Rather than learning to settle for "meh" relationships, I have taught for years the need for creating phenomenally GREAT relationships. My tag lines for my practice have been as follows:

"GREATness in relationships. Nothing less."
"MarriageEnvy.com: The GREAT relationship you've always wanted."
"GREAT relationships don't just happen... They are created."
"Relate GREAT."

I admit I was inspired by Steve Job's famous standard for Apple and all of their products: "Insanely great." That phrase stuck in my head and resonated with my core—and not just from a product standpoint, but from a life standpoint.

I have always loved the Apple user experience—it stood apart and far above what I experienced elsewhere in design, function, form, fun, and customer service that blows you away. I thought that "insanely great" was a brilliant concept. And why not? Why not have the best product out there?

And when I was deciding on my life's work, especially around my practice, I thought, "What am I really all about? What is my work all about? What sets me apart and the work my clients and I do apart from the other therapists in the market place?" I realized that I wasn't into just marriage counseling, teaching communication skills or saving marriages. Those were all well and good. But what I really believed in is that we were all destined for greatness. That being the case why do we settle for less than phenomenal relationships? Everyone wants a great relationship. Yet, quite frankly so many marriages suck, plain and simple. That in turn creates all kinds of misery for individuals, couples and children.

So in response to that huge disconnect between the sad relationship realities my clients and I instead together craft truly GREAT relationships that they are truly proud of. GREAT relationships that are incomparable to the standard marriage. We create the relationships they always wanted to have and that others crave, covet, envy and want. Sounds like when the iPod hit the market. Like when the iPhone hit the streets. When something is so great everyone wants it. While we can't get a GREAT relationship as easily as we can an iPod or iPhone, fortunately, GREAT relationships can be obtained through conscious, committed creation.

So here's some kudos to an amazing innovator who in part inspired me in my own life's work, who sadly died at the young age of 56.

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.
"Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure -- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.
"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."
—Steve Jobs, 2005 Stanford commencement ceremony.

RIP to a true visionary and maker of REALLY cool, fun, innovative and game-changing tech. Funny how even the haters copied him.

Here's to one of the "crazy ones" who truly saw things differently and made them different.

"Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."
—Apple Inc.

The above is from one of the best ads ever below featuring these 17 iconic figures of the 20th century: Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King, Jr., Richard Branson, John Lennon (with Yoko Ono), Buckminster Fuller, Thomas Edison, Muhammad Ali, Ted Turner, Maria Callas, Mahatma Gandhi, Amelia Earhart, Alfred Hitchcock, Martha Graham, Jim Henson (with Kermit the Frog), Frank Lloyd Wright and Pablo Picasso.