How To Know A Man

This is a picture of my grandfather, Pvt. Russel D. Stein. He fought and died in World War II.
 

PVT Russel D. Stein

134th Inf. Regt. C Co.

Battle of the Bulge- Jan. 4, 1945

The thing is, unlike many others of his generation, he didn’t have to go to war.

He had an automatic deferment because his work was essential. My grandfather was Postmaster General of his small town in Kutztown, Pennsylvania.

He was also above the age of the draft.

My grandfather had a wife and a daughter, who, I can imagine, were precious to him. My mom was only three years old when they received the news that he was killed in action during the largest battle on the western front, the Battle of the Bulge.

Because of the action he took, I’m left to assume that he was a man of conviction. He knew the risk of going to war, and yet, he still chose to go. 

Thinking about his life of service, makes me wonder:

What am I so committed to, that I’d be willing to risk my life?

What would I die for?

I ask myself that question often as I get older, and on Memorial Day, especially.

Yet, as simple as that question is, it’s nearly impossible for me to answer.

The difficulty comes because I’ve never been put in that position…to die for something.

Because my grandfather, and other men and women with similar convictions, fought for the United States and took an oath to protect and honor its Constitution, you and I haven’t been placed in that situation.

I never knew my grandfather and didn’t have the opportunity to ask him about what he valued.

But I can guess what his values were because I know what he did with his life.

He was an athlete.
He was a scholar.
He was a man of faith.
He was a servant leader in his community.
He was a soldier.


The truth is, if you want to know and understand a person,
take a look at their calendar.
 

What we value is reflected

in how we spend our time.

So, today I sit and reflect on the lives of the countless men and women who didn’t come home from war.

I’m filled with gratitude for what they chose to fight for.

And I’m also filled with the sobering reality that I have the responsibility to make similar choices.

The quality of my life
is measured by my daily choices.

I owe it to my grandfather and other fallen heroes,
to live a life that is congruent with my values,
congruent with my faith, and
congruent with our constitution.

So, I keep circling back to this difficult, yet I believe, imperative question:

What am I willing to die for?

Now, more than ever, we need people who lead their lives in alignment with their values. 

This weekend I want to offer you a challenge. And, what I’m challenging you to do, is something I do every Sunday. I call it my Weekly Review.

Your challenge: Take 15 minutes and asses your calendar. Look at the activities and obligations and projects you’ve got scheduled.

Does it make you uncomfortable to look at how you spend your time?

Are your days getting away from you?

Is what you’re doing reflecting the values of society, rather than your own?

If so, you’re not alone and it’s not your fault.

We live in a work driven, always on culture and it’s the rare person who takes the time to do a regular check in … with themselves.

And yet, that’s exactly what’s called for if you want to lead a life of meaning.

The men and women who lost their lives serving our country, no doubt, took a pause and made sure that their actions aligned with their values.

If you desire that same level of assured conviction knowing that what you do and what you say, aligns with what you believe…

then I want you to schedule a call with me. 

As a seasoned life balance and leadership coach, the work I do guides busy people out of autopilot and into a life that has meaning and purpose.

Today, you might feel as though you're on a hamster wheel, with no way off...

We can fix that.

Our world needs you to live and lead with integrous conviction.

Lisa Bobyak is the founder of Living Fully Balanced™and she’s been challenging the current hustle culture and preventing burnout for nearly a decade. Because her life once ran on autopilot, she experienced burnout several times and faced life altering challenges as a result. Now, her mission as a Life Balance and Leadership Coach, is healing burnout and teaching life balance strategies to high achieving women.

Lisa is the creator of the Beyond Burnout Kick Start, the Living Fully Balanced Life Planner© and the semi annual Pause Retreats .