4 Steps to Relationship Design

Brett Campbell shares a 4-part framework for designing the relationship of your dreams

4-steps-to-relationship-designMany of you know I left my career as a corporate lawyer earlier this year to become a full-time ghostwriter and content coach. Although the point of that transition was to lean into my family life, little did I know how much that process would impact me from a relational perspective….

I started the transition in late 2015 after someone approached me with a manuscript by an accomplished speaker, trainer, and coach, who wanted a professional set of fingers to help him finish it in a way that made sure he served his readers well. She thought I'd be a good fit and a part of his core audience and suggested I accept this as my first big project. So I did.

The book was by Brett Campbell, who had created a 4-part framework for designing business and personal lives that he'd been using with clients and audiences through speaking engagements, live training events, and one-on-one coaching and consultants. His clients and audiences had been seeing great results.

But his challenge was to find a way to translate a message and system that was conveyed effectively on stage or the phone to something that worked well on paper, a completely different animal, and a skill I developed by writing millions of words in a professional and creative setting.

Over the course of working with Brett to ensure his book delivered on the promise to give actionable, effective steps and a new perspective to accomplishing goals far larger than you would imagine are possible, I started quietly applying his system to my personal and business life.

(If you know anything about me, you know that I'm constantly asking myself how I can apply business lessons to my marriage to consistently improve my relationship. Working on this book was no different.)

In the months working with Brett, I became inspired by his 4-part book and personal improvement framework to be even more deliberate with my business and personal life.

Because of that, I asked Brett to come on the Confessions of a Terrible Husband podcast to share his framework with us and talk with me about using it to improve relationships. Although Brett designed the system for more broad application to your life overall, many of you know that I'm a big proponent of asking how great systems, lessons, or content can apply specifically to improving relationships.

You can listen to the interview right here:

If you prefer, you can also listen (and subscribe) on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, Facebook, and more, where you'll see dozens of other episodes and be able to get new ones sent right to your phone!

I'm excited that Brett agreed because our conversation was so much fun and useful for two reasons.

First, it's a great conversation about the substance of his framework and the steps you can take to improve many areas of your life. That alone is awesome.

Second, it's a great peek into how I approach great content to apply it to improving marriages. You can hear me do out loud what I normally do in my head, taking the content and applying it to relationships. You can even hear Brett react to some of that and further that discussion.

Definitely check it out, and if you want to check out Brett's book, he's doing a presale now on his website right here where he's giving away $347 in bonuses if you preorder the book. If you prefer, you can even get the book on Amazon right here. Brett's special preorder page has additional purchase options. Once you buy, send your email to Send or forward your receipt to: bonus@brettcampbell.net and if you buy it on time he'll email you the bonuses. Pretty awesome. I have already been through two of the bonuses and they're awesome.

Remember, one of the most effective ways to consistently improve your marriage is to be consistently searching for new lessons and perspectives on personal improvement and asking yourself how this can apply to the most important areas of your life. If you want to get started doing that, this episode is a great example of how to do that with an even better example of a substantive 4-part framework to help you do it!

When you have a listen, I'd love to hear what resonated with you about the framework or the process we demonstrate about applying content like this to relationships! Be sure to come back and let  me know what jumped out to you in the comments!

Are you moving too fast to be happy?

When the speed of your life can change the happiness in your heart

UPDATE: This post has turned into one of the most popular posts on Confessions of a Terrible Husband! Because of that I took a few minutes to talk about it a bit more on the Confessions of a Terrible Husband Podcast. You can listen to the episode by clicking the play button at the bottom of this post or by visiting any of the listening options linked on the top of the page!

Also, if you're interested in joining my upcoming small group marriage mastermind, be sure to sign up for my email list because I'll be revealing details to the subscribers first! It will be limited to 12 people! Just sign up here on the sidebar, or you can also email me at nick@aterriblehusband.com!

Are you moving too fast to be happy-I did something different yesterday morning that reminded me of the importance of the pace with which we live our lives.

If you want to listen to the story, click the play button at the end of this post where it says “Listen Here.”

If you prefer to read, here's what happened:

My six-year-old son, Pavlos, woke up super early (6am, compared to 7:15 or so).

He was (as he usually is) full of energy.

The house was quiet. My wife and 4-year-old daughter were asleep.

I was up reading.

We normally tell Pavlos when he wakes up to look at the clock and if it is before 7am he can get up, brush his teeth, and get changed, but he then has to get back into bed until at least 7.

He's pretty good with that routine.

At about 6am yesterday, I heard the thud of him jumping out of his bed followed by the pitter patter of his tiny little footsteps going from his bedroom to our bedroom.

For some reason, however, I decided to interrupt his routine yesterday.

“Pavlos,” I yelled.

The footsteps stopped, and then started again, growing louder and louder as he bolted down the stairs.

He turned the corner and, as Zig Ziglar would say, smiled so wide he could eat a banana sideways.

I smiled, too, said good morning, and gave him a big hug and kiss.

He knew I wasn't sending him back to bed, so he asked me if I could help him find his bag of popsicle sticks and some post-it notes because he and his friends had planted jellybeans at school and the kindergarteners kept digging them up.

He wanted to make “flags” to put around the jellybeans so the kindergarteners would know there were plants there that the first graders were wanting to grow into lollipops.

We made flags.

It was such a fun time, with him writing “plants here” nice and neatly on the post-its, me making some, too, and then me reinforcing the post-it notes on the sticks with scotch tape.

When we were done, he gathered his “flags,” put them in a ziplock bag, and stuck the ziplock bag in his backpack.

He was so excited.

I then asked him if he wanted to take a walk with me.

We had never taken a walk before school, and we hadn't taken a walk at all since well before winter.

We both put on the closest gear available, him wearing bright red rain boots, the first coat he could find, and a baseball cap, and me wearing black pajama pants, a white t-shirt, a wool hat, and my winter coat.

We took a 10-15 minute walk to the end of the cul-de-sac and back.

I led him in conversation a bit, but mostly let his mind wander and asked him questions about things that are important to him.

When we got home, he grabbed the post-it notes, again, and ran to the corner of the room.

I got ready for work.

He told me when I get to work to look in my backpack and “dig deep.”

I did.

At the bottom of my backpack was the crumpled post-it note you see right here.

Is your pace limiting your hapiness?I called my wife to let her know about the note because I knew she would find it cute.

She told the kids that I was on the phone and to say hi.

Pavlos yelled in the background:

“Hi Dad! I had a great time with you this morning!”

The sincerity and joy in his voice were obvious.

I melted.

Then I paused.

Then I realized that I sometimes let my mind speed through the day, racing through the minutes and hours like an athlete training to win the next race. I spend the whole day focused on what I need to do next to accomplish a goal I have set for my personal or professional life.

I stick to my routine, wanting to finish my reading goal, have a certain amount of quiet time, or otherwise just continue according to my “plan.”

I spend the whole day focused on what I need to do next to accomplish some personal or business goal months or years out.

Other times, I slow down and realize that I'm already winning, right now, in ways that are way more important than whatever comes next.

How can you slow down today?

What can you interrupt?

What can you say yes to?

How are you already winning in ways that are more important than whatever comes next?

Listen Here:

15 Tips to Stay Married For 25 years, 4 Months and 9 Days

Please join me in welcoming Pamela Hodges to Confessions of a Terrible Husband. Pamela writes at I Paint I Write and has been married a long time! She's here to share some of her secrets to success with us! Let us know what resonates with you in the comments. 🙂 Any you agree with? Any you disagree with? Let us know!

15 Tips To Stay Married for Twenty-five Years, Four Months and Nine DaysMy husband and I met on January 26th, 1990 at the Atusgi Naval Base, Atsugi Japan. I was working as a photographer in Tokyo and he was working as a Naval officer stationed on the Midway. Five days after we met I drew him a picture of what I wanted my engagement ring to look like. Four days later he shipped out. Twenty-seven days after we met he proposed to me on the phone from a port stop.

We were married on September, 22nd, 1990 in Wayzata, Minnesota. Twenty-five years, four months and nine days later we are still married.

Fifteen Tips To Stay Married for Twenty-five Years, Four Months and Nine days.

  1. Buy Expensive Tissue. When your spouse is sick in bed with a bad cough and a runny nose and they only have septic safe toilet paper to blow their nose, offer to go the store even if it is ten o’clock at night. Buy the softest tissue they have.
  1. Close the bathroom door when you are pooping or peeing. And don’t walk in on your spouse when they are pooping or peeing. Keep the romance alive and keep your butt wiping private.
  1. Put down your phone when you are on a date. You really can wait to find out the score for the basketball game you are missing. My husband still needs to work on this one.
  1. Remember a glass on the counter by the dishwasher is just a glass on the counter by the dishwasher. I have to work on this one. Sometimes the glass on the counter feels like a personal insult.
  1. Don’t talk badly about your spouse in public. Ever. Not even once. If it is a story about when they locked they keys in the car three times last week, ask if you can tell the story first.
  1. Have sex frequently. When I told my husband what I was writing for number six, I said, “I could use improvement on this one. “ He said, “Yes, you could.”
  1. Have sex only with your spouse. That goes for kissing too. Borrow your neighbour's lawnmower, or their carousel horse, but not their spouse.
  1. Always tell the truth. If you just bought a carousel horse at an auction for six-hundred dollars, tell him the truth. And if you are the spouse that had to find a truck to pick up the carousel horse, be nice. You never know when you might buy a six-hundred dollar carousel horse and need grace.
  1. Pray together. Prayer kept us together. Even after I threw a pot.
  1. Keep your spouse's secrets. Don’t tell your friends that your husband picks their nose. You want to feel safe to share your feelings with your spouse. Be trust worthy.
  1. Be nice. See rule number eight about the carousel horse.
  1. Listen. And when you are listening, pay attention to the other person, don’t just be waiting to tell your own story. Please, please, give your spouse a chance to explain why they bought the carousel horse.
  1. Feel free to fart in front of each other. I know that might seem to go against rule number 2, the pooping rule, but holding flatulence in all day, is not easy. If this rule bothers you, then step outside or fart in the bathroom. If a fart sneaks out before they can run outside, give your spouse grace. We all have gas.
  1. Don’t talk about your spouse’s feeling to other people. Three-way communication is ineffective. If someone wants to know what your spouse thinks, encourage them to ask your spouse.
  1. Encourage your spouse to keep dreaming and following their passions. Life is not stagnant. We are always learning and growing. The person you married is changing, they will not be the exactly same person you married twenty-five years ago. Grow with them.

Your spouse is your friend, your lover and your biggest fan. Encourage your spouse to keep dreaming and following their passions.

Two years ago I started taking classes at the local community college. I have taken classes in Computer Graphics, Typography, and Page Layout and Design.

Last fall I made an adult coloring book, “Color The Cats – Forty Real Cats From Around The World and Their Stories,” in my Page Lay-Out and Design class.

The book was independently published on Amazon on December, 16th, 2015. 10% of all proceeds from the book go Best Friends Animal Society.

xo
Pamela

p.s. I bought the carousel horse after we had been married for about seven months. If I hadn’t been outbid on the wooden chicken I would never have bid on the horse.

4 things I learned about conflict from successful couples that revolutionized my marriage

Number 3 shocked me.

I'm excited to welcome my friend Jamie Slingerland as a contributor to the blog. Jamie is Associate Coach at View From the Top who focuses on helping younger men enjoy success and significance in their personal, professional, and spiritual lives.

A dedicated husband of thirteen years, to Ruthie, and father of four young children, Jamie knows the struggles and responsibilities of owning a home-based business while at the same time committing to not watering down the quality of interactions with the people who matter most, his family. Having pulled themselves out of almost $90,000 in debt and a burn-out lifestyle, Jamie and his family now enjoy spending time learning together through homeschooling and traveling the country. Please join me in welcoming Jamie to Confessions of a Terrible Husband!

4 things i learned about conflict that revolutionized my marriageDo you feel bad when you and your spouse have conflict?

Does it take days for you to air out the room after a bitter war of words?

If so, you’re not alone. For years I thought the ideal marriage had zero conflict.

No disagreements.No arguments. Ever.

So when my wife and I argued it made me feel like a big fat failure.

And feeling like a big fat failure made me say some pretty dumb things and, ultimately, hurt some feelings.

After the emotions died down I'd replay the argument in my head and end up with hurt feelings myself.

We both felt disconnected.

After spending the last few years spending as much time as possible with couples who had successful marriages, I understand that cycle much better, as well as how laughable my marriage mindset was at the time.

I used to feel terrible (pun intended) because my marriage had conflict.

Over the last few years, however, I've observed four things by hanging out with those successful couples.

1. A marriage without any conflict often means somebody has lost heart, or hope, or is suffering in silence.

Even the most loving couples have conflict. The difference is that their conflict is resolved well. They don't let it escalate to hurt feelings.

2. Couples who are growing together learn how to handle and manage conflict with more maturity and empathy.

One of the keys to a strong marriage is how they handle that conflict. Slowing down and reminding yourself to act maturely and with empathy can go a long way with keeping the right mindset until the conflict is resolved.

3. Arguing with your spouse the right way can actually be unifying and provide another opportunity to grow together.

Can arguments actually be a good thing? Because they are inevitable, yes, they definitely can. Arguing the right way is calm, mature, empathetic, and healthy. Resolving conflict together is a big deal and something that can bring you together. Once healthy conflict resolution becomes the norm, there's no more sneaking around, avoiding issues, or dreading walking through that front door. Knowing that any conflicts are going to be handled well, and respectfully, brings your marriage to a whole new level.

4. Conflict can help you love your spouse even more.

Over time, handling conflict will have a snowball effect and give you even more to love about your spouse. You will not only value the respect they give to your viewpoints and the grace with which they handle the differences of opinions, you will begin to enjoy them and see how their uniqueness adds to your uniqueness to make both of you better. You will love that they are different than you, more and more, once those differences stop leading to arguments and hurt feelings.

Remember, if you were both the same, one of you wouldn’t be necessary!

I could go on and on about what I've learned from hanging out with happily-married couples who have been married decades longer than me, but the lessons I learned about conflict are some of my favorites.

What's the last thing you learned from another couple to help strengthen your marriage?