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How much do you really know about those who matter to you?
Your immediate family – you probably know everything about them. You know their birthdays, you know what schools they attended. You probably know the names of their old girlfriends or boyfriends. You know the names of their best friends growing up. You know what their favorite sports are. You might even know what books they like to read, their favorite songs and favorite movies.
When it comes to your immediate family, you very likely know everything there is to know about them. And that’s what keeps you so close.
But, how much do you know about the important non-family members of your life?
How much do you know about your friends, the friends of your children, their parents, their teachers, your partners, your clients, your customers, your colleagues at work, their wives, their kids, your subordinates at work, their families, your boss and your boss’s family, your main vendors or your banker?
How much do you really know about the most important people in your life?
Wealthy, successful people, the ones in my Rich Habits Study at least, know everything there is to know about the people who are responsible for helping them become so successful.
You see, relationships are the currency of the wealthy. To the wealthy, relationships are like gold.
So, they gather information on the most important people in their lives like squirrels gather acorns. And they do this because they figured out, a long time before they became millionaires, that relationships are one of the most important pieces to the success puzzle. The more you know about the people who matter, the people who can help you realize your dreams and goals, the stronger your relationship with them will be.
As one who tends to remember details about people, I understand the theory, but gathering information to gain/maintain favor seems pretty shallow and doesn’t really seem like a relationship.
I don’t think Tom is saying we need to establish, nurture, and deep in our relationships with people solely for the purpose of benefiting personally. I think he is saying there are already relationships in place with people who have committed to helping us. Those relationships are the ones we work on to deepen. Basically we don’t want to neglect the people that I’ve already made an effort to help us. it goes without saying fake relationships suck.