Off Balance

Getting Beyond the Work-Life Balance Myth to Personal and Professional Satisfaction
by Matthew Kelly | Avery © 2011 · 160 pages

Matthew Kelly asks: If you had to choose between balance and satisfaction, which would you choose? Satisfaction, right? 10,000 out of 10,000 people agree. Who wants “balance” anyway? And who came up with the idea of “work-life” balance? Big Ideas we explore include figuring out what you *really* want in life, becoming the best-version-of-yourself, answering the ultimate question, mastering energy management and learning to take the decade view of your life.


If you had to choose between balance and satisfaction, which would you choose?
Matthew Kelly

“So what is it that people need and want? People need and want a satisfying experience of life. Over the past three years I have asked more than ten thousand respondents, ‘If you had to choose between balance and satisfaction, which would you choose?’ Not a single respondent chose balance over satisfaction. People want to live deeply satisfying lives both personally and professionally. They want to know that both are possible at the same time. They want to be told that they don’t have to sacrifice their personal priorities on the alter of corporate America in order to have a satisfying career. People want personal and professional satisfaction (PPS). …

The promise of this book is to help you design and build a more satisfying life in both the personal and professional arenas. We will do this together by approaching our lives with the strategy and rigor with which the very best companies in the world approach business. The result is a personalized system that you will be able to apply to your life, year after year, to drive higher levels of satisfaction. If you are faithful to the system, I promise you this book will change your life.”

~ Matthew Kelly from Off Balance

I’m a big fan of Matthew Kelly and his wisdom. Check out our Notes on a couple other great books: Perfectly Yourself + The Rhythms of Life.

Let’s take his quiz:

If you had to choose between balance and satisfaction, which would you choose?

Satisfaction, right?

10,000 out of 10,000 people agree.

Who wants “balance” anyway? And who came up with the idea of “work-life” balance?

Matthew makes the point that “work-life balance” presupposes that work isn’t already an important, integrated part of your life. You simply can’t (!) (and shouldn’t want to) separate the two but when you throw out a phrase like “work-life balance” you create a weird, unnecessary dichotomy.

MUCH better to dynamically create a sense of personal and professional satisfaction. PPS. Helping us do that is what this book is all about. (Get a copy here.)

It’s a super-quick reading, inspiring, practical little book packed with Big Ideas. I’m excited to share a few of my favorites so let’s jump straight in!

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About the author

Authors

Matthew Kelly

Author, Speaker, Business Consultant