Monday Morning Motivations Tenacity Pays

Published by Robert A. & Vicki L. Prentice of Professional Development Systems
August 11, 2008 Issue 313

From the Desk of Bob

Greetings!

This week's "Seeds of Success" article might sound kind of mushy to some readers. I guess I am okay with that since I wrote it and sometimes I can be a mushy guy. I wrote it about the most incredible woman in the world to me. I know I have given her public praise in the past and she has deserved every bit of it. About now you might be thinking Boy, Bob must have done something really bad if he is schmoozing his wife in public like this. Honestly, I have not. I am writing this week about one of the biggest life lessons I have learned. This is a special message to all married people and married-people-to-be. I have never written about this subject before. Today is a good time to start.

Cheers! Bob

Life Attitudes

Pearl S. Buck: "A good marriage is one which allows for change and growth in the individuals and in the way they express their love."

Tom Mullen: "Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom when we love the ones we marry."

Barbara DeAngelis: "Marriage is not a noun; it's a verb. It isn't something you get. It's something you do. It's the way you love your partner every day."

Seeds of Success: A Strong and Vibrant Marriage

By Robert A. Prentice

People often ask me how I write these articles each week. I tell them that, basically as I sit down to write, I think about my life, and take a good look at all the different facets of it, looking to where I am the most successful and then to areas where I know I have some challenges. I then decide on an area that I feel I have earned the right to write about and speak about, and go from there.

My marriage with Vicki has been on my mind quite a bit lately. I know that I must be one of the most fortunate men on this planet. Vicki has walked beside me every step of our journey of nearly 30 years together, and I am a very, very blessed man to have her in my life. There, that is enough of the mush stuff for now! <smile>

Taking care of business has always been a high priority in my life and, as most everyone who knows me can attest to, I am kind of a nut about it. Taking care of my family is an absolutely vital function of my daily activities. Add to that all of my hobbies and all the other activities I love thrown in and I think I have a pretty full and productive life.

I have found that investing about 30 to 60 minutes of quality time with my wife, first thing in the morning is the most important thing I have on my daily agenda of activities. I sincerely desire to give the best part of my life to Vicki and our relationship. She deserves the best of me. Now, we have always tried to make time for each other every day-even if it's only over the phone or via the email when I am traveling-but in the last couple of months, we have purposed to make "our time" early in the morning, rather than waiting until the end of the day. We have found there are a number of benefits to doing this: In the morning, we are fully rested and wide awake (after a bit of coffee or tea, that is); it is a brand new day with bright hope for good things to come and we can share with each other our anticipations, expectations and possible challenges and concerns for the day ahead; best of all, we can go our separate ways for the day and know that we have done what is most important to both of us-we have spent quality time together, sharing, laughing, discussing, encouraging, praying together.

We have discovered that unless we give each other the best of ourselves first thing in the morning, it is very likely that we will only give each other leftovers at the end of the day. Obviously that can take its toll even on a good marriage. We realize that we cannot afford to let anything-not our business, not our children, not our friends and extended family, not our interests and hobbies-take a higher priority than our marriage. We must work to maintain a strong and vibrant marriage and never allow anything or anyone to get in the way of that.

My advice is pretty basic this week. Give your marriage top priority in your life. Take action, make changes, hold each other accountable and build a great life together. It is quite simple, so why do we make it so difficult? If you want a strong, vibrant marriage it does take work. It takes time too.

Remember that it is a learning process, so do not beat yourself up. Just make change happen today. Invest in the one you love and you will reap a strong and vibrant marriage!

On the Sunny Side of Life: LOVE IS... (according to kids)

In a survey of 4 to 8 year olds, kids share their views on love. But what do little kids know about love? Read on and be surprised that despite their young and innocent minds, kids already have a simple but deep grasp of that four-letter word.

* When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.

* Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.

* Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.

* Love is when my Mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is okay.

* Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My mommy and daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss but they look happy, and sometimes they dance in the kitchen while they're kissing.

* When you tell someone something bad about yourself and you're scared she won't love you anymore. But then you get surprised because not only does she still love you, she loves you even more!

* Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they've known each other so well.

* Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken.

* Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.

* You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot.

* People forget. You have to fall in love before you get married. Then when you're married, you just sit around and read books together.

* When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.

Bob "Mr. Attitude" Prentice is available for Keynote, conference engagements, and in-house company training assignments Call to schedule Bob TODAY! 800.437.9715

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