"As you’re doing down your life’s highway, how’s the road?"

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I’m driving down an interstate, on my way to a speaking engagement with a group. I’m cruising along, going the speed limit—of course—my radio’s going, playing a great song, the road is smooth, traffic is rather light, and I’m making good time.

All of a sudden, my car starts bumping along the road. Naturally I get rather concerned, thinking maybe a tire is going out on me or something worse is happening to my car. The problem doesn’t get any worse, but is still pretty persistent. Then I think, “Hey, maybe the problem isn’t with my car. Maybe it’s the pavement.” So I check my mirrors and change lanes over to the left side.

And guess what? It was like magic! I’m going down the road smooth again. So I stayed in the left lane for a while until some faster traffic approached, then eased back over to the right lane where the pavement was okay now.

As you’re going down your life’s road, you’ll run into some rough places, some bumpy stretches. Just change something you’re doing—like lanes—to a smoother way God leads you to. And listen to life as you do.

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"How's your family?"

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A TV reporter asked me last month to help out with a sweeps-week story about today’s busy families and their need for life balance. So I did, coaching a couple of families. After listening to them and their challenges, I developed a process I call “The Secret to Family Life” that uses the acronym “L.I.S.T.E.N.”

“L” is for listening proactively to one another.

“I” is for investing in your family.

“S” stands for searching for your family’s values.

“T” represents taking charge of your family’s schedule based on your values.

“E” is for expanding your family life, and;

“N” is for navigating life as a family.

Basically, this process revolves around putting your family in the center of your life, about listening to one another about what’s important, you take charge of your schedule instead of letting others decide it for you. Then you just live more into it as life gets better. Both families found an immediate and positive change as they worked the process.

With God’s help and some coaching, you and your family can listen to life and make a life, not just a living, too.

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"Do you make the most of change?"

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We recently built some new dog kennels on our farm. They’re a nice size for the yellow Labs we raise, but one of them, Jake, just wasn’t quite accustomed to it. So he barked and paced for a few days while it was his turn to remain inside. He didn’t appreciate the change in his routine.

Well, after those few days, I noticed that Jake was quiet during the time in his kennel. I wondered what had changed so I looked out at him when he wasn’t noticing. Jake had taken a ball, his favorite ball, from the yard and brought it in his kennel. So there he was, tossing the ball up in the air and catching it in his mouth. Then he threw it against the fence and pounced on the rebound.

He reminded me of when I was a little boy and my younger brother didn’t want to play catch and my dad wasn’t home. I would stand in the backyard, toss my baseball just as high up in the air as I could and then catch it.

Something will change in your world today and you may not like it. You’ll face a choice: complain and pace or make the most of it like Jake. Choose to make the most of it as you listen to life and make a life, not just a living.

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"Do you listen to life at work?"

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A young executive had a long flight home one Sunday. He thought about where he wanted to go in life and about dealing with some frustrations at work.

Well, he came down with a sinus infection on Tuesday but had to go in to work for more training. The training lasted through Thursday and his sinus infection kept getting worse as the week wore on. So he told his boss after Thursday’s training that he had to work from home on Friday.

Well, the boss called the young executive later that night at home and told him he absolutely had to be at a meeting at 9AM the next day. You know how the young executive felt about his job then…

…until he walked in the next morning and was awarded the Employee of the Year, the company’s first-ever such award.
The young executive told me, “It’s just funny how things in life happen, when you think you aren’t sure that you’re doing a good job or anyone’s noticing, then BAM! You get rewarded.”

Do you listen to life at work? Give it a try and make a life, not just a living.

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"What do you do while you wait?"

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Let’s think about all of the different times you have to wait in the average day. If you’re an average American, in your whole life you will spend an average of six months waiting on a red light. And that doesn’t count the time you sit in traffic jams on a freeway. The next time you’re sitting at a red light just think about it—6 months of your life!

And what about waiting on the telephone? The average person spends 60 hours per year on hold. That’s 2.5 days out of your year holding on the telephone. And you can’t blame it all on businesses either. Thanks to call waiting, you now wait on hold when you call a friend’s mobile phone or even your own home.

So what do you do while you wait for those 6 months at a red light or those 60 hours a year on hold? Have you tried praying? Not that the light change but that a friend’s health change? Not that your call get picked up but that a loved one’s spirit pick up?

There’s always time to pray and listen to life and make a life, not just a living!