“Your choice of people you associate with will have more impact on what you become than any other single factor” — Brian Tracy
There is a huge difference between contacts and connections. Poor people have many contacts but very few connections! What most people normally have are just contacts and not connections. In this gadget age, you see a lot of youths carrying a lot of contacts on their gadgets with very few connections. Contact is what you saved on your phone and gadgets while connection is the contact that will connect you to life-changing and life-transforming opportunities. How many people in your contact list can you call for help and they will respond positively, timely and promptly? How many people on your contact list will be able to mention your name in a room full of opportunities? How many people on your contact list are addicted to your vision and would love to invest in it?
You need to take your relationships to a new level or else you may miss the next level. One connection with the right person can propel your life to the next level and lift you exponentially. Forming formidable relationships is the billionaire mind-set. I often tell my mentees: Before you build anything, build relationships.
It is your ‘connection’ that determines your ‘collection’. What you will collect from life is dependent on the value of your connections. The number one characteristic of a poor man is lack of relevant relationships. The more you are isolated from relevant relationships, the closer you are to poverty. The greatest gift in life is the gift of the right relationships. Most people you see not doing well is as a result of certain relationships not in place in their lives. Likewise, everyone doing well can be traced to certain right relationships in their lives. I realized many years ago that our company determines what accompanies us in life.
Everything you’ve ever wanted in life is a connection away! You must surround yourself with people who would mention your name in a room full of opportunities. Anybody that keeps opportunities away from you is not your friend. Beware of fake friends! It is not what you have in your life, but who you have in your life that counts. Relationships matter more than money. The poor think energy, the rich think synergy. Patrick Meagher said: “Some people are so poor, all they have is money.” Money is the lowest form of wealth; real wealth is in relationships.
Relationship is the ultimate connector. It can connect you in a way that your degree and certificate would not be able to achieve in your life-time. Relationships can open doors in a moment that your degrees and skills would not open in a lifetime. I have observed that there is a strong connection between the quality of your relationships and the opportunities that you will be exposed to in life. Knowing people that can recommend you for the right places will always give you a significant edge in life. Networking can get you into doors that degrees cannot.
Relationships can be a rescue in perilous times; relationship can be a life-support in troubled times. In fact, the value of relationships is seen in trying times. If your only goal in life is just to have quality relationships, that goal is worthwhile. Build a solid base of relationship, don’t wait till you need a relationship before you build it. It can be too late.
John C. Maxwell said: “Your network determines your net worth”. Life stories are full of friends that changed the word: James Watson and Francis Crick were complementary friends who discovered the secret of life (DNA). Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak revolutionised the technology world with their Apple products. Bill Gates and Paul Allen were the Whiz Kids that later became software gurus. Larry Page started Google with his best friend, Sergey Brin. They met at Stanford University while studying for their Ph.D. in computer science and launched Google in 1998.
Jim Rohn said: “You must constantly ask yourself these questions: Who am I around? What are they doing to me? What have they got me reading? What have they got me saying? Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking? And most important, what do they have me becoming? Then ask yourself the big question – Is this ok?” Hang out with friends who are like-minded and who are also designing purpose-filled lives. Similarly, be that kind of a friend for your friends. You need people that believe in you, people that invest in your dreams and goals, and people that bring the best – not the stress – out of you.
As you go into the New Year, start building connections that will open doors for you. Review your contact list and identify those that are critical to your destiny fulfilment. It is not all the people on your contact list that are relevant to your destiny fulfilment. Without great connections, life is virtually bankrupt. Any contact that would not mention your name in a room full of opportunities is not a connection. Beware!
