Relationships are Everything

Nine years ago I was home visiting my parents when I saw an old high school friend, Mark Rathjen, at a restaurant. I had just started writing and speaking and asked him if he knew anyone who worked at one of the national morning shows. He said he actually had a friend from college who was a producer at the Today Show and would send her my information.

A few weeks later I received a call from his friend, the producer, telling me she wanted to do a four week series called Get Energized Today. It was a life changing experience that I often share with high school students when I speak to them. I then ask them this question. “If I was a jerk in high school do you think Mark would have wanted to help me years later?” I then tell them to be nice to everyone. Relationships are everything and you never know which relationships will change the course of your life.

Fast forward to last Tuesday. I received an email out of the blue from this same producer of the Today Show I worked with 9 years ago. I couldn’t believe it. We hadn’t spoken in years. I had no interest in being on television anymore. I have really enjoyed just doing the work of writing and speaking. But she was following me on FB, saw the messages I had been sharing and trusted me to do this segment. On the flight home from New York it hit me that relationships are about long term trust not short term success.

After the show I got together for lunch with my publishing team from John Wiley and Sons; the same team that took a chance on me by publishing “The Energy Bus” in 2007. The same team that I could have left a few years ago for much more money being offered by other publishers.

But for me I just wanted to write books that make a difference and be part of a team that believed in me from the beginning. These were people who visited my grandfather when he was in the hospital near their offices in Hoboken. To celebrate with them after the Today Show was worth more than gold.

Life isn’t about money. It’s about people, commitment, loyalty and relationships. I didn’t always know this but I know it now. In the end we won’t be measured by our bank account, sales numbers or wins and losses but by the difference we made in people’s lives… and we make a difference through relationships.

Don’t chase dollars or success. Decide to make a difference and build meaningful relationships and success will find you.

Don’t be a networker. Invest in relationships not because you want something but because you want to build something!

Don’t ignore those who are closest to you. Identify the relationships in your life that need to be stronger and then make a conscious effort to focus on them, make time for them, develop them and in invest in them.

And be nice to everyone. Because you never know.

-Jon

How do you create stronger relationships?