Your relationships outside the romantic are underrated.

Not only do your friends and social network matter to achieve a basic level of human happiness (they’re one place above health & security on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs), but they simply make life much easier.

Why?

If you have a problem, the question “who do I know that can help?” is more straightforward and effective than “how can I fix this myself?” You’ll fix the problem faster and better.

With that in mind, the relationships with people you respect and admire are a huge life asset. Structuring your life to create & nurture an abundance of them becomes imperative. You can turn to these relationships for support, advice & opportunity should you fall on difficult times.

I didn’t learn this until I was 35 when I realised I was an island. If I lost all my income and became destitute, I’d only have a few people that could offer a sympathetic shoulder to cry on. Worse, I had no one I trusted to give me reliable get-me-out-of-a-hole advice or opportunity.

Building a network full of valuable people you admire & respect is one of the highest return on investment activities you can do.

So how do you do it? Moreover, how do you do so in a way where people will gladly offer their time and help when you need it?

You do 2 things:

1) Take it seriously: if you think it’s important to do (and you should), have it become part of your self definition. It’s just who you are now. Your new innter narrative is “I am a person who values their relationships & invests in them constantly”.

Practically, you should consider developing a CRM (customer relationship management) tool that can remind you to contact people in your network at a predefined frequency.

2) Relentlessly add value: there’s a good book called “The Go Giver”. The big takeaway is you must indiscriminately offer value to people without agenda. When you do this, the Universe will start throwing luck & opportunity your way. A great habit to get into is to ask people in your network the question, “How can I help you at the moment?”

The sooner you do this, the sooner your life will improve.

And the time to ask someone for help is not when you haven’t spoken to them in 8 years. Check in with people consistently, care about them, and nurture your relationships. Dig the well before you’re thirsty.