The Lesson of the 5 Balls

Life is a game in which we are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends and integrity... and you are keeping them all in the air. But one day you finally understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls... family, health, friends, integrity... are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered.

--James Patterson