This issue is made up of the following sections:

1. Personal Effectiveness Tips
2. Questions for Growth
3. Reality Check

1. Personal Effectiveness Tips

Some tips to inject more fun in your daily life:

• Try not to take yourself too seriously. This can be one of the greatest lessons we learn in life. As a human, you are destined to screw up, fall on your face, and fail miserably from time to time. Understand this, and learn to laugh at yourself when this happens.

• I recently read an article on the internet about some folks in Portland, Oregon that have arranged a Coed Adult Dodgeball League, complete with eight teams of ten players and a championship tournament. The participants are not allowed to wear helmets and shoulder pads (as you would think they would be in these litigious times we live in), and they spend two hours at a time playing a childhood favorite. The rules are simple: you get hit, you are out. Nobody complains, everybody gets to unleash some tension, and everyone gets to feel young again at heart. The games are even played in an elementary school gym! Now, I don't know about you, but two hours spent throwing balls at others sounds like two hours well spent to me. Take opportunities as such to be a kid again, if only for two hours! Ironically, it will introduce some much needed balance in your life, allowing you to return to adulthood refreshed and ready to go.

• Consciously spend time laughing each day. Spend time thinking about how hilarious this rat-race we call life is. Watch Three Stooges Reruns (which are still funny after all these years!), rent a comedy movie you've been wanting to see, listen to a David Sedaris CD (his live stuff is best) or just make it a point to hang out with people that make you laugh. Laughter is sweet medicine for the soul. Prescribe some in your life.

• Schedule time for your hobbies on a weekly basis. Guard this time as you would your lunch hour. One hour spent a week (and I know that everybody can afford at least one hour. If you say you cannot, you are merely hiding behind that excuse) engaging in something that you find pleasing and soothing can clear your mind like nothing else. One of my weekly fun events is learning Swedish with a native-born speaker who tutors me for an hour each week. Not only does my vocabulary expand, but I gain exposure to a brand new culture and someone to challenge my thinking in a new way. Not bad for a Friday afternoon lunch date!

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2. Questions for Growth
1. When was the last time you actually scheduled time for goofing around?

2. What would be the immediate daily consequences of you taking yourself less seriously?

3. How would your company/business/family benefit from scheduled leisure time?

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3. Reality Check

I was walking out of a parking ramp last month when I happened to notice a vanity license plate that read SURVIVE on it. At that moment I first became annoyed, then chagrined, for whomever drove that car surely missed the point about what life is all about. Thus the reality check for June focuses on the constant battle between our ears to live a life that is full of excellence, passion, and fulfillment.

I have always enjoyed the concept of the iceberg metaphor. Iceberg metaphors aptly describe both people and life, where what you see is only ten percent of what is really there, and that which is there is really much deeper and richer than we initially comprehend. The Titanic learned this lesson the hard way, but we are not predestined to meet the same ill fate. In existential theory, one main tenet surrounds the concept of how we as humans deal with the issue of our own individual mortality. Although death physically ends us, the idea of death can enable us to live a life void of fear, reservations, and regret. I have always believed this to be a sound principle to live by, as it allows us the freedom of actively designing a life filled with enriching and meaningful experiences. Therefore, life is about breadth and depth (to get back to the iceberg metaphor). It is about immersing ourselves in the journey (that which is underneath it all) rather than in the destination (that which is obvious). I think many people miss this about life. We become caught up in materialistic definitions of success. We keep one eye on our lives and another on the lives of our neighbors. We fail to take time for perspective and reflection, which are the tools by which we can add breadth and depth to our lives. We jump into relationships, investments, and new jobs, hoping that they alone will bring us the fulfillment we desire. It is akin to watching the neighborhood dog spin in circles as he chases his own tail, hoping that one day he might catch it. This might seem exciting for a little while, but as time passes, all that results is nausea and confusion.

Breadth and depth in life are attainable, provided you are willing to look further. The pursuit of these qualities in every aspect of our lives is simple if we can focus on the journey rather than the destination. That is why I believe that license plate (SURVIVE) missed the mark. Life is never about just getting by; it is about getting the most out of each experience. It is about the joy of creating something that will add value to the lives of those around us. To limit yourself with a belief that life is all about mere survival is tragic. Seek greater enjoyment within your daily life experiences, and seek to better these experiences as often as possible. The end result will be added passion and joy in your life.

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