I realized yesterday that a very small group of people (generally <5) have had a disproportionate impact on –
– my career growth
– my personal growth and learning
– the number of new, valuable career connections I’ve made
– my happiness at any given point of time
Of course, when you get started, it is hard to tell who these people might be. So, the whole point of breadth in relationships is to understand if there is chemistry.
A group of senior executives were recently asked this about chemistry – “How do you know if the chemistry exists for a potential mentor-mentee relationship?” One of them simply said – “You just know.”
My additions would be –
“1. This applies for all kinds of relationships
2. When you do know, dive right in and don’t let go.”
A food vendor in front of the pyramids or a bangle seller in front of the Taj Mahal will likely never fully appreciate them in their true glory. That’s the challenge we have when we are part of incredibly meaningful relationships. We don’t realize the magic until it doesn’t exist anymore.
It doesn’t happen often. It is magical when it does. It is up to us to appreciate, treasure and be grateful for these.
After all, and here I make the assumption that happiness is how most of us will measure our lives, it isn’t happy people who are thankful. It is thankful people who are happy.
A Learning a Day 