ROL: In A Moment.

ROL(Return on Life) is the "help improve your life" counterpart of ROI (Return on Investment). Simply stated, ROL suggests incremental changes or activities that can produce major returns toward a better quality of life (QOL). This week's ROL is about what could happen in a moment.

About a week before Passover, I saw something different as a Facebook Post from my friend, Marjorie. The post began "Hi, Dan here and it's going to be me for a while. Marjorie fell down a flight of stairs, fractured her skull and sustained a traumatic brain injury." Dan has been updating Marjorie's stream regularly and results have been mixed. Marjorie is apparently getting better but progress is slow and inconsistent. It's going to be a long road for the family.

Until the fall, it had been a pretty good year for Dan, Marjorie and their daughter Emmy. They moved back to their beloved, adopted hometown in the Midwest after a brief stay on the West Coast. Marjorie had landed a job and was looking forward to gainful employment. Luckily(?) Dan and Marjorie had friends that could take charge of Emmy until grandparents could get into town. I can chart out in my mind what I would do if my wife was severely injured, but I really have no idea how I would move forward if this happened in my family.

Next time you're spitting mad because you didn't get your first choice when the family orders take out, think about my friend Marjorie and her family. I'll bet the dim sum will taste just as good as the egg roll.

Please keep Marjorie, Dan, Emmy and their extended family in your thoughts and prayers.

What about you? Any stories about perspective or reality checks you would care to share?

ROL: It's Just Stuff.

ROL (Return on Life) is derived from the metric ROI (Return on Investment). Just as changes (hopefully small) to investment increase profitability (hopefully disproportionately larger than the increase in investment), small incremental changes in behavior can greatly increase QOL (Quality of Life). This week's ROI is about stuff.

Monday was a day of contract work. Monday was also part of the seemingly endless spring break for my kids. Work is about 70 miles away. I take the kids to Grandma and Grandpa, about halfway to work. On the way home from the Grands, we saw black smoke in the sky. I thought one of the local farms was doing a seasonal burn, but the winds seemed way too high and gusty for a land burn. As we approached our subdivision, it was obvious the smoke wasn't from a land burn. Luckily for my family, all the activity was two blocks away.

April, 10, 2012

The fire chief estimated the damage to the house at over $150,000 including the loss of personal property. My wife and I think the fire chief is at least $100,000 short. The siding on both neighboring houses also buckled and will need to be replaced.

When the fire started, the owner of the house and her two dogs were on the back deck. There were no injuries to the owner, her dogs, the neighbors or the fire fighters. Once the fire started, no injuries to anyone is the only outcome required.

When a family heirloom, a car or even a small kitchen utensil is broken, it can be very frustrating. Sometimes, the loss of property can go beyond frustrating and be a monumental pain in the neck. But in the end, it's just stuff.