A Child Shall Lead Them.

Wednesday I became a grandfather for the first time to a beautiful 8lb 14oz little girl. While my son and daughter in-law kept telling me they were going to have a daughter I would jokingly tell them, no its a boy. The longer the pregnancy went on past her due date, the more I would say, "It's because he is a late bloomer and needs a little more time to develop". Today I saw her for the first time. I sat on the couch for over an hour doing nothing; just sitting there allowing this gift from heaven to sleep on my chest. I must tell you, I haven't "just sat" anywhere for a long time. This joyful experience led me to write today's Blog.

When was the last time you did nothing? I mean really nothing? No books, no Ipods, no TV's, no cell phones, no email. Nothing. When was the last time you just sat and enjoyed each other? Not thinking of work, the yard, the clothes or the bills; just each other. When was the last time you talked? Talked about the past, the present and yes even the future? When was the last time you shared your dreams and even your fears? When was the last time you planned fun into your life?

If we aren't careful we may find ourselves spending more time running after things than we should. We can spend more time cleaning and cooking for our our loved ones than we do laughing, crying and learning with them. We can spend more time preparing for their future than we do enjoying their present.

Life is about doing our best to become our best so that we can develop the gifts and talents we have into skills and to use those skills to make this world a better place...... starting at home with the ones we love and then sharing them with others.

This week why don't you take a minute and think about your loved ones? When was the last time you enjoyed them and when was the last time they enjoyed you? Really enjoyed?

A successful life has balance. Balance between what we do for a living and who we are. It's about having a solid personal life and a strong professional life; each one complimenting the other, never competing. Your professional life should be a tool that brings joy, happiness and comfort to your personal life and your personal life should be one that allows for growth and development in your profession. When they compete it is because they are out of balance.

My granddaughter reminded me that life is about balance and we all need to slow down once in a while to enjoy the blessings God has already given us before we start looking for more.

Happy Birthday Alayna Nicole Wagner and thanks for the lesson in life.

G-Bob

Trying to Manage Time is a Waste of Time

Think about it, can anyone really manage time? Of course not, but we can manage the activities that consume our time. This is where most people miss the mark. They go through the day from activity to activity and when the sun sets and they haven't finished everything they wanted to they complain about not having enough hours in the day. Week after week, year after year and they never catch up, then before they know it they wake up closing in on retirement and no closer to the life they want. Bummer. What if you could actually get everything done that you need to and have plenty of time to not only enjoy that family of yours but even have enough left over to help others? Well the great news is that you can by applying the following steps:

1. Find out how you spend your time.
a. Look at every task you do and ask yourself. Do I really NEED to be doing this? Can I delegate it or not do it at all? Be serious in this step. Make a list and write down all the tasks you find yourself doing and then ask: "Were these steps really necessary and beneficial for a productive day and did they take me toward the life I really want or pull me away?" You may be surprised at how much time we spend doing habitual or wasteful things that add no real value to our life.

b. Prioritize the tasks that MUST be done and work on them and only them until they are complete. NEVER NEVER NEVER do any task that is not on this list while some remain undone.

c. Delegate or eliminate any task that is wasteful or non-productive.

2. When you go to work, WORK!
a. Stop goofing off, stop hanging around the water cooler and telling jokes, stop cruising the internet for personal reasons and quit reading the non-work related items in your inbox. Leave that for lunch and break time. Now it doesn't mean you can't take a few minutes for personal conversation while you work, just be cautious because you know as well as I do that a few minutes can easily turn into 15 or 20

b. Eliminate or control distractions. Every organization has time wasters who waste their own time and they want company. Make sure you don't give in to them. Set time limits on interruptions and schedule meetings when it is convenient for YOU. Turn off the email pop-up and only answer email at scheduled times, preferably around 10Am and again at 4PM before you leave for the day. Do the same with phone calls.

3. Become an expert in your field
a. Be a life long learner and learn everything there is to know about your field of interest and keep learning. People that are experts in their field have the knowledge it takes to perform quicker and better than those with limited knowledge.

4. Know and Work Your Strengths
a. Everyone has gifts and talents they excel at, these are your strengths. You know those tasks that you enjoy and are good at? Spend more time doing what you do well and less time doing the things you struggle with. If possible find someone who is good at and who does enjoy doing the things you don't and delegate those tasks to them.

5. Work on Your Weakness
a. Spend your scrap time (Driving, waiting rooms, lunch etc.) learning ways to develop and strengthen your weak areas. You may only grow a small amount in the areas you have little interest in, but even a small growth can produce time savings.

6. When you go Home, GO HOME!
a. Leave the computer off, the phone on answering service and your brief case closed. If you can't get your work done in 40 hours, you either have placed too much on your plate or you haven't been managing your tasks efficiently. Your family deserves to be with you, your kids need you active in their life and so does your spouse. Remember you work to live you don't live to work.
b. If you live alone, do all the work at home you want but you must also take time to recharge and enjoy the fruit of your labor along the way too.

Imagine you are in a raging river with only one paddle. The river is full of rocks and fallen trees and if you don’t pay close attention to them, you will crash. The water is moving so fast that you don’t even have the time to look up and enjoy the scenery. This goes on all day long and when it finally gets dark you pull ashore to get a few hours rest and the next day you start all over again. How long do you do this? For some they do it until they run out of river, till the Lord takes them home or until they crash and give up.

Folks that is what life is like for many people. They are so busy just trying to stay afloat that they don’t even know where they are headed and if they stop for a minute to reflect on the past, it is mostly a blur with only a few moments of time that really stand out.

That is not living and it certainly isn’t enjoying life to the fullest. If you are married you really better watch out because your spouse may not want to stay in that river as long as you do and the next time you wake up, you might just hear them tell you that they are not getting back in the boat with you anymore.

Every river ends at the sea and every life ends in the graveyard. What matters most is how much time we took to enjoy the things God placed in our paths along the way. Many of you need to stop and ask yourself, why am I doing this and is this how God wants me to live? If you don’t have the time to enjoy life, especially the people God has around you, my friend you better pull aside, and look to see if there is a different river that doesn’t move so fast that you can take. You are the one who decided to take the course you are on and only YOU can change it. Think about the absolute worst that can happen if I got out right now. Then compare it to the absolute best that you will have if you do and take your family and RUN after the best!