After reading the chapter about personal and business relationships in 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less, by Richard Koch, I had to share my thoughts on the importance of the relationships that we nurture and create each day. Two facts are stated:

• 80% of the value of the relationships that we have comes from 20% of the relationships.
• We devote much less than 80% of our time, attention, and effort to the 20% of our relationships that creat   80% of the value. 

It’s important to meet new people and expand our networks, but it is even more important to take a closer look at the amount of time we’re spending with people, and the quality of people we are spending our time with. When doing this, ask yourself these two questions:

• How does this relationship improve my life and make me happier?
• How does this relationship make me feel better about what I want to become?

You will soon realize that when you answer these questions, 80% of this value comes from a small percentage of your relationships. You will also realize that you aren’t allocating a lot of your existing time to fostering these valuable relationships, much less than 80% of your time that you spend with people. After asking yourself these questions, it’s crucial to be conscious of the 5 elements that are present in a healthy relationship – these include

• Mutual enjoyment of each other’s company
• Respect
• Sharing of experience
• Reciprocity
• Trust

Once you have answered the two questions and have defined which relationships brings the most out of these 5 areas, make a conscious effort to nurture these relationships and treat these as an extension of yourself. When it comes to success, you cannot do it on your own. Alliances with your mentors, mentees, or fellow peers will give you the empowerment to make success for yourself. The different roles you play in these relationships, and the insights that they will bring through shared experience, respect, and trust, are equally important to any other type of self-investment. It is amazing how much more enjoyment you will have in reaching your success when you have these types of people along the way. It will also be remarkable how much quicker and efficient you will be in achieving your short and long-term goals with people who keep you accountable.