Four Minutes in the Morning

http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2010/09/four-minutes-in-the-morning.html

by px • 16 years ago

172 44 16 years ago

smoody• 16 years ago

I know Brad and I've honestly never met anyone more in love with a significant other than he is (and visa versa). I would strongly recommend taking any and all of his relationship advice (and finding the perfect mate for you also helps :-). I am going to start this ritual tomorrow.

ptuzla• 16 years ago

You may need to convince your significant other for that though.

tyng2• 16 years ago

Thanks for sharing this. As entrepreneurs we (especially myself) tend to forget about the importance of the support we receive from our partners. But, life just isn't quite complete without spending quality time with our "other half". Four minutes a morning is definitely worth the effort!

michaelfairley2• 16 years ago

Brad also has a policy of answering his phone when his wife calls, no matter what. (He checked his phone mid-sentence when it rang while he was speaking at Google I/O). I think it's awesome that he has his priorities in life set out so clearly.

hugh3• 16 years ago

Clever policy, cuz it'll stop his wife from calling him unless it's actually important.

ggchappell• 16 years ago

It's great that he places such a high priority on his relationship with his wife, but I'd say that answering no matter what is a bad idea. Being respectful of the people we deal with often requires us to give them distraction-free attention. And that can mean not answering the phone, no matter what.

theBobMcCormick2• 16 years ago

I think the point is that he's decided his wife is more important than anyone else he deals with, no matter what. I for one respect that.

imack• 16 years ago

When I was in my last year of school and attending a bunch of recruiting events there was one CEO from a mid-sized consultancy who impressed us all by taking a call from his wife in the middle of his presentation in front of couple hundred students. He'd get the whole group to say hi to her and then said he'd phone her back, hang up, and continue with his presentation. Gave a good sense for the work/life balance.

Of course, we then heard that every term he gives that recruiting talk and every time his wife calls right in the middle...

I kind of became enamoured with his evil genius ways.

cema2• 16 years ago

  I kind of became enamoured with his evil genius ways.

I think I would not. Screw manipulators.

Timothee• 16 years ago

Wasn't it Rudolph Giuliani who did that multiple times during the 2008 presidential campaign?

Doing this as a gimmick doesn't work for me.

sandwich• 16 years ago

I don't think I understand. Is this the only time he spends with his wife? My S.O. gets upset if I don't spend at least an hour or two of quality time with them per day, let alone four minutes in the morning! If the only time we actually talked throughout the day to discuss our lives and problems was for a few minutes, I believe I'd find myself single. Am I in a weird relationship or something?

michaelfairley2• 16 years ago

I think it's more that they have a bare minimum that they spend with each other, and only each other, with no exceptions. Too many couples spend hours together, but watching TV, or cooking, or any numerous other activities that distract them from just enjoying being with each other.

maukdaddy• 16 years ago

I'd argue that watching TV together and cooking together are entirely different things. Passively watching TV and never talking is awful. Cooking together should involve interacting, talking, asking questions, conversation, etc.

nwomack• 16 years ago

I think it's not necessarily the only time he spends with his wife, except when he's travelling. I think the key words here are "morning" and "100% focused on each other".

pbhjpbhj5• 16 years ago

There's no way I'm 100% focussed on anything in the morning.

tyng2• 16 years ago

It's about having a special moment with your partner, a moment that's devoted to nothing but each other.

samiq• 16 years ago

I just hang up on my gf who is, literally, in the other side of the world (i'm in seoul, she is in costa rica) and were discussing the same stuff.

we work together, at the distance, she spent the first 7 months of this year here with me and now we have a few months aside... and quality time, distraction-free, thru skype makes wonders and is needed no matter what.

when were together here we'd go to momments of solitud where we'd focus on each other, this not only made us relax and forget about all the project's stuff it nurtured our relationship.

I don't know if Brad's policy of answering the phone is wrong or good, but seriously guys work is just a mean to be happy... been with ur SO is been happy.

I think us as entrepreneurs will tend to let ourselves go with all the crazy stuff that goes on launching a project or staying ahead of the google's, apple's and facebook's stilling our thunder... but we cannot let all that take our life just as well.

nice post and thanks for sharing!

pbhjpbhj5• 16 years ago

>I just hang up on my gf who is, literally, in the other side of the world (i'm in seoul, she is in costa rica) and were discussing the same stuff.

Hope you finished the conversation first. ;0)

JoeAltmaier• 16 years ago

Your spouse is (should be) your anchor, your foundation, your one trusted person in the world. You get to have a special relationship with that person. You get to give it priority over everything else, unconditionally.

Other people, if they're wise, know this and make accomodation for it.

salemh• 16 years ago

Similar to his talk at TEDxBoulder, CO some weeks back (which I attended): Quarterly Week off the Grid. One solid week away with his wife: no cell, laptop, etc. http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2009/03/the-rhythms-of-life.... http://boulderreporter.com/tedxboulder-lets-hear-it-for-the-...

Good prioritizing in a routine, but the argument becomes..is "4 minutes" (4, 15, 1hr) / 1 week a quarter adequate? How about daily several hours with the people you love? Her opinion?

Revisor• 16 years ago

I think it's understood that by these rules you ensure the minimal time spent with the important people. Neither the 4 minutes a day, nor the 1 week a quarter are adequate, they just build the low threshhold in stressful times.

Four Minutes in the Morning

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