I have been fairly quite these past couple of weeks.  This is that time of year where my family is constantly on the go.  We have travel baseball, travel softball, and archery.  The schedule for the kids get so hectic from week to week and this weekend, the tournament schedule begins for our two younger ones and our oldest is competing in the state DECA competition with his high school.  Despite all of this, we love every bit of it.  We only have our children with us for so long, and we have made it a point to ensure that we enable them to have every opportunity to pursue their passions.  It is a joy to watch them all doing things they love to do and excel at what they do.

With all of that said, having such a hectic life can be a recipe for tearing at the relationships in the home and in life.  The same holds true for people that get so caught up in the craziness of work and forget about home as well.  Amber and I make it a point to take advantage of those times when we are not on the go to spend with one another and do things as a family to ensure we do not lose touch with each other.  I know we are not the only ones that do, but it is important to point out how significant this can be.  If the busy life causes you to lose sight of the important things in life, especially your family, how in the world can you ever call yourself successful.

As with most blogs I write, there is a key quote that goes along with it.  The quote I found today was great and comes from the late Zig Ziglar.  Mr. Ziglar stated, “I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles.”

I know many people that are so steadfastly focused on their work or other busy goings on in life that they forget the focus needed on the home life.  It is all about balance.  This was the reason I call my venture 4 Pillar Living.  There is a balance to every aspect of life that needs our focus and attention, but we cannot get so focused in one area that we neglect other areas.  You can never be truly successful that way.  I believe success is attained when you are able to balance each of these key pillars of life in a way that they begin to compliment one another.

I’ll go back to my original example of the busy schedules of our children.  If Amber and I were strictly all about the kids events and activities and did not take time for another that would hurt our marriage.  We take the time to unwind and spend together.  Even if it is just sitting on the couch together late in the evening after the kids are in bed.  When I am working from the house we make it a point as much as possible to get out and go to lunch together.  That is our time to spend with each other.  Even if I have a busy day with work, I make sure I step away to spend my time with her.  What good am I if I focus on work, work, work and neglect her or even my family.  That is the way to disaster in the home.

These are things I have learned over time.  I stumble at times, but I have learned and work to improve on each of these areas of life.  The same holds true when it comes to my faith.  I can balance my life with work and family, but if I neglect my faith and my walk with God, how can I ever be truly successful.  He created me for purpose, just like the rest of us and if I neglect that, then I cannot be successful.  As Mr. Ziglar said it is a balance of success stories.  You have to be able to find success in each area, in each pillar.  Don’t neglect one over the other.  Find success in each area then you can be successful.