Aligned Thinking

Make Every Moment Count

James Steffen

• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Year: 2006
• Print ISBN: 9781576753606
• eBook ISBN: 9781609943110
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Time Management

Too much to do! I never get anything done! I have so little control over my life!These were thoughts Ray had as he headed home later for supper, confident his wife, Carol, would be sympathetic to his problem.One sentence into unloading his problems on her, he heard, "Too much to do? Tell me about it!" Her problems were as big as or even bigger than his.When they went to a friend for help, they discovered more than hope, "That sounds like us several years ago. But Coach Eric's Aligned Thinking not only solved those problems, it helped us to do what most people believe impossible: align every action to what we really want.With mild hope and huge skepticism, Ray and Carol visited Coach Eric and gave him a description of their ideal professional and personal life. Coach Eric assured them that Aligned Thinking could help them enjoy each item on their list. However, when he asked them to add to their list "make every moment count so life becomes a celebration, " Ray and Carol became even more skeptical.Join Ray and Carol as they discover the proven power of Aligned Thinking.

PART ONE

Discovering the
MIN Secret

CHAPTER ONE

The Black Tunnel

Too much to do! I never get everything done!

Too many interruptions!

Not enough time with the family!

So little control over my life!

Life doesn’t seem to have much meaning anymore.

THESE WERE Ray’s thoughts as the train from Lower Manhattan tunneled to New Jersey under the Hudson River. As Ray looked out the window into the blackness, an occasional light flashed by to show him how dark the tunnel truly was.

How fitting, he thought. This is like my life. I feel like I’m in a dark tunnel. My life is underwater. The infrequent flashes of light reminded him of the few lights in his life—his wife, Carol, and their two children. Unfortunately, as with the lights flashing by, he saw them for all too short a time.

What have I really accomplished today? Ray took out his organizer and reviewed the day. He’d skipped lunch and stayed late at work. He added two things he’d forgotten to put on his to-do list. This made the list longer than it had been at the beginning of the day. He felt miserable.

In frustrating times like these, his wife was his beacon of hope. When he talked over problems with Carol, she always helped him come up with solutions. What a great partner he had! He resolved that he’d discuss his dark, underwater life with her tonight.

Ray looked at his watch. Nine o’clock already. Dinner would be over and the kids would be in their rooms working on their homework. The thought angered him. He pounded the time organizer as if it were the cause.

Life is too long on work and too short on real meaning, Ray thought. The muscles in his neck felt so tight they hurt. He couldn’t wait for Carol to help.

“I need things to change!” he declared.

CHAPTER TWO

An Unwelcome Surprise

AS RAY walked to his car from the train, he called Carol on his cell phone to let her know he was on his way home. She sounded a bit distracted but told him she would be very glad to see him.

Once home and settled in, Ray reviewed his frustrations and anger with Carol. He fully expected that she would listen sympathetically. With her experienced help, he would create a specific plan to solve the problems.

Ray had just started his list of frustrations when Carol interrupted.

“Too much to do? Tell me about it!” she fumed. He wasn’t prepared for this. Instead of a supportive ear, he got an earful.

“I was up with you at six,” she said. “As soon as the kids were off to school, I was off to work. You know I hate to have them come home before me. Even though they’re older now, it’s still not okay. When I got home today, they were both doing their homework, which is great. But I had to take Tammy to her music lesson, do shopping, spend time on my own paperwork, and then go back to pick her up. As if that weren’t enough, I needed to interrupt it to get Jamie to and from baseball.”

Carol was on a roll. It was obvious that she also needed support.

“Work was full of interruptions interrupted by interruptions,” she continued. “Our lives are empty! There’s too little family time, too little control, not enough getting accomplished, and too little real meaning!”

With the flood of anxiety Carol was dumping out, Ray couldn’t get a word in.

“Ray, what’s happened to our dreams? We wanted to have daily family time and family weekends a few times a year. And what about alone time for us? This isn’t our dream! It’s a nightmare!”

Carol was close to tears. Finally, Ray saw an opening and said quickly, “You’re right! We have to change if we want to take control and live our dreams. I wish my dad were still alive. He was usually busy with business, but when he was home, he’d help me think through problems. When he retired at sixty-two, he’d planned to spend more time with Mom and us kids. But he died just a year later.”

“Let’s not let that happen to us,” Carol said.

Ray paused a moment and just looked at his wife. “Tonight, when I was in that black tunnel under the Hudson, I tried to figure out when all this started. What happened to the dreams we had before we were married?”

Carol shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“I think . . . ,” Ray hesitated, struggling for words, “the trouble started as early as our honeymoon. Remember how I had a hard time relaxing on that glorious beach? I couldn’t just enjoy the sun and sand . . . or even you. I had to check the stock market almost every hour. There were three of us on our honeymoon: you, me, and my work!”

“Four of us!” Carol sighed. “I wasn’t exactly the blissful bride. I had just landed my first managerial position. I couldn’t let go, either. I called the office at least ten times during that week, when I didn’t have to.”

“How can we get rid of all this meaningless stress?” said Ray. “Who do we know who really seems to have their life together?”

The question hung in the air.

The silence thundered!

He restated the question. “Who do we know who has found great meaning in life?”

Carol’s eyes lit up. “That sounds like Ed and Alanna! They have five kids, and one of their sons is mentally handicapped. On top of everything, Alanna finds time to distribute goods to the poor.”

“You’re right,” said Ray. “Ed seems so centered, and yet he’s got his hands full with a very successful company. He hasn’t exactly had it easy, either. One of his key employees started a business behind his back. The guy used Ed’s salespeople to sell to Ed’s own clients. He charged Ed’s clients and put the fees in his own pocket, the whole time drawing a salary from Ed. He even used Ed’s copier to copy his invoices. That’s how Ed caught him.”

“Talk about stress,” said Carol.

Ray nodded. “Yeah, it messed up Ed’s business for a while. But no matter what’s going on, Ed always seems to find great meaning in his life. He and Alanna have a glow about them, like they’re connected to some tremendous, hidden power. I want to know what that is.”

“I’m sure they’d be willing to share some ideas with us,” said Carol.

“Would you call them tomorrow?” Ray held up a hand.

“No, wait. You’re busy enough. I’ll make the arrangements.”

That night in bed, Carol laid her head on Ray’s shoulder, the way she slept many a night. It was reassuring. Yes, she truly was his beacon of hope in the dark tunnel. He got the feeling that the train was starting to slow down. Ray, not an overly religious man, let a little “Thank God” slip out.

CHAPTER THREE

Aligned Thinking Offers Hope

THAT SATURDAY evening at their favorite restaurant, Ray and Carol met Ed and Alanna for dinner. As soon as they ordered their meal, Carol—being the action-oriented person she was—related the entire situation: the frustration of too much to do, too many interruptions, and too little meaning in their lives.

Ray added, “Carol astounded me. In some areas, her situation was worse than mine. We asked ourselves, Who among our friends seem to have their lives together, and how do they do it? We thought of the two of you. You seem to have some secret power we’d like to know about.”

Ed smiled. “Thanks, guys. It wasn’t always this easy. Alanna and I used to have the same feelings and problems that you do, like too much to do and too little meaning in life. Then we attended a workshop led by Coach Eric. He was our soccer coach in school, Ray. Remember?”

Ray nodded. “Sure. Never had a coach who was more positive and encouraging. We won a lot of championships with Coach Eric, didn’t we?”

“Yep,” said Ed. “Turns out Coach’s business is giving productivity seminars to Fortune 500 companies. He helps people get what they really want from life and work by guiding them to become Aligned Thinkers. He’s highly successful at it. Thanks to Coach, Alanna and I learned how to live as Aligned Thinkers.”

“Aligned Thinkers?” Carol looked dubious. “What’s an Aligned Thinker? I’ve never heard that term before. Is becoming an Aligned Thinker complicated?”

“No. It’s easy to learn and even easier to use,” Ed added quickly. “Becoming an Aligned Thinker depends on a set of tools that will help you discover the MIN Secret.”

“What’s the MIN Secret?” Ray asked.

“MIN stands for ‘most important now,’” Ed replied. “It’s an amazing concept that can be used by anyone: homemakers, students, retirees, and businesspeople. It will help you make every moment count. When that happens, you are well on your way to getting what you really want. The wonderful thing about Coach’s Aligned Thinking tools is that they provide a powerful, proven solution to all the frustrations you and Carol are experiencing.”

“Hate to be a skeptic,” Carol said, “but I find this hard to believe.”

“It’s true,” Alanna responded calmly. “Your situation sounds like ours fifteen years ago. At first I didn’t believe I could live as an Aligned Thinker, not with five kids! But once I applied Coach’s simple tools, I went from living a nightmare existence— with all the frustrations you’re expressing—to being an Aligned Thinker, living my dreams.”

Carol shook her head. “If something seems too good to be true, it usually is. Alanna, if I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were putting us on. Make every moment count? With a job, husband, and two kids—I wish!”

Alanna replied, “Coach has a way of making difficult things simple. When he described what an Aligned Thinker is, we questioned whether it was remotely possible to live that way. But Coach Eric made believers out of us by showing us step-by-step how to become Aligned Thinkers. We proved to ourselves that we could really have the life we wanted, even with five kids plus.” She turned to her husband. “Ed, you can draw. Show them the Aligned Thinker circle.”

Ed drew on a napkin and said, “You ar...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Preface
• Part One: Discovering the MIN Secret
• Part Two: Implementing the MIN Secret in Your Life
• Note from the Author
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author