Big Rocks: Balancing Life & Work - Hardcover

Russell, Gary F.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0970133111 ISBN 13: 9780970133113

Publisher: Lifestyle Pr, 2005

Synopsis

In an easy-to-follow parable style, this analysis presents practical tools to help anyone balance their time between life and work. Disavowing traditional time-management practices, chapters address time-imbalance issues such as the loss of commitment and loyalty in employees and the ways business owners can accommodate employee needs. By reading and implementing the solutions found in this innovative book, business leaders and employees can adjust their way of thinking and can implement new principles to help bring about the much-sought-after work–life balance.

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Gary F. Russell has worked with numerous influential corporations, including Major League Soccer, Disney, Jack Nicklaus's Golden Bear International and The National Football League. He is the CEO of NASC, Inc., the holding company of The Center for Professional Advancement, Major League Soccer Camps, and The Focus Group Limited.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION

Twenty-three years ago my wife and I had a conversation that forever changed the course of my life. She said, "If we re going to live like this, then there s no reason to be married anymore." That was my wake-up call and one of the most pivotal moments of my life. Back then I was an entrepreneur trying to make a success of my first business. To me, success meant working seven days a week, seventeen hours a day. I put so much time and energy into my work that I had nothing left for anyone or anything else. Essentially, my wife was a married woman living a single life. If I wanted to save our relationship, I had to make some changes. It was an easy choice because of course I wanted my marriage to work doesn t everyone?

It was at that moment that I recognized how out of balance my life had become. Although I was putting all of my effort into my work for the right reasons, I was getting the wrong results. I was frightened because I knew I had to change my behavior to improve my marriage, but I had no idea where to begin. So, with a fair amount of trial and error, I then began my own personal journey toward putting more balance into my life. Since that time, I ve made it a priority to take a leadership role in helping others to do the same.

I believe very strongly that most people s lives are out of balance. The causes vary widely depending on the individual, but internal and external forces contribute to the imbalance most of us feel in our lives. My belief has grown from my years serving as a chief executive officer running my own corporation. During this time, I have conducted and studied research, provided training, and taught workshops aiming to elevate the quality of life for countless people throughout the United States and Europe. My formal and anecdotal research coupled with my passion to stay current with the issues and events that define our society is the fuel that drove me to write this book.

One workshop that I have been conducting for years has consistently delivered positive results. It is called BIG ROCKS, and this book grew out of that concept. The BIG ROCKS strategy focuses on the issue of balance because the struggle to "fit it all in" surfaces time and again in our lives.

As a society, we are under a tremendous amount of stress, causing us to feel rushed and agitated. We are lost in our hurried lives and often feel as though our voices are not being heard. We are challenged to find the time to enjoy our lives outside work. These sentiments are reflected in countless personal stories that I have listened to, and while the faces telling the stories change, the central "pain point" remains the same.

The inspiration for this book has come from my family and friends as well as my colleagues and countless workshop participants. I am grateful for their support and hope I have done their messages justice. The genre I chose for this business-oriented book is a parable. I want you, the reader, to put your feet in the shoes of the main character and experience a BIG ROCKS workshop. When you meet Jack Bedford, I think you will find a little of yourself in him. You may even find a little of yourself in his wife, Lisa, or other characters you meet along the way.

This book is more than just a parable because it is interactive. As Jack Bedford goes through the workshop, he completes a series of activities and worksheets. You may complete your own activities and worksheets along with Jack. My goal is for you to be not only a reader of the story but a participant in it. I believe this book is timely, and I hope the style in which it is written will resonate with you. I know I can see things more clearly when I can live them through someone else s experience.

Times have changed, and so has the world we live in. We all know change is inevitable, yet some of us still have a hard time adapting while trying to balance our lives. This book provides a solution to the chronic challenge of achieving and maintaining balance in your life. Balance centers on our ability to effectively filter all of the choices available to us into a personal success formula that allows us to be actively engaged in our daily lives and derive meaning and personal fulfillment from our achievements.

We race to keep pace in the uncharted territory created by rapid societal changes, and as a result we are ill prepared to sort out and prioritize our lives. This book is a tool to teach us how to boil our lives down to the fundamentals and fit in all of the right things. It works to solve what I believe is the number-one social challenge of this century: balance.

Gary F. Russell

Edition details

• Publisher: Lifestyle Pr
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0970133111
• ISBN 13: 9780970133113
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 145