Given the $975 trillion dollar self-help industry, I think it is fairly safe to say that we all just want to be happy.  I definitely prefer being happy.  In fact, the only thing that I prefer to my happiness is my wife’s happiness.  I know that taking care of my wife and ensuring her happiness are my top priorities.  She told me.  So what do we do when we aren’t happy?  We eat.  We drink.  We do drugs.  We shop.  You name it and we do it.  My personal vice of choice is ice cream.  Thankfully, I only have to hit the ice cream hard on rare occasions, but when I do, it isn’t pretty.  When I am not shoveling down ice cream, I am diligently supporting the self-help industry by buying and reading all of their various books and magazines.

As I pored through thousands and thousands of pages desperately searching for something to help me quit worrying about everything, I was struck by how similar self-help books are.  Every doctor, shaman, guru, life coach, celebrity and dog whisperer universally conveyed the importance of making the most of my life.  “Carpe Diem” and “Live Each Day Like It Is Your Last” were the two basic themes.  While in theory I think these are good ideas, I have always struggled with the practical daily execution of such a lifestyle. 

Now, I have really enjoyed most of my careers, but before I get all Dead Poets Society and jump on my desk, if I was living each day like it was my last, work is the last place I would be.  I would be burning through some serious cash at Disneyland or Hawaii with my family.  If I were to truly seize the day, I would have an incredible month, but at the end of it I’d be flat broke with a family to support.  What to do?

As I continued to obsess and worry about the future, I couldn’t let go and “seize the day” because I felt like I was neglecting my future responsibilities.  I knew that I needed better balance, but I couldn’t find anything that would give me tangible ways to achieve it.  It was important to me to change, so I started trying to figure out ways that I could do it on my own given everything that I had read and gone through.  After over a year of jotting down notes on all of my thoughts, fears, hopes, challenges, desires, successes and failures, I had the basis for live NOW.  The premise is simple – a set of practical tools, insights and reminders that enabled me to learn from the past, prepare responsibly for the future and live NOW.  Balance is the key.  Prioritizing today is the goal.

Since I have committed myself to trying to live my life this way, life has decided to test me on an almost daily basis.  The past eighteen months have been some of the best and worst times of my entire life.  From health scares and unemployment to insecurity and full blown dysfunctional family melt downs, I have struggled mightily to live NOW and treasure just how truly blessed I am.  I feel like I lose as many battles as I win, but it is too important for me to just give up.  I figure I only get one shot at this life, so I am committed to enjoying every moment I have and to being the best husband, father and person that I can be.  

I look at my kids and I can’t believe they are already 5 and 2.  Where did those tiny, precious angels go who would fall asleep in my arms?  Before I know it, they will be 16 and 13 and want nothing to do with me, so I am going to cherish each moment I have right now while they still think I’m a superhero.