Editorial Review:
What do you do when your life feels as busy as a three-ring circus?
Juggling Elephants tells a simple but profound story about one man with a universal problem. Mark has too much to do, too many priorities, too much stress, and too little time.
As he struggles to balance his many responsibilities without cracking under the pressure, Mark takes a break to attend the circus with his family. There he has a surprising conversation with a wise ringmaster. He leaves with a simple but powerful lesson: Trying to get everything done is like juggling elephants -- impossible.
So Mark begins to think about his work, family, and personal life the way a ringmaster thinks about the many acts in a three-ring circus. He discovers that managing his various acts can be fun and easy once he changes his attitude and follows his new friend’s ongoing guidance. Mark soon realizes:
• If you keep trying to juggle elephants, no one, including you, will be thrilled with your performance.
• A ringmaster cannot be in all three rings at once.
• The key to the success of a circus is having quality acts in all three rings.
• Intermission is an essential part of any good circus.
Juggling Elephants is a wonderfully lighthearted guide for everyone who feels like they’re about to be squashed. It will help you better focus your time and energy, so you’ll be able to enjoy more of the things that are important to you. Above all, it will teach you how to run your circus, instead of letting the circus run you.
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 
Lots to Learn in a Short Book  2008-07-21
When is a circus more than just a circus?
In Juggling Elephants, a recent publication by the pair Jones Loflin and Todd Musig, the authors use a fictional character, Mark, whose life is in turmoil because he has so many things going one he cannot seem to get them done. His wife insists that he take his daughter to the circus where he meets a vacationing ring master who shows him that the circus itself is a metaphor for prioritization in his life.
The premise of this short, easy book is that to gain clarity we should all look at our life priorities and divide them into three groups (three rings of a circus). The rings are professional, family / friends and self. Whenever the rings are unbalanced life is in disarray. They go on through this fictional story to give anecdotes and hints on how to obtain a happier, saner and more effective life in general. The book ends by Mark passing the wisdom of the ring master down to his own daughter who is having her own struggles with balancing the job and family life.
With less than 150 pages Juggling Elephants doesn't take too long to read, even if you consider yourself a slow reader. Jones Loflin and Todd Musig are no strangers to what they are writing about either. Both are speakers and trainers and have been associated with the self help industry for a while. The book is in a similar format to the Who Moved My Cheese? phenomenon that Jones Loflin was previously associated with.
Does the premise of Juggling Elephants work? The proof is in the pudding. I have already been playing with the ideas of this book in my own life and find them to work for me. I think that if you are one of the many people who might need some clarity in your life you would benefit by reading this book and implementing the three rings into your busy lifestyle.
How to master your three-ring life 2008-03-25
If you enjoy business parables, this is a good one. The images of trying to juggle elephants and becoming the ringmaster of your life are all vivid and instantly memorable, as is the parallel of life management mapped as a three-ring circus. Jones Loflin and Todd Musig keep the story engaging and emotionally involving while presenting their lessons clearly. Nothing in this book is very deep or innately innovative, except the metaphorical imagery, but getAbstract thinks that several things will have you saying, "Right on!" as you recognize your problem pachyderms and learn positive ways to handle them.
Easy to understand  2008-02-15
This book made some of the complications of tme management easy to understand and implement.
So that's why I'm so frustrated! 2008-01-11
This book is wonderful!
"The result of juggling elephants is that no one, including you, is thrilled with the performance."
There were several "ah ha!" moments as I was reading this book. I realized that part of the reason I feel so overwhelmed sometimes is that I try to be in all three rings of my "circus" at the same time. When I am doing one thing, I am thinking about all the other things that I am not getting done. (Sound familiar to anyone?) This book has helped me learn how to focus on the important things, and figure out which "acts" belong in my circus.
As a full-time mother of three my rings may be somewhat different from the typical reader of a book like this, but it was very easy to apply this metaphor to my life, and I already feel more in control as the "ringmaster" of my own crazy circus!
A quick, easy read, a great tool to help you take control of your life. I highly recommend it. :)
A personal GPS! 2007-11-29
As if being the mother of two teenage sons and running a home-based business wasn't enough to keep me busy, my recent divorce shifted the daily to-do list into overdrive. I was running in circles and couldn't understand why--at the end of the day--I had added more to my list than I had checked off. I was overwhelmed and losing focus. Something had to change.
This book came at the perfect time. It's an entertaining, practical guide for everyone who would like to turn their juggling act into a balancing act and regain control of their "life circus." I am now more focused, more productive and even finding time to have fun again.
Juggling Elephants is a quick read with lasting, life-enriching benefits for those who take the advice to heart. Proof once again that perspective is everything! I've already bought two more copies to give as gifts.
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