Harvest Time Partners, Inc. Announces New Character-Building Conversation Game — October 2014

Face to Face Bible Edition Box TopPortage, MI (October 29, 2014) — Harvest Time Partners, Inc., a rapidly growing personal- and professional-development company, announces the launch of a new game as part of its award-winning Face to Face® conversation-game series. The new game, Face to FaceBible Edition, is part of Harvest Time Partners’ Character Creates Opportunity® brand and is suitable for ages 10 and above. The new conversation game is available for purchase today.

This new conversation starter game contains the same easy-play format of the other Face to Face games. The Bible edition contains ninety-six key events from both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. This new edition is designed to open a door to effective discussion around biblical events and to reinforce the importance of applying biblical principles like sacrifice, courage, and commitment in our lives today. The game helps to encourage open and honest conversations on real-world issues and to develop the critical life-skill of effective face-to-face communication in a world that is rapidly changing how people connect. Face to FaceBible Edition is perfect for small group meetings, Sunday school sessions, and as content support for parents, teachers, and ministers in a variety of forums focused on improving biblical understanding and its application in our present-day lives.

David Esposito, managing partner of Harvest Time Partners, said, “We are excited to bring this new game to market. The faith-based community has been a wonderful supporter of our entire product line; and, based on their request, we are thrilled to bring the Face to Face Bible Edition to market today. Similar to our other products, the new game helps to reinforce the importance of principles like faith, compassion, and understanding as powerful ways to build and strengthen character to effectively deal with today’s realities. In addition, the game helps to develop the critically important life skill of face-to-face, authentic communication that is rapidly being replaced by today’s online chatter.”

The game is available on the company’s website at www.harvesttimepartners.com, on major online channels such as Amazon.com, and through a growing number of retail outlets. Retail orders are available through New Day Christian Distributors at www.newdaychristian.com or by calling 1-800-251-3633.

For more information or to discuss additional products and services from Harvest Time Partners, Inc., please visit the company website at www.harvesttimepartners.com. You can also contact David Esposito at (877) 786-4278 or david [at] harvesttimepartners.com.

About Harvest Time Partners, Inc.

Harvest Time Partners, Inc. was formed over 20 years ago to enable individuals, families, and organizations to reach their full potential in an increasingly complex and unpredictable world through customized, character-building programs and services. The company’s patented and award-winning family-based games have been embraced by families, schools, counseling programs, and faith-based organizations worldwide. They support the development of character and the importance of principle-based decision making—you reap what you sow.

Character Creates Opportunity® – Transitions Part II: Thursday, October 23, 2014

Last week’s blog focused on how the typical transitions in life can be great opportunities for personal growth.  When we are intentional about learning and growing instead of resisting change through these often difficult transitions, we find ourselves on an effective path to reach our full potential.

For most of us, the typical transitions in life come about by just following the crowd in the routine choices of life.  Most of us simply follow the crowd.  The student transitions through school years and then into the workforce.  The transitions into marriage, children, and caring for aging parents all somewhat follow the flow of the typical journey of our modern life.  As we discussed last week, these transitions can be difficult, but they also afford us a tremendous opportunity for personal growth.

Since there is such a great opportunity for growth in these typical transitions, the challenge for us is to identify ways we can ignite change in our lives during the somewhat steady, routine seasons of life in order to continue to grow or at least not get stuck in a rut.

The focus of this week’s blog is on how we can identify and create transition moments in life in order to ‘raise the bar’ in our personal growth and to provide a helping hand in getting out of a rut we have created during times we have become comfortable, settled, and perhaps a bit complacent.

We have all heard the expression of the simple truth that “life is a journey, not a destination.”  However, for most of us, it is those destination points in life (graduation, a good job, a family, money in the bank) that pose our greatest risk of becoming complacent and settled.  Our mindset becomes “I have worked hard, persevered through challenges, learned, and ‘arrived.’ Now I can take my foot off the gas and coast for a bit.”  We all know that mindset is a recipe for disaster in the workplace, in maintaining a marriage, raising children, and in any other meaningful role we may play in life.

Instead of getting stuck in a rut or risk a disaster in an area of life that we genuinely care about, how can we maintain a desire for personal growth during the routine seasons of life and mimic the opportunity to grow that we find during major transition points in life?

Here are a few suggestions:

(1)    Accept the Reality that our current status (a good job, a committed marriage, emotionally healthy children) is at risk if we are not intentional about our own growth.  Will Rogers said it best, “Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”  We are at risk the moment we feel we “arrived” on the fresh side of a typical transition point in life.

(2)    Clarify Intentions.  It is important that we clearly decide what we want to become and how we want to act in the many roles we play. “Winging it” sounds cool on the dance floor, but in the really important things in life, we will fall way short of our potential without being intentional with our efforts.

(3)    Leverage the Natural Rhythms of Life as fresh starts to make incremental changes to improve.  Routine points in the year like the start of summer break, going back to school, the New Year, anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, even “Mondays” can be extremely practical and relevant times to declare a fresh start on making a small, incremental change to reach a new goal.

(4)    Sustainability.  For many of these typical transition points in life, we are in it for the long haul.  We don’t start and then stop being a parent, or being a son or daughter, and most of us will be “working” at something throughout our lives.  Marriages, well sometimes that may be a different story, but our original intention is to be in it for the long haul. We have all probably experienced times when we tried to make massive changes in some area of our lives after attending a “pump-up” motivational event, “re-dedicated” our efforts to something, or a genuinely significant life event (sickness, family break-up, job loss etc.) caused us to “wake up” and try to get on the right track.  The data would demonstrate that massive life changing plans usually are not sustainable for any of us over the long haul.  What seems to work best is making small, incremental changes over time that builds momentum for us to sustain heading in the right direction over the long haul.  Decide on small changes and start making progress.Pic#5 Father Instructing Son

(5)    The Crowd We Keep.  We often tell our kids how important it is that they hang out with the “right” crowd, not the “wrong” crowd, because for most of us, we follow the crowd.  As adults, we don’t always take our own advice.  We should seek to connect with those who are encouraging and supportive of heading down an effective path vs. those who bring negativity and apathy on any path.  Find the “right” crowd and stick with them, just like we tell our kids.

Like most things in life, the choice is ours.  We can become set in our ways and find we have created a rut or worse a coffin that limits our potential.  Or we can ignite a spark of change during the routine seasons of life so we can continue to grow and reach our full potential.  As we decide to continue to move forward in growth, we build and strengthen our character and realize the truth that Character Creates Opportunity® to reach our full potential and make a positive impact on those around us.

Character Creates Opportunity® – Transitions Part I: Thursday, October 16, 2014

As we continue on a journey to build and strengthen our character, the topics for the next two blog posts will be around the important opportunity for our personal growth that comes in the form of transitions in life.  In today’s post, we will focus on transitions in the typical seasons of life.  Next week, we will focus on the need to create transition moments in life in order to continue to raise the bar in our personal growth or as a helping hand to get out of a rut we have created during the somewhat steady, routine seasons of life.

Psychologists, counselors, and a fair amount of academic research would indicate that transitions in life can be a major source of stress and anxiety.

As students, there is the stress of transitioning from middle school to high school and high school to college and/or the workplace.

As adults, the transition of single life to married life, married life to life with children, and then the reversal of roles as children transition to take care of aging parents.

In the workplace, we see transitions happen with new leaders joining the team, promotions or downsizing, acquisitions, new markets we enter, etc. that all bring about stress and strain in the workplace.

Over a few generations, we have seen our communities in transition from relative safe-havens to places where metal detectors greet us in schools and public buildings and the thought of a child riding a bike across town makes us anxious.Family conflict at the table

The stress and strain in these transitions is unavoidable for most of us.

However, with a slight shift in mindset, these transitions offer tremendous opportunity to grow and reach our full potential.  The mindset shift occurs when we acknowledge the reality that (a) there will be periods of pain and discomfort in all transitions (b) there is truly no way to turn back the clock to the way things were as life is always moving forward whether we acknowledge it or not (c) embracing these inevitable transitions opens a door to reach out full potential.

Once we make this mindset shift, the benefits to our own personal growth and to the positive impact we can have on those around us is tremendous.  When we are intentional about learning and growing through these typical transitions in life we will:

(1)    Gain a broader perspective:  As we transition through new experiences, we develop a greater understanding of other people’s points of view, experiences, and approaches which expands our thoughts and improves our decision-making ability.

(2)    Build resilience and strength for the future:  Life will never be free of transitions.  We can have confidence in knowing that as we grow through this current transition, we will become stronger and more resilient to deal with the next challenge in our journey.

(3)    Get a chance to push the “reset” button:  Let’s face it…we all make mistakes.  When we walk through these major life transitions, we are afforded the opportunity “start again” with the benefits of past learnings to guide us to more effective choices in our new roles and relationships.

In dealing with the typical transitions in life, the choice is ours.  We can go “kicking and screaming” through these transitions, or we can embrace the chance to build and strengthen our character and realize the truth that Character Creates Opportunity® to reach our full potential.

Face to Face® Kids Edition Card Game Wins 2014 National Parenting Publications Award — October 2014

NPPA Award

Portage, MI (October 14, 2014)Face to Face® Kids Edition, a conversation card game from Harvest Time Partners, has been named a 2014 GOLD winner from the National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA), one of the longest running and most respected awards programs serving the children and family market.

Each year, NAPPA enlists the help of expert judges, parents, and children who evaluate and play with hundreds of submissions to find the highest quality, most educational and entertaining products. Face to Face Kids Edition stood out for its ability to stimulate lively discussions on real-life issues. It helps build the critically important life skill of “Face to Face” authentic communication, encourages a high level of engagement, and reinforces principle-based decision making with the intent of developing a person’s character.

“We recognize products that are innovative, engaging and stimulating,” says Julie Kertes, NAPPA General Manager. “A NAPPA award-winning product is a product that parents can trust and kids will love. Parents want the best for their families and strive to make the best consumer decisions possible. Knowing that a product has been tested and deemed worthy of an award gives parents peace of mind that their dollars are well spent and, more importantly, that their children won’t be disappointed. We’re excited that the Kids Edition of Face to Face is joining this year’s list of award-winning products. With NAPPA’s vote of confidence, it’s sure to be a welcome addition to anyone’s gift list.”

David Esposito, managing partner of Harvest Time Partners, said, “We are honored that our conversation game Face to Face Kids Edition was selected by NAPPA to receive a GOLD Award.  We share a common mission to promote the importance of having effective learning tools that enhance open communication and create teachable moments for parents and educators.”

NAPPA will reveal its 50 gold winners in select parenting magazines across the country, and release the complete list of winners — gold, silver and honors — at NAPPAawards.com and on the leading family organizational app, Cozi, on November 1.

About NAPPA: For more than 20 years, the National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) has been the go-to resource for the best products for families. NAPPA’s team of independent expert judges, along with parent and child testers, select the best toys, games, books and other family essentials to be award winners through year-round product testing. For more information, visit www.NAPPAawards.com.

About David Esposito: David Esposito, game creator and managing partner of Harvest Time Partners, was inspired by his experiences as a combat veteran, business executive, husband, and father of four to create resources that remind families about the importance of principles like courage and honesty.

About Harvest Time Partners, Inc.: Harvest Time Partners is a rapidly growing personal- and professional-development company created almost 20 years ago to provide support to individuals, families, and organizations on a variety of topics and subjects encompassing personal and executive development, team building, leadership training, and building a strong marriage and family. Harvest Time Partners provides character-building seminars, workshops, and custom programs designed to increase personal effectiveness, enhance character development, and strengthen the bonds of marriage and family. For more information, visit https://www.harvesttimepartners.com

 

Character Creates Opportunity® – Direction: Thursday, October, 9, 2014

In many areas of life, we witness a clear “rallying cry” which serves to energize an individual or group to give their very best and to sustain them when times get really tough.

In sports, we find a rallying cry in playing our role and contributing to the team’s effort to win a championship.  In the military, we have the mission to accomplish and to “have the back” of the individuals in the unit we serve. In the history of nations, we often hear a rallying cry of some incredible goal like President Kennedy’s declaration in 1961 to send an American safely to the moon before the end of the decade.  It is as a result of these types of rallying cries that we often see incredible acts of perseverance and service that we admire and draw some personal motivation to keep moving forward.

Not all rallying cries are made of good and just causes for humanity or for things closer to home.  Unfortunately, throughout our history, there have been and continue to be rallying cries of evil that carry the same passion, energy, and never-quit mindset that positive, uplifting rallying cries can generate.

I am sure we can all relate to times in our lives when we were energized and filled with passion as we followed a certain rallying cry.  It may have been playing on that high school sports team striving for a championship.  Perhaps it was some activity in school or service project that gave us energy and focus.  As working adults, maybe it was the product launch that galvanized the efforts of everyone in the company to give their very best.  The rallying cry of parenthood often gives parents incredible energy to stay up for nights on end with a young child who is not feeling well.  The fitness goal of running a 5K or even a marathon can be just the rallying cry we need to get back into shape.

A rallying cry provides direction for the very essence of our being.

When we align ourselves with that direction we find ourselves giving our very best, never quitting, and in most cases, we find the peace of purpose and belonging that is so crucial to our emotional health and stability.

As adults, many times we become unmoored and adrift because we have lost connection to a rallying cry perhaps because we (a) let the busyness of life create a fog that conceals our desired direction (b) we gave in to the general flow of adulthood and buried our passion or (c) we never were awakened or reinforced enough to the importance of direction in our life to our overall health and potential.  The result is that we often lose energy quickly, fail to give our best, and most definitely fall short of our potential.

As we fail to contemplate, articulate, and move toward our own rallying cry, we often hear things like “I am just not happy” or “I just don’t have the energy that I use to”…and the list of phrases goes on and on.

As we build and strengthen our character, an important element is for us to define our rallying cry in order to focus our effort and sustain our engagement for the long haul.  Some people may describe terms like “mission” or “purpose” in defining our direction.  It is not about the terminology or the process, it is simply about connecting and continually reconnecting with the direction we are headed, with what truly moves us into action, and what cause will sustain us through the unavoidable challenges we will face.

Here are just a few thoughts from others to help remind us of some simple truths in reconnecting with our own rallying cry:

The risk of not defining a direction: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” The Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland

The direction of service: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Gandhi

I think we can all agree that individuals closest to us would be strengthened and encouraged if we reconnected with a rallying cry of service to others, especially in the home.

As we reconnect with or perhaps redefine our own personal rallying cry, we will build and strengthen our character and Character Creates Opportunity® to reach our full potential.character-creates-opportunity-2014-250-by-250px

Character Creates Opportunity® – Mistakes: Thursday, October, 2, 2014

Mistakes…We have all made them.

As kids, we make mistakes in the classroom and get red ink all over our assignments.  We make a mistake on the field and our opponent scores.  We certainly make mistakes with friends and family as we grow during those difficult adolescent years.

As adults, we continue to make mistakes.  We make mistakes at work and the business may lose money, make a defective product, or lose a customer.  In relationships, we make mistakes around promises made and not kept.  We speak-up when we should shut-up, and shut-up when we should speak-up.  We make mistakes with our use of time and money.Mistakes

Whether we are a child or an adult, mistakes hurt.

For most of us, our mindset is to view mistakes as bad and something to avoid.  Mistakes and failures are an inevitable part of life. Mistakes and failures are a necessary part of learning and personal growth. Psychologists and researchers would tell us that almost all learning comes from mistakes.

If we are honest with ourselves, the majority of us gravitate towards ease and comfort when things are going well.  We only learn and grow through struggles and the tough times brought on by mistakes.  On the athletic field, we learn a great deal more when we lose, than when we win.  In school, we learn and grow more when we see red ink on our papers.  In business, we learn and grow a great deal more when we miss our objectives, than when we hit our numbers.  In relationships, we have a tendency to take things for granted when there is perceived harmony, and we are only open to learning and growth when doors get slammed, tempers flare, and we reach a breaking point.

When we view mistakes only as bad and something to avoid, we inhibit learning, experimentation, and new ideas that could trigger breakthroughs in the home, the workplace, and our communities.

Here are just a few thoughts on how we can build and strengthen our character through the unavoidable encounter with mistakes throughout our journey of life:

(1)    When we make mistakes, take on the mindset of learning and growth vs. anger and regret.  We will make mistakes.  As long as we live, we will keep making mistakes.  Commit to learn something and keep moving forward.

(2)    When others close to us make mistakes, act to encourage learning and growth vs bringing additional pain.  They will most likely experience plenty of personal “pain and suffering” without us adding more salt to the wound.  Offering a word of encouragement to learn and grow through a mistake will build trust and dismantle fear which will help to strengthen the relationship.

As we begin to view mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow, we will build and strengthen our character and Character Creates Opportunity® to improve relationships and achieve great results.

Character Creates Opportunity® – Behaviors: Thursday, September 25, 2014

There is no doubt we are living in a time of increasing complexity and intensity.  Whether it is the current tensions in “hotspots” around the globe, struggles in communities close to home, or businesses trying to navigate not just marketplace competition and economic trends, but the significant social and political changes within their areas of operation.  Even though they don’t make the front page news, we also know there are underlying tensions in the home that then manifest themselves in actions we do see in our schools, communities, and workplaces.

With the increasingly complex problems around us we have a tendency to become overwhelmed and sometimes paralyzed with the sense that the challenges are insurmountable.

In a real and practical sense, the complexities we see are not the result of some “community” behavior, “society” behavior, “organizational” behavior, or even “family” behavior.  They are the result of individual choice and the behaviors that stem from those choices.  A community’s culture, an organization’s culture, a family’s culture simply and practically flow from individual behavior.

The only real individual behavior we have control over is our very own.  We are free and accountable to behave in response to the situation around us.  Our individual behavior is where change begins.  When we look across the history of time, we see individuals that are the catalysts for change.  Not technologies or mass moments, but individuals are the genesis of driving change.

There are the great examples we read about like Gandhi leading change in India without ever holding public office. Churchill galvanizing the British people during time of war.  Ronald Reagan as the catalyst for driving change to end the cold war.  On the business front, we read about Lou Gerstner turning around IBM in the 1990s, Steve Jobs coming back to Apple and driving the next great wave of innovation, and Elon Musk spearheading great technical advances with Tesla’s electric cars and space travel.

However, the most important actions of people becoming the catalyst for change are those we don’t read about in the papers or on the internet.  They are the actions of individuals in the home. The individual behaviors of parents, grandparents, and children within the home has always been the greatest catalyst for change over time.

It is the behaviors within the home that day in and day out set the tone for the next 8 hours in the classroom, the workplace, the community.  Those behaviors in the home, collectively over time, form the foundation for individuals to step up and meet the opportunity on a much larger scale and become the catalyst for the really big changes we will eventually read about in newspapers and in history books.

Driving major change around the world and around our community is about individuals being the catalyst and those individuals are first and foremost impacted by behaviors in the home.

We all have our roles to play.  Some of us are playing direct, major roles right now in dealing with the complexities we see all around us.  However, for the vast majority of us, our best effort to impact these large complexities can be brought down to clear and simple steps we can start in our homes and with our families. character-creates-opportunity-2014-250-by-250px

Our character, the internal compass that drives our thoughts, decisions, and actions, is the starting point for those important behaviors in the home.  As we build and strengthen our character with behaviors based on honesty, respect, understanding, courage, compassion, and discipline, we will create the foundation to encourage others in the home to act based on those principles in school, the workplace, and the community.  Eventually some of them will drive positive impact on the world’s stage.

When the complexity of this world begins to feel overwhelming, we should all remember the role we can play to drive change begins simply and clearly in the home.  As we guide our thoughts, decisions, and actions by principles, we will build and strengthen our character and Character Creates Opportunity® to improve the world around us.

Character Creates Opportunity® – An Effective Combination: Thursday, September 18, 2014

As we continue on our journey to build and strengthen our character, there is the occasional need to remind and reinforce the truth that there are no quick and easy solutions to address the major challenges of life or to accomplish our major goals in life.  As the saying goes, “If it were easy, everybody would be doing it.”

Despite the reality that there are no easy fixes, we continue to be baited and many times hooked to the idea of “3 simple steps” to awesome relationships, the “10 minute workout” that will keep us healthy and fit, or by simply answering the “one big question” we will energize our team to win in the marketplace.

When I hear those “simple and easy” pitches, I am reminded of the quote by Michelangelo, “If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery; it wouldn’t seem so wonderful after all.”

There are a number of techniques that can help us increase our personal effectiveness, achieve some goal, or support our team to reach a key milestone. These techniques may change with the times and the technology, but there are two principles that will help to determine our level of effectiveness over the long haul.

The first principle is Education:  Formal education in high school, college or graduate school will certainly play a part.  However, for most adults, continual, ongoing education throughout life is the critical factor.  When we remain open to learn from others, from our experiences, from mentors and friends, take a new class, read a book, or watch an educational video on the internet, we continue to grow.  When we make a choice to remain closed to continually educating ourselves, we fail to grow.  Failing to grow is a problem no “quick fix” will overcome.

The second principle is Effort:  There is no substitute for the energy required to work hard and persevere.  The significant achievements in life don’t come about from quick wit, smooth talking, or the one brilliant solution, they come about from good old fashion effort over time, just like we learned as kids.   Building and maintaining healthy relationships, especially those in the home, takes an enormous amount of intentional effort.  The “happily ever after” stories we read as kids fell short on that reality.  However, our life experience reinforces the reality that intentional effort over time is the foundation for healthy relationships.character-creates-opportunity-2014-250-by-250px

In addition to being a good reminder for all us, I especially wanted to highlight these principles for two specific groups of people:

(1)    For those who are currently in a tough struggle to reach a goal and anxiousness, worry, and doubt are draining precious energy.  My hope is that this will be an encouraging reminder of the truth that education and effort are the foundation of achievement.  Reaching a goal is not about being the smartest, having the best connections, or just plain luck.  Education and effort will play to our favor in the long haul, so keep moving forward on those two fronts no matter how tough the present struggle.

(2)    For those who still maybe holding out hope that there is that secret, quick-fix formula out there to reach our hopes and dreams.  My hope is that this blog could be a sobering reminder to you and those you influence that the secret, quick-fix to the important things in life is not a reality.  Education and effort will always play a part in the foundation for achievement.

As we continue to increase our effort and our ongoing education, we will build and strengthen our character and Character Creates Opportunity® to improve relationships, overcome challenges, and reach our goals.

Character Creates Opportunity® – The Other Side of Suffering: Thursday, September 11, 2014

There is a great deal written about, discussed, Facebook status updates provided, and testimonies given about the various disappoints, discomforts, and sufferings we endure during our journey of life.

Some of these are relatively light-hearted sufferings like a missed plane, a canceled meeting, the consistently late cable-guy, or the important phone call that was dropped while navigating a big city traffic jam.

However, many of us would classify some of these sufferings as almost too much to endure, like the untimely death of a loved one, a parent holding the hand of a terminally ill child, the heartbreaking destruction of a once close family, or the addiction that resulted in a tragic ending.

Although we all hope to avoid a great deal of pain and suffering in this world, the reality is that we all will endure our share of suffering.  Most of us will find a way to carry-on, some in silence and some with a loud roar.  There is no escaping disappoint, discouragement, and suffering.  Our natural pathway to addressing suffering is to rally our own strength, perhaps we are fortunate to gain some encouragement from others, and we endure with the hope that we will continue to grow stronger through the experience.

As a point to reinforce the importance of building and strengthening our character, it is helpful to highlight the other side of suffering.  The other side of suffering, the other side of enduring the pain, is an opportunity to grow in empathy towards the suffering of others in order to be a genuine and relevant source of comfort to those in need.character-creates-opportunity-2014-250-by-250px

When we walk through the valley of suffering, as opposed to growing bitter, we have an opportunity to deeply understand the suffering of others and reach out to help others find comfort in their own troubled time.

There is often no greater connection that can be made with someone suffering through a difficult family experience than one who has also walked through that experience.  Those who have endured the financial hardship of a painful bankruptcy are often the most effective in guiding others through the experience of rebuilding their credit and confidence.  Who better to support and encourage someone struggling with addiction than someone who has walked down that same road?

Those who have endured a particular hardship are very often the most helpful to relate to the needs of those dealing with a similar struggle.

The other side of suffering can be an opportunity to build and strengthen our character when we:

(1)    Make the choice to grow in empathy towards the suffering of others as opposed to growing bitter through our own experience

(2)    Act on an opportunity to make a connection with someone who is enduring a similar struggle to our own.

(3)    Grow stronger, not just by enduring our own struggle, but also by the truth that being a comfort to others grows our own capacity to live a more abundant life.

As we use the experience of our own suffering to aid others in need, we build and strengthen our character and Character Creates Opportunity® to have a positive impact in this world.

Character Creates Opportunity® – Relationships: Thursday, September 4, 2014

Life is meant to be lived in relationships.  We cannot live life alone for any significant length of time without becoming unhealthy emotionally and then physically.  An important factor in our own health is the presence of others. In addition, any meaningful achievement in business, communities, or our world, was accomplished with people working together.

There is a great deal of modern day research to demonstrate the value of relationships.  In addition, no matter what religious affiliation or spirituality discipline we subscribe to, there is a great deal of comment on the value of relationships.  In the book of Ecclesiastes it says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.”   There is an old Swedish saying that I came to know during many travels to Sweden for business that provides a simple and powerful reminder of the importance of relationships; “shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow.”

We all enjoy those moments of relationship with others when times are easy going and comfortable.  Many of us can relate to the joy of having a cup of coffee or a glass of wine with a close friend or loved one when life seems a bit settled.  In addition, when we are in a difficult struggle, the companionship of someone who understands and cares is a huge source of strength during our time in need.

Like many experiences in life, relationships provide insight into our character.  It is often the difficult side of relationships that can be most revealing to us and a place where we can learn and grow. Most of us have been around the proverbial “block” a few times.  We have come to realize that all meaningful relationships have a fair amount of struggle and the fairy tale notion of “happily ever after” is not reality when life is in a constant state of significant transition in the home, the workplace, and the community.  Transitions bring new experiences and new experiences are a powerful door opener to stress and strain in relationships.

When relationships are strained (the unfortunate reality is they will be strained at some point), we have a real opportunity to build and strengthen our character.  Our effort focused on how we respond during that critical time has the potential to make all the difference in the survival or the demise of the relationship.  We probably can always find some fault on “the other side” of the relationship.  If we are honest with ourselves, they can always find fault on “our side” too.  There is little to no benefit in playing the blame game.

When our response, during times of struggle, is focused on patience (which is defined as long suffering by the way), understanding, and a desire to genuinely find a “better way” together, we will more consistently see the relationship survive the struggle. In addition, like any good workout routine, our strength to endure future struggles will be increased as our “muscles” get stronger with the workout.

As our thoughts, decisions, and actions are focused on rising above our situation and responding with patience, understanding, and genuine desire to find a “better way,” we will build and strengthen our character and Character Creates Opportunity® to build healthy and meaningful relationships.

As we journey back to school in the fall to continue our education, as businesses fine tune plans to finish the year strong, and as schedules get a little more jammed with activities, we will most likely face a few struggles in these transitions and we have an opportunity to strengthen relationships, especially those closest to us.

A great quote from former First Lady Barbara Bush is a helpful reinforcement; “As important as your obligations as a doctor, lawyer, or business leader will be, you are a human being first, and those human connections-with spouses, with children, with friends-are the most important investments you will ever make.  At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal.  You will regret time not spent with a spouse, a child, a friend, or a parent…Our success as a society depends not on what happens in the White House but on what happens inside your house.”