Are You Brave Enough?

My wife and I had the delight of visiting this past weekend with some dear friends, Kevin and Christine O'Brien.  They will be the godparents to our newborn and we couldn't be happier.  Their daughter, Catie, sadly passed away two years ago to a rare form of cancer.  Their brave journey has been captured on their website, Catie's Wish.

In our dinner conversation, we talked about their courageous journey of innocence, tragedy and hope.  We also discussed work and the whole "work to live/live to work" thing.

Kevin, an executive with a national pharmacy, riffed about how he sees one leader after another working 80,90 or 100 hours a week.  "It's nuts to me," Kevin said, "since you could be with your family for a chunk of those hours if you just got more productive with the first 40 hours."  In other words, work hard so that you can have a life outside of work.  You know, your family and friends?  Remember them?

I couldn't put it better myself.  This is just another reason why we talk about productivity being an act of bravery.  To have the courage to work so well as to make a difference (and not give your family the short stick) is truly inspiring.

Are you brave enough to put your family first and still be a top performer at work?

*I chose for this post's art the photo of Christian musical artist Steven Curtis Chapman, a dad who also lost a child far too early in life.  To find out how you can help the O'Briens' cause to cure pediatric cancer, visit CatiesWish.org.