I was thinking the other day about the relationships I have built over the years. Oh my God! With the exception of a few states, I can reach out to almost any big or small city, province, parish, or township in the nation and find a friend who will help me with any problem I am trying to solve.
Building strong relationships can be the lifeblood for any business or one’s personal life. It could be a strong support system, or voices that can attest to your stellar reputation. It took me almost two decades to get my network to where it is today, and I am not bashful about checking in with everyone every now and then via phone, private message, text or email to keep those good relationships strong. “Building relationships is more than a handshake and a quick conversation at a social event,” author Ricky Steele once told me. The man should know. He wrote the book “The Heart of Networking,” and built several major businesses from the ground up by building relationships.
Good relationships meet at the intersection of what you and another person find as common ground, and expand it through time, connection, bond, rapport, and even affinity. Relationships can increase your sense of purpose and provide a safe space to bounce off ideas, discuss various thoughts, and gain invaluable insights and feedback.
Depending on the type of relationships you are trying to build, there are different ways to start off. There’s nothing wrong with an individual building professional relationships with those who have like minded interest, work in the same industry, or enjoy the same things. If you are building social relationships, keep in mind if those relationships break down, they can have a major impact in everyday life and your mental well-being. The goal is to build lifelong relationships as opposed to just networking or making casual connections. If you can’t pick up the phone and call or email a friend in any city in the nation to help you solve a problem, you got work to do.