Foreword

I’ve always felt that a really good book is a book that you’re angry you didn’t write. Nick’s written that book and you’re reading it now. I’ve struggled with an obsession with productivity while balancing work and family my whole adult life. We’re told to work hard now so we can relax and spend time with our loved ones later. Make that money, then achieve those goals, then retire. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that way and we often burn out long before we reach the end of the rainbow.

More importantly, we’re so busy that we often don’t have time to just be. To reflect, and not just to be happy, but to have a moment to breath and even ask the question - am I happy? Are we happy? Is this family doing OK? As nerds we are wired to fix things, to measure things, to analyze things. This is our weakness and our great strength. Nick has put together his experiences and his measurements and his analysis and asked the hard questions for us. He’s collected real world experiences from other people like us and synthesized this book as a way to start the right conversations.

With the spirit of Ready Player One and the sensibility of a nerdy Oprah (an Oprah who runs a regular WoW raiding party) Nick’s created “Nerd Life Balance.” It’s a great way for you to start a journey to find balance, your way. Thanks Nick for sharing your experiences and for encouraging us to share ours!”

Scott Hanselman
Parent, Programmer, Professor, Phony
http://hanselman.com