“Family life drifts towards complexity over time.” This is a statement that was originally said by Andy Stanley as “…organizations drift towards complexity over time…” He was talking about business and organizational leadership; but the same is true for every aspect of our lives. Today we are joined by Mike Stelzner, an entrepreneur that realized this one day regarding his family. Mike decided to take immediate action to fix this in his life. A decision that all of us parents can benefit from.
In This Episode
- Our interview with Michael Stelzner
- We’ve got free tickets up for grabs for the Parenting Expo in Cleveland
- A proactive parenting tip; 5 ways to get that family time you’ve been wanting.
- A highlight on some FamilyLifeUniversity Community Highlights
Announcements
- We want to give a quick welcome to our newest team members:
- Frebe, Krushali, Nick and Abhishek.
- Your chance to get some FREE tickets to the Parenting Expo in Cleveland on April 26th and 27th.
- Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
- Click here for more about the Parent Expo Cleveland
- We have been giving 10 tickets to give away, and here’s all you need to do to win:
- Visit: www.FamilyLifeUniversity.org/facebook (our Facebook page)
- Click on the Cover Photo. (or CLICK HERE to go right to that photo)
- Comment on the that photo about a moment where you felt like a Parenting Rockstar or your spouse was a Parenting Rockstar.
- We will randomly select the winners on March 3rd and contact you via Facebook (this is easiest if you Like the page)
Proactive Parenting Tip
We think most of us want that elusive “family time”. One thing that gets in the way however, is “drifting”. Most families drift towards complexity over time. None of us look down at our first born kid that first time we get to hold them for a long time and say; “you and I, will spend as much time together as I can manage considering the demands on my life. I can probably squeeze you in on most Saturdays for about an hour, and then twice on Tuesdays.”
But life does indeed get more complex month after month. So how do we get more family time? The answers are easy, but be warned. You may not like them. We didn’t say they are fun or simple…just easy.
Five Tips To Get More Family Quality Family Time
- Clean Up Your Mess. We believe true success for your desire to have more family times starts and ends with a clean calendar. If you are like most people, you have over committed yourself. You are going to have to get some stuff off your calendar.
- Clean Up Your Phone. Turn off all notifications and alerts on your smartphone that deals with email and social media. A recent statistic I heard on a the Mac Power Users Podcast is that the average person gets 50,000 notifications a year.
- Clean Up Your Closets. The more organized and structured your home is, the more time you’ll have to play because the less time you’ll spend cleaning, organizing and looking for stuff.
- Clean Up Your Properties. Do you tell people that your spouse and children are more important to you then anything else? If so, can we peak at your calendar and budget and see where your money and time is really going?
- Clean Up Your Calendar. See our ideal family week schedule in this post
Featured Segment
Michael Stelzner is without a doubt a busy guy. He is an entrepreneur that is wildly successful. His current company; Social Media Examiner is the go to source for social media marketing know how. And like many busy parents, Mike had an awakening to the reality that time flies by in regards to everything; especially our kids. He explains the motivation behind is passion project; www.MyKidsAdventures.com
Links We Mentioned In The Episode
Eric’s Takeaway:
Eric Here: I love the fact that the simple activities are often the best. I’m going to work on keeping this simple. That game night Mike mentioned was such a great idea. Our kids’ want to be around us, their parents.
Marissa’s Takeaway:
Marissa Here: I really appreciate the fact that Mike didn’t give up on his work when he realized he wasn’t spending the focus he wanted to be on his kids. It’s possible to (with balance) to chase both amazing parenting and hard work in a job.
Care to Share
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Question: What is a favorite activity that you love to do with your kids? What’s your favorite activity on My Kids Adventures?
Our Guest Is
Michael Stelzner
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Michael Stelzner is the founder of Social Media Examiner—a popular online magazine that helps businesses answer social media questions with useful ‘how to’ articles, in-depth case studies, expert interviews, and original research. He’s author of the new book Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition. He also authored the book Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged and the Social Media Marketing Industry Report.
As an innovative thought leader and experienced marketer, Stelzner has gained the full respect of social media leaders and business marketing experts alike. In less than 18 months, SocialMediaExaminer.com grew from infancy to boasting over 94,000 subscribers and is now the top small business blog in the world according to Technorati. He also pioneered the highly popular Social Media Success Summits, which have sold out for two years in a row-in the middle of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. The principles that Stelzner teaches are the very concepts that helped him build two highly successful businesses that made him a leading expert in both industries.
You can connect with Mike at: