I had every intention of writing this blog about some key areas of leadership, but I just finished up emailing two awesome new connections and am flying high about it. I thought I’d elaborate on some valuable takeaways from my week.

At the end of the day, life is about relationships. Valuable, genuine relationships. It’s not about getting ahead or hustling; it’s about being as solid of a person as possible and making the world a better place. A valuable relationship is one that makes you and another person/group of people better—a better friend, a better father, a better athlete, a better communicator…

“Great, Spaniard, life’s about relationships. Now what do I do with that?”

My response is that you intentionally build valuable relationships.

How do you intentionally build these relationships?

  • Stand for something—You have to know what your values are and what your mission is. Once you have identified that, you have an idea of the type of relationships that will really add value to your life and the lives of others. Start small and expand.
  • Pick up the phone or send an email—You have to start. Action begets action. It’s the snowball effect. One personal connection leads to another and another and another. I am “real time” learning and living the concept of networks and relationships. “Hi, my name is Spaniard. I’m…and I just wanted to reach out and let you know I think your…is awesome. I really value communicating with like-minded people and resonate with your story of…Keep doing your thing and know you have a fan in PA. I hope to cross paths in the near future.” That’s it. Sometimes that’ll serve as the base of a relationship. Sometimes, you will have sent a nice email to a nice person and the world has an additional piece of goodness. (There are follow up steps as well, but this is a general starting point).
  • Let go of FOMO (fear of missing out)—Be an ambassador of connecting good people to each other. In one of my books or podcasts, they mention the term “Super Connector.” The name says it all. I know personally that I carried (still do to some degree) this FOMO in certain instances. “What if I connect them and they make “Super Product” together?” That’s a weak approach. I’m guilty (not proud) of it. Have faith and do good. Remember that “all ships rise in a high tide.”
  • Be nice—Perhaps the greatest piece of advice my parents ever gave me was, “You just never know.” You never know when the life you touch or the impression you make will somehow, some way, come back into your life in the future. People remember things. Operate with the mentality of being nice and you’ll build valuable relationships without even knowing.

Take a few minutes during this storm to execute on one of the above steps. TODAY. Tell me about it.

Spaniard