Personal Growth

Broken Family – It doesn’t have to be this way

The most heart-breaking stories are those of broken homes and fractured relationships. There’s one reason – because in most instances they’re avoidable.

This post is part of the series – Non-Negotiables For a Healthy Family
Broken Family – It Doesn’t Have to be This Way
Family – Do You REALLY Care About Yours?

This past week I was told of two families who are navigating incredibly challenging circumstances. In one household, the father has a history of abuse and the family has had enough. In the other, one parent was convicted of embezzling funds in the workplace and is serving a long-term prison sentence leaving behind a spouse and 3 precious daughters.

3 Things I Learned From Taking An Extended Vacation

For the past several weeks, my wife Sarah and I have enjoyed time away with our two children on a much-needed vacation.

We’ve had a busy spring and summer including Sarah completing a masters degree and her counseling licensure requirements, launching and maintaining this blog, the birth of our son, a significant career transition – you get the picture.

BONUS: I’ve created a NEW Guide that will walk you step-by-step through writing your own Personal Life Plan. You can find out how to get a copy of this life-changing tool at the end of this post.

So we both recognized the need to get away. And I’m glad we did – here’s what I learned…

Transition – 3 tips for successfully navigating it

I am on vacation with family for a couple of weeks and will be posting occasionally. Though I have limited access to email and social media, I look forward to reconnecting and resuming my regular posting schedule when I return. If you would like to guest post in the future, please contact me.

Life is a series of new beginnings. One chapter closes – and another opens – over and over. Which means that you and I periodically encounter seasons of transition.

You know what I’m talking about. Because you’ve been through it. Depending on the circumstances leading up to the transition, it’s natural to focus on the crisis, the pain, challenging circumstances. It’s all too easy to assign blame, point fingers, and ask why me.

These behaviors have little value and almost never help the situation. Let’s face it, we really can’t do much about the transition anyway – it’s going to happen one way or another.

Instead of being consumed with the uncontrollable, those facing transition are better served when they focus on these 3 disciplines:

Leaders work with their eyes open

There are times when it would be perfectly appropriate for a colleague to square up, grab both shoulders, and ask – What are you looking at?!

What do you REALLY value in your work? What elusive dream or fulfillment are you seeking?

According to the Smith-Kettlewell Institute, the vision of a newborn is substantially developed over the first 8-10 months of life. It is believed that most infants have 20/30 (or nearly perfect) vision by 8 months.

I know this because this week I Googled “when can my baby see”. I wanted to know…

Taking a Day Off

I’m taking the day off (sort of) to hang out with my new son. I hope you’re OK with that.

Michael Andrew Nichols was born Monday, July 2. If you like details, he was 7 pounds 6 ounces and 19 1/4 inches. Mom and baby are both doing great!