Life Matters: Creating a dynamic balance of work, family, time, & money

by Rebecca R. Merrill, A. Roger Merrill, Rebecca Merrill, et al.

Book Overview

"This book is a great read, especially if you have a family, where balance in life is paramount " -Larry King, host of "Larry King Live" ". . . a gold mine of practical, achievable ideas that will... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0071441786
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: McGraw Hill
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.9" x 0.7" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Another classic, good material, well presented

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

Another Best Personal Development Book Since 7 Habits!

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 usefulideasfrom 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!

Life Matters provides inspirational life balance ideas

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.

Right On!

"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.

Concentrated stuff

When you go to the hardware store to buy herbicide, the leading brand offers several containers of the same size with different label colors. The prices are dramatically different; you can buy a pint for prices ranging from $8 to $50. Looking a little closer, you discover that the higher the price, the greater the concentration.Life Matters is highly concentrated. It doesn't cost more money, but invites slow, thoughtful consideration. When I first considered the Merrills' 3 "key do's in life that make such an enormous difference," my eyes glazed at the words. I thought they were cheesy jargon. However, as I continued reading how these "key do's" apply to work, family, time and money, I had picture after picture develop in my mind of realistic ways to share greater happiness with my family, neighbors and work associates. Building on well-known habits of relationship building, time management and personal mastery, Life Matters goes deep into how to achieve success that lasts across decades and generations.In one volume, the Merrills have provided a gateway for 21st century people to apply the wisdom of the millennia. You will gain profound benefit by accepting their invitation and giving Life Matters thoughtful consideration.