Powerful story, important lesson
Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 11:48AM 
My mom and I lived with my grandparents until I was 10 years old.
We did so because my father left while I was still an infant.
I called my grandfather “Opa” and my grandmother “Oma” because my grandmother was German.
She was born in a town called Stettin in the Northeast corner of Germany that was renamed Szczecin and became a part of Poland after World War II.
My grandfather was in the Air Force and stationed in Stuttgart, Germany during the war which is where he and my grandmother met.
My Oma had a profound influence on my life because my Mom worked nights as a nurse in the intensive care unit at a hospital in our home town of Orlando and my grandfather worked nights as a police officer, so it ended up that we spent a significant amount of time together.
My grandmother was a strong, proud, and devoted woman and also very elegant.
We laughed often, played card games, board games, Badminton in the backyard and even danced the waltz in the kitchen.
Needless to say, we were very close and not just because we spent a lot of time together.
My Oma new and practiced a powerful secret to building unbreakable bonds.
She cared so much and took such an intense interest in me and everything I was interested in on such a consistent basis, that the result couldn’t have been any different.
The most amazing example of this extraordinary effort on my grandmother’s part to create such a strong relationship with me, however, was most evident in her choosing to watch professional wrestling with me.
Whether or not my Oma actually enjoyed professional wrestling as much as she seemed, or, whether she just faked her enthusiasm masterfully is not the point at all.
What is so instructive is that her effort to build and maintain a strong bond with me was unconditional…it knew no boundaries.
Even if it meant watching sweating guys in tights prancing around in a squared circle and pummeling each other, she took an interest because I did.
Her effort did not go unrewarded because I loved her back with as much intensity as she loved me and when she passed away following a several year battle with cancer when I was 17, I felt emotional pain and loss beyond anything I had ever experienced.
But her legacy and her lessons have stayed with me and through these memories I know that she is always with me.
And, now that I am an adult and an entrepreneur that relies on his relationships for support, I understand to what lengths you can go to build and maintain relationships with people that are important to you.
As we approach 2010, consider the quality of your relationships with your business associates, partners, colleagues, family, friends, etc.
What is the quality and intensity of the effort you are putting towards developing these relationships?
Perhaps you think you’re not getting what you want out of some of your relationships.
If this is the case, then I suggest you look hard at how much you are giving.
This reminds me of an adage I heard once that says; the hole you give through is the same hole you receive through.
I take this to mean that you reap what you sow.
You get what you give.
It’s a consistently reliable feedback loop.
This makes me think of the philosophy of Karma as well.
So, if you’ve been holding the question in your mind, “What am I getting out of my relationships?” or if you don’t feel like you’re getting enough from them…
Consider turning that around to, “What am I giving to my relationships?” or “How can I contribute more to my relationships?”
Now, I’m a realist and I know that there are certain relationships that aren’t worth a damn and if you’re an entrepreneur you know this very well.
Negative people, time wasters, naysayers, whiners, complainers, idea killers, conspirators, con artists, dream crushers…I don’t tolerate this type in my life.
Kick ‘em to the curb and don’t look back.
Now, what is your approach to building relationships?
Do you seek to give before you get?
Or, are you always taking, taking, and taking more until you burnout the relationship?
How is your current approach working out for you?
Post a comment and join the conversation.
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Reader Comments (1)
Relationship is key for a meaningful satisfaction in this life as well as in business. Without it you can have the best opportunities in this world, you will end lonely.
Good article Adam