On-balance

In Life Matters: Creating a Dynamic Balance of Work, Family, Time, and Money, Rebecca and Roger have linked the resources of time and money. The connections are so self-evident that I am surprised it hasn't been done before. In the case of both resources, we can have a consumption or an investment paradigm. The first leads to being overextended and having no margin in our lives, the latter to freedom. Life Matters is full of practical advice on how to break the downward consumption spiral.

Two years ago I attended a seminar where Roger Merrill spoke on some of the ideas in this book. After that day, I began to shift my thinking. For years I had wanted to live on the Upper West Side in New York City. The question I had been asking myself was, "Would I rather live on the Upper West Side or in a 'boring' neighborhood in Queens"? Well, the Upper West Side won hands down. My husband resisted, saying the higher expenses would be a trap and would virtually chain us to our high-paying, high-pressure jobs. Still, I liked the fancy neighborhood. (Life Matters points out how most spouses have different views on money matters). After listening to Roger I began to ask the question differently. "Would I rather have an apartment on the Upper West Side or freedom"?

By staying in our non-flashy neighborhood, we have been able to make some terrific changes in our lives. My husband quit his job to study cooking and music. I have reduced my time on the road and am now writing a book. If the price of freedom is giving up a little flash, I'm persuaded. Maybe Life Matters will persuade you too.

For readers committed to lifelong learning, this book is a must. The seven components or chapters, encourage readers to question and to challenge their traditional understanding of these so-called "matters" in order to design a sense of overall well being and purpose. Money can often be traced to the origin of discord in people's lives - The Merrill's chapter on Money Matters is about the best I have seen.

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 is a must read for all people who are interested in work-life balance! If you have children and are a working mother, you will keenly identify with this book. If you are considering having children, get some insight on what to expect. If you are in a leadership capacity in your workplace, read this book and think about how you can best adapt your environment to the changing world. Our subtle daily actions can impact others in a variety of ways and this book points them out.

It is a stunningly thorough and insightful treatment of the topic. English offers us fine read for us non-lawyers who recognize the realities of gender as a part of the modern work place. Little of this is unique to the legal profession, though some of the extremities, arising out of the "live by the billable hour" business model, are perhaps particular to the legal and perhaps the consulting industries. English strikes a balanced tone and searches for realistic answers to the persistent questions of coping with gender in the work place. It all rings very true, including the extremely balanced approach and acknowledgement of the impossibility of eliminating, rather than managing, issues relating to gender in the work place. Her research is exhaustive, balanced and compelling. It is a must read for professionals in all fields, both men and women.

This book is a highly entertaining road map to a not-too-distant future in which "work/life balance in the legal workplace" will be a given for both sexes, a world in which a well-balanced, well-lived life becomes the rule rather than the exception.

As a practicing attorney (male) of thirty years (and an all-too-frequent casualty of the dreaded fourteen hour days), I found this book to be informative, eye-opening, and most of all, encouraging.

Ms. English makes a compelling case for accepting and embracing change. Her book should be required reading at every law firm in America.

** Begin Excerpt ** To understand how 666 relates to this discussion, one needs to explore technology. One pertinent contributor to this technology is the International Business Machines Corporation. IBM developed a laser method of information transfer that has now become universally accepted. Lasers are used for many different applications in society today, such as measuring distances, detecting structural flaws, determining straightness, and so forth. You can see the IBM system at your local supermarket quickly reading prices and controlling inventory as it prints out a list of all purchased items. Since checkers no longer have to punch keys on a register, check-out time and errors are reduced. This system also provides the shopper with an itemized receipt. That receipt information is stored in a central computer, which keeps inventory and indicates what products the store should order, as well as which products should no longer be carried. ** End Excerpt **

I am Michael Zajac. No relation to the Author but I wish i were

it is sobering reading,comming from a scientist who also has knowledge of God and the Bible. It is helpful with another problem in regards to whether God does or does not truely exsist.Using something no one might have considered before...the Great Pyrimid. It may change you mind about a few things......

Ruth Luban has managed not only to describe professional burnout but also included 101 Ways to move from being a "human doing" to a "human being". The bibliography that she calls "Bibliotherapy" indexed by topic is worth the cost of the book itself.
Still as relevent today as when it was published.

I was feeling so morose and out of sorts a couple of years ago, when I happened on this book. I had no idea what was wrong with me, since I seemed to have both physical and mental symptons. The writer seemed to know exactly what was going on in my head. It was the affirmation I needed to know I wasn't going crazy, and it convinced my husband. We made some changes, and it literally changed and saved my life.

This analysis of injustice in the world system is important from sociological and political perspectives, but also impacts the ways in which real people live and act in the world. The ideas advanced in this text are particularly relevant in light of recent events (such as the war in Kosovo and terrorism in east Africa), and will be increasingly important as the world enters the coming millennium.

This book is at the cutting edge of alternatives to global, corporate, business culture. It's a serious analysis of how and why people are put on the margins of life, especially people who would be at the center of a just world. The chapters include straightforward issues of justice, including research on the Zapatistas in Chiapas, jurisprudence in North American, freedom and autonomy in Africa, fairness in Latin America, terrorism in the Middle East and Italy, and a thoughtful mix of diverse approaches to scholarship.

We talk a lot about "trust" in my organization, but it's always in vague terms. You get the feeling that everyone has their own definition, which they assume everyone shares. This book breaks trust down into easily understood components, makes a bottom-line business case for improving your relationships in the workplace, and then helps you do just that. It focuses on behaviors, not motivations, and therefore gives you a framework for talking about trust without accusing or blaming. It's one of the most useful business books I've read in a long time.

Robert Bruce Shaw addresses an issue that is often either neglected or handled with bromides. To its credit, Shaw's book does not overpromise by announcing a magical ten day program to restore trust. Instead, it provides an interesting variety of examples and succinctly shows how the organizations that have succeeded in establishing high levels of trust differ from their less adept colleagues. While doing so, Shaw does not engage in preachy denunciations. The overall tone of the book emphasizes creating solutions rather than affixing blame.

In that spirit, "Trust in the Balance" contains surveys of the key factors affecting trust in the workplace; surveys that can be easily used by the reader to spot problems in his or her organization. Each chapter has meaty analysis and specific guidance on the steps that should be taken to address particular trust problems. There is also a helpful "Trust-Building Resources" section in the back of the book.

One is fortunate to glean one good idea from many business books. Shaw's book contains many excellent points and observations. Anyone seeking a no-nonsense analysis of how to handle the "trust issue" should read this book. It will be well worth your time.

in my world history class i was doing a project on the japanese economic miracle after world war ii. this was the main source of information i used. i thought that this book was full of information involving the japanese and their sturggle to gain economic success. this book also taught me a lot about how the americans felt about the japanese. although in war they were enemies, after the war, since the US occupied Japan, due to their help, the japanese were able to get the success they wanted. if you are working on a project or just want to know about the japanese economic miracle, then i strongly suggest this book.

This book is BEAUTIFUL from the illustrations to the text to the spiritual journey Michael takes you on. The ancient wisdom in this book will ring true to every human who reads it - no matter where you are from. I love the Native Americian teachings, and this is one of the best examples I have read.

This is a wonderful book - the lessons, the stories, the exercises, all are superb. Through these different avenues/activities Michael Garrett really conveys not only native american rituals (what, how) but also such deep meaning and connection with mother earth (why). Its a fun book to read, very open and honest style that becomes a real page turner. I love the opening poems to the different chapters that set the stage. Here's the oe for the chapter entitled The Rule of Opposites: "The good road and the road of difficulties; you have made me cross; and where they cross, the place is holy." There are wonderful drawings throughout the book as well. This is definitely one of those books that you read and you think about life in its purest sense. The exercises at the end of each chapter give you good real-world things to do to really understand the teaching. I love it!! Highly recommended!

I began my American Indian roots exploration with this book. It is a wonderful book that teaches the interconnection of everything in life. Definitely a good read - I bought it so that I may refer back from time to time.

Agnes open the play with a monologue in which she contemplates the possibility that one day, unexpectedly, she might turn mad. She says she contemplates it with astonishment, but she does not sound very astonished at all, she is more... fashinated by the idea. Her husband is listening, but not listening at all as if he could not hear Agnes, or her talking about the possibility of becoming mad was perfectly normal, or she has been mad a long time and he discounts her.
I won't spoil the play, but (for me) it is an interesting investigation in what it means to be mad. Indeed it is not clear who is mad, probably all of them, possibly none. The bounderies of madness are not clearly drawn and characters seem to shift in and out of it on a continuous basis. Rules of the polite society are called into question. Is it mad to break them or to upkeep them?

The play is enjoyable to read, but not overly so, it is above everything else, enjoyable to think about.

Albee, the playwright who invented one of the more complicated and vivid relationships ever in a play in ZOO STORY, has again demonstrated his intimate knowledge of the deeper motives behind human interaction. Every interaction between characters in this play -- from long monologues to short snippets of conversation -- has behind it some manner of conflict.

Everybody in this play needs change, and can only reach it through the destruction of others; Tobias and Agnes who simply want to be left alone, but whose house has been invaded; Julia, the daughter who is betrayed by the fact that her parents gave away her room; Claire, who wants only to excercise her right to a good time; Edna and Harry who aren't quite sure what they need, and subsequently frustrate everyone else.

This is a very heavy play, but written in a such a way that is has the guise of being a comedy. A must-read for anybody that loves drama.

This is so much like Beckett's Human Wishes (throughout, especially II, ii) that either Albee read it in manuscript somehow, or else he felt the necessity of inventing it. The change from Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? is from a precision of language in an easy, American manner to one that is self-conscious and, well, "thought-tormented," and lasting.

The general sense is of a trilogy, Woolf-Balance-Seascape, or rather Pictures at an Exhibition: Town-Country-Seaside.

It's small and handy and I refer to it all the time. I even took down some notes in the margin.

Nancy Dunnan has taken 300 important and valuable personal finance lessons and made them fun, easy and interesting to read. Although some of these things you know already, it's not a bad idea to be reminded. In other areas, you'll either get new ideas or better ways to implement them.

Here are some of my favorites:

You can save money on international air travel by being an air courier (if you can live with carry-on baggage), and she provides a telephone number to get assignments.

While abroad, use your ATM card to get cash rather than your credit card. The credit card will start charging you interest right away.

To use that ATM card in many countries you need a 4 digit PIN code. Be sure to change to one before you leave home.

On the other hand, buying things abroad with a credit card is a good idea because you get a better exchange rate that way than by converting currency.

Want a beach home? Buy it in January in North America.

There's a service you can contact to find someone to pay your parents' bills when they can no longer do so, and they live far away.

You can save money by letting vines crawl up a trellis rather than your home.

If your bank is taken over by another one, switch your account to a credit union. Fees will be lower, and the rates paid on your savings will be lower.

Shop with 20 friends, and you can probably get extra discounts.

She shows you how to get rid of junk mail.

Be sure to check the register tape at stores that scan items. A 10 percent error rate is not unusual.

If you have student loans, she has lots of information about how to gain advantages in paying them back.

If you are near retirement, she has lots of good data on Social Security and tax issues.

If you take a cruise, be sure to buy any on-board gifts at the end of the trip (big discounts come then).

If you have too much debt, she can point you to those who can help you.

With this book, your money can take you much further. You'll also be proud of yourself for being a more intelligent consumer. So overcome your misconception stalls about how to get the most for your money with this book!

Interesting and useful tips that are mostly common sense, but you just don't think about! I recommend getting it and using it as a resource.