2007

What do you do when your life feels as busy as a three-ring circus?

Juggling Elephants tells a simple but profound story about one man with a universal problem. Mark has too much to do, too many priorities, too much stress, and too little time.

As he struggles to balance his many responsibilities without cracking under the pressure, Mark takes a break to attend the circus with his family. There he has a surprising conversation with a wise ringmaster. He leaves with a simple but powerful lesson: Trying to get everything done is like juggling elephants -- impossible.

So Mark begins to think about his work, family, and personal life the way a ringmaster thinks about the many acts in a three-ring circus. He discovers that managing his various acts can be fun and easy once he changes his attitude and follows his new friend?s ongoing guidance. Mark soon realizes:
? If you keep trying to juggle elephants, no one, including you, will be thrilled with your performance.
? A ringmaster cannot be in all three rings at once.
? The key to the success of a circus is having quality acts in all three rings.
? Intermission is an essential part of any good circus.

Juggling Elephants is a wonderfully lighthearted guide for everyone who feels like they?re about to be squashed. It will help you better focus your time and energy, so you?ll be able to enjoy more of the things that are important to you. Above all, it will teach you how to run your circus, instead of letting the circus run you.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this fun parable written by corporate trainers Loflin and Musig, the hero, Mark, gets more than just an afternoon of family time out of a visit to the circus with his daughter—he gets a new way of organizing his life. Using the extended metaphor of the three-ring circus, this short volume is written as a dialogue between Mark and his ringmaster mentor, who teaches him how to better coordinate the activities happening in each ring. Readers who take themselves too seriously might have trouble getting past the large print, circus illustrations and a dialogue style more commonly found in children's books. But the book passes along several circus maxims that easily translate to balancing professional and personal relationships as well as one's personal pursuits, such as the ringmaster cannot be in all three rings at once and the key to the success of the circus is having quality acts in all three rings. While the advice is not new, the presentation helps it stick in your head, increasing the odds of keeping your act together. (Sept. 6)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“A very useful, lighthearted way to balance the most important things in your work and life’s circus.”
—Spencer Johnson, M.D., author of Who Moved My Cheese?

“If your life is so hectic it feels like a three-ring circus, read this book. It will teach you how to set priorities, relax, and enjoy the show!”
—Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager and The On-Time, On-Target Manager

“Juggling Elephants is a fresh approach to becoming the master of your life. The authors show how to take control of your own personal circus, identify and master your priorities, become more productive and thus achieve greater results in all of your endeavors.”
—Hyrum Smith, cofounder of FranklinCovey and CEO of Galileo Initiative --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover (September 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591841712
• ISBN-13: 978-1591841715
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Getting Your Act Together, September 6, 2007

By 

Miranda N. Brothers (Vancouver, Washington) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Juggling Elephants: An Easier Way to Get Your Most Important Things Done--Now! (Hardcover)

With a heartwarming approach to the all too common problem of how to manage a hectic life, Jones Loflin and Todd Musig have successfully collaborated to present a workable solution in their easy to digest and retain, Juggling Elephants. Recognizing that sometimes life is like a circus, the authors offer the memorable story of Mark who, using the three ring circus analogy, rediscovers his family, free time, and in the end, himself, again.
This gem, with its rejuvenating story, likable characters, and attractive presentation, culminate in, what I am sure will be, a much respected and well utilized tool across both the professional and personal realms and adopted as a "must read" throughout the business spectrum.
Kudos to Loflin and Musig for their creative solution and efforts to help others succeed in life.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ever think your life is a 3 ring circus? Here is a way to become your own ringmaster., September 15, 2007

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Juggling Elephants: An Easier Way to Get Your Most Important Things Done--Now! (Hardcover)

I think that these kinds of business parables sell well to a certain audience because the images are so easy to remember and are fun to visualize. It doesn't matter that they always seem to follow a the pattern of someone being out of control in some aspect of the business, their life, or whatever and they meet some mysterious stranger who gives them the KEY that solves their problem and gets their life back in order.

This story is about a man whose daughter comes to him with her life in disarray. She can't manage her work life, her family life, and her personal life. He talks with her about how going to the circus with her helped him with the same problem. We often refer to something in a crazy and disordered state as a three-ring circus. However, a circus is really a very ordered system of acts. This is often NOT true of our lives.

The title of the book refers to the situation when we are out of control. Trying to juggle elephants doesn't help anyone. You can't do it, the elephants aren't having any fun, and the audience isn't enjoying an act going nowhere. So, Victor, a ringmaster Mark (the dad) happens to meet guides him through the steps of becoming the ring master of his life and the three rings being Work, Family, and Self. The ideas presented are really quite good and the images are memorable. If you are already in complete control of your life, you probably don't need this book. However, most of us could use some time thinking about these issues and this is a pretty painless to entertaining way of considering what it takes to get the right acts on stage when.

A simple, helpful little book.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT for Busy Moms!, September 27, 2007

By 

merinda Charles (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Juggling Elephants: An Easier Way to Get Your Most Important Things Done--Now! (Hardcover)

How I wish I could have read this book 20 years ago! But as they say "It's never too late!" Organizing your life into "circus rings" is easy to do when you think of it like that - and especially if you live with some clowns :) This is an easy-read and a wonderful book for busy women who need to visualize our lives into small, manageable pieces that put our priorities in order and bring peace and contentment in today's crazy and out-of-control world!