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Life Matters: Creating a Dynamic Balance of Work, Family, Time & Money

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New books telling you how to improve your life come off the presses every week, maybe every day. Some are bad, and you realize you have wasted your time. Some are average, and you might learn a few new things, but they aren't all that memorable. Some are great, and you go back to them again and again. "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" is one of the great books. Years later people remember it, talk about it, and reread it.

"Life Matters" is a great book. It covers a lot of good ideas, the thoughts and observations are well presented, and the book reads quickly.

The first chapter starts off talking about what is important in life. The authors focus on four areas: work, family, time, and money. They have a quiz to help in your self-assessment of how you are doing in each of these four areas. A big message of this book is there doesn't have to be conflict between the four areas.

The next chapter covers three things you have to do in any area of your life. The three "gotta do's" are:

1) Validate your expectations. You have to confront reality, for if you have an unrealistic expectation you will be frustrated. The authors make the point that the direction you are heading is more important than how fast you are going.

2) Optimize Effort. Look for ways to get the maximum benefit for your effort, and make sure your decisions are aligned with your goals.

3) Develop your "Navigational" intelligence. This is the ability to be aware of your changing environment, so that what looked like an important task at the start of the day may have to take a back seat when your boss gives you a new assignment, or a child needs attention.

The next four chapters are on: work, family, time, and money, with a chapter on each area. The authors weave each of the above three "gotta do's" into each area. For each area they explore different ways people see the area, for example how do you see your family, or your money. And then they discuss what is the reality. They have a list of "optimizers" which are techniques for getting the maximum benefit for your effort. And they talk about how to be flexible when situations change.

"Seven Habits" mentions a Time Matrix, which is a two dimensional matrix based on how important something is, and how urgent it is. Many people waste time on things that aren't important, or get caught up doing things that are important and urgent. Stephen Covey explores why doing things that aren't urgent, but important, can make a great difference in your life. For me one of the gems of "Life Matters" was exploring this same matrix in relation to money. The Merrill's point is that it is best to invest your money with the same Quadrant II focus, things that aren't urgent, but are important. For me, that idea alone was worth reading the book. There were a number of similar gems scattered through the book.

The last chapter was titled "Wisdom Matters" and here the authors explore why wisdom is important, and how to improve your wisdom. One of the points they strongly make is to develop an ongoing daily self-important program. The idea is to spend a few minutes each day improving your understanding of life, and how to make better decisions.

This is a great book. If you are interested in improving your life, buy this book, read this book, and then reread it. It will help you get better control of your life. For as the Merrills say, life does matter.

Prioritizing the building blocks of life - family, work, money and time - is paramount to happiness. Some people do it unconsciously by living within their intellectual and monetary expectations. Others need a framework for balance, such as the one that authors A. Roger Merrill and Rebecca R. Merrill provide. To achieve personal balance, the authors suggest becoming a better team player, working more effectively, learning about finances and setting home and work priorities. They establish the goal of building a strong family, centered around parental "family leadership." Do they successfully address the knotty issues they raise? Yes, in a folksy way. This is a useful self-help manual with checklists, self-assessments and personal anecdotes, which are sometimes touching, but sometimes impractical or saccharine. Though the management advice dons motivational language, the sections on family and work are particularly worthwhile. The authors deliver a solid antidote to misplaced modern values, albeit wrapped in some fluffy trappings. We recommend this book to corporate officers and human resource personnel, as well as to individuals seeking balance.

The phrase "life balance" is a hodge-podge, catchall phrase that's usually sprinkled into gripe sessions about work over cocktails. But what does "life balance" really mean? The book - "Life Matters" - not only does an excellent job defining this important component of life, but it expresses the idea that lack of balance is fundamentally a misalignment of the principles that are important to each individual. Soundview recommends this book because it challenges the reader to take an introspective assessment of what matters most and how to structure a productive existence that's holistically consistent with each life facet. The authors write that this self evaluation enables you to forge your own navigational intelligence geared towards optimal living.

Congratulations to the authors! They had written an excellent, practical, and realistic book on Life Balancing.Probably the best book on life leadership since 7 Habits and First Things First (actually even better than "F£ÔF", since the writing style and selection of ancedotes and examples are even more mature and veteran).

Congratulations to the readers! We have a chance to read an excellent book on personal/family development, well presented in the 7 Habits/Covey's tradition, but in a less wordy, theoretical, and jargons-filled way.

Both authors are very sincere, writing and sharing usefulideas
from their hearts. They talked about Money Matrix, See Do Get Model, and many useful skillsets for balancing.

They didn't just repeat old ideas from First Things First. Instead, they injected a lot of new ideas and useful wisdoms about life into the book. Very unlike Stephen R. Covey, who is very idle in using new materials and new ideas in his so called new books. He is just so repetitive and wordy sometimes that readers can be turned off by his lack of inventiveness in terms of both form and substance in his new books.

Of course, Life Matters also has its weaknesses . It deals with Work, Family, Time, Money, and Wisdom Literature on Life Balancing. But it didn't mention the word, Health in the book even once, or didn't even mention the importance of Spirituality, by which both are essential elements in human life.

Since health is wealth, there will be no Work, Family, Time, Money, Wisdom, or Spirituality, when people fail to prioritize Health in their life.

In an overall sense, this is a great book that I cannot put down. If more personal development books can be written with Life Matter's type of quality, the readers will benefit-- the society will ultimately be benefited.

My sincere thanks and salute to the authors! This book will be a Mega best-seller, just like 7 Habits or First Things First...
Just wait and see!

As a working mother raising two teenaged daughters, balancing work and life is a top priority for me. I am lucky because my company has worked with me to find solutions to the challenge of balancing job responsibilities with the need for family time. However, I would have found it helpful to been able to read Life Matters much earlier in my career. Roger and Rebecca Merrill speak from the heart in this book, emphasizing the impact and importance of balancing work and life. They express a variety of inspirational thoughts and suggestions equally beneficial to male and female readers.

Life Matters does not advocate a one-size-fits-all solution. The opening chapter includes a personal evaluation to help you assess your feelings about work, family, money, and time. You can use the scores to help determine the areas of greatest potential improvement. The subject matter is very personal, and the authors have recognized people need to make choices based on their particular circumstances. Rebecca Merrill expresses this point very eloquently by saying, "There are issues that every woman has to address and one woman's life balance answers are not necessarily another's."

Also, there is a particularly profound section that provides a method "to increase the happiness in your home by as much as 70 to 80 percent with one single idea." Anyone who thinks that is of critical importance needs to read this book.

"Life Matters" jumps out with realistic advice in easy to read formats on balancing family, work, time, and money. A. Roger Merrill and Rebecca Merrill created a wonderful and practical book that is effective but not too preachy. They support the honorable accumulation of wealth for personal and family interests and that is most refreshing. Vignettes on achievement, work ethics, time and money management; and trusting your intuitive wisdom hit home with me. I enjoyed the back and forth dialog between the authors. This book helped me and I'll use it for continual reference. I highly recommend it to everyone especially teenagers and young couples who are starting out on their life journeys.

This book is one of many that build off Stephen Covey's "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," and is a more in-depth discussion of prioritizing (Living in Quadrant II for those who speak Covey). This book is divided into four sections that reflect the four biggest concerns Americans face--the workplace, the family, time, and money. The basic message of the book is that one must think in terms of "investing," whether it be money, time, or effort. It is important to examine what one invests in so that maximum returns can be paid on that investment. As an example, investing money in a car yeilds a much lower return (a negative return) than investing in a mutual fund. Investing time in televison watching yields a much lower return than helping your child with his homework. Investing in effort in a long-term project that is still months away yields a much higher return than filling out some pretty-unnecessary paperwork. Other commentators are correct when they say that the examples of theory-in-action can be fairly unrealistic (even though they really happened!), but they illustrate the authors' points well. I would first recommend the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. If you find that helpful (and I imagine you will), this book is an excellent follow-up to it.

Congratulations to the authors! They had written an excellent, practical, and realistic book on Life Balancing.Probably the best book on life leadership since 7 Habits and First Things First (actually even better than "F£ÔF", since the writing style and selection of ancedotes and examples are even more mature and veteran).

Congratulations to the readers! We have a chance to read an excellent book on personal/family development, well presented in the 7 Habits/Covey's tradition, but in a less wordy, theoretical, and jargons-filled way.

Both authors are very sincere, writing and sharing usefulideas
from their hearts. They talked about Money Matrix, See Do Get Model, and many useful skillsets for balancing.

They didn't just repeat old ideas from First Things First. Instead, they injected a lot of new ideas and useful wisdoms about life into the book. Very unlike Stephen R. Covey, who is very idle in using new materials and new ideas in his so called new books. He is just so repetitive and wordy sometimes that readers can be turned off by his lack of inventiveness in terms of both form and substance in his new books.

Of course, Life Matters also has its weaknesses . It deals with Work, Family, Time, Money, and Wisdom Literature on Life Balancing. But it didn't mention the word, Health in the book even once, or didn't even mention the importance of Spirituality, by which both are essential elements in human life.

Since health is wealth, there will be no Work, Family, Time, Money, Wisdom, or Spirituality, when people fail to prioritize Health in their life.

In an overall sense, this is a great book that I cannot put down. If more personal development books can be written with Life Matter's type of quality, the readers will benefit-- the society will ultimately be benefited.

My sincere thanks and salute to the authors! This book will be a Mega best-seller, just like 7 Habits or First Things First...
Just wait and see!

This book starts out by asking "What matters most to you in life?" Take the time and courage to dig deep within yourself to answer honestly. You may initially feel worse when you admit to yourself that your life is NOT in balance. But then the authors give you wonderfully clear and concise suggestions and exercises for creating a life in dynamic balance. For example, Chapter Two "The Three Gotta Do's". These are Validate Expectations, Optimize Efforts, Develop "Navigational Intelligence".
Not shown in the title is the fifth element that matters in life - Wisdom. This book will greatly add to your store of wisdom.

This is a wonderful book along the lines of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which these authors contributed to. However, it is more for your personal life and it really encourages you to establish the guidelines it discusses into wisdom rather than textbook knowledge.