Summary: This podcast is a rebroadcast of <a href="http://www.bnipodcast.com/2010/01/06/episode-136-the-secret-to-balance/">Episode 136</a>. Synopsis Dr. Misner’s secret to creating balance in your life is this: “Forget about balance. You’ll never have it.” The good news is that harmony in your life is possible. “Balance” assumes equal time on everything that’s important. Harmony is not balanced, but it’s complete as a whole. Here are some keys to a life that’s in harmony. Be Here Now Set time aside for the things that really matter. Find ways to integrate different parts of your life When you’re 70 years old, you’re not going to wish you spent more time at the office Harmony is created where harmony is sought. What do you do to create harmony in your life? Leave a comment and let us know. Brought to you by <a href="http://www.networkingnow.com">Networking Now</a>. Complete Transcription of BNI Podcast Episode 136 - Priscilla: Hello everyone, and welcome back to The Official BNI Podcast brought to you by NetworkingNow.com, which is the leading site on the Net for networking downloadables. I’m Priscilla Rice, and I’m coming to you from the beautiful Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkley, California, and I am joined on the phone today by the founder and the chairman of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner. Hello, Ivan. How are you? Ivan: I’m doing great, Priscilla. I’ve got a fun topic today. Priscilla: What’s that? Ivan: The Secret to Balance. Priscilla: Great. Ivan: I think this is a great topic for the beginning of a new year. People – the year is starting up, and they’re thinking about their lives, and so I thought this would be a really good topic to cover. Because personal and professional balance in our lives seems to be the ever elusive dream for many business people in trying to balance home, work, health, spirituality, free time seems almost impossible, something that business people have told me for years. Priscilla: Right. Ivan: Well, I’m really pleased to tell you that I think I’ve found the answer to creating balance in your life. Are you ready for this, Priscilla? Priscilla: Yes, please. Ivan: Write this down; here it is. Forget about balance; you’ll never have it! Priscilla: Okay. Ivan: I spoke at a conference once, and they were asking me about balance, and I said that publicly. And I heard this woman from the front row go, “Oh, no!” She was so upset, “No balance, that can’t be; it’s not right.” But there is good news. Although I don’t think balance is possible, I do believe you can create harmony in your life, and this differentiation is more than just semantics. It’s really a critical approach to looking at life that can free you up to see the world in a different way. Balance assumes that we spend an equal amount of time in all or most areas of our life. It’s like the image of the scales where everything is completely in balance and equal, and it assumes that we have to have a certain portion of each week devoted in some equal measure to every item that’s important in our life. Well, the problem with that is that almost no one can really achieve that, especially entrepreneurs and professionals and sales people. We tend to live such hectic, busy lives that it’s incredibly difficult to fit it all in. So what do we do about it? For me, it’s about creating harmony. Just look at the image that represents harmony. It’s a swirling circle, and it seems – by its very nature, it looks like it’s out of balance if you’re just looking at one-half of it or the other half of it. Even its image is lopsided when you look at one aspect at a time. But the whole feels complete, and this is the way to look at the issue. At least it’s the way that I’ve looked at it that’s really worked for me. Sometimes I work crazy, long hours for days in a row or I may be on the road traveling for business for many days at a time. On the other hand,
