This YouTube video (by Stephen Scoggins) presents five practical secrets for building strategic relationships: 1) identify the areas where you need support and recruit people who complement your weaknesses, 2) be genuine and avoid manipulating people, 3) form partnerships that provide equal value (give and take), 4) proceed with "charismatic caution"—be excited but vet character and integrity, and 5) focus on others’ goals and add value to them. Two bonus points emphasize consistently asking how you can help others and learning from others without stealing their work. The video also contains calls-to-action linking to a free resource and encouraging subscription.
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The relationships that you have right now, and I do mean right now, are either holding you back or they're moving you forward. And in this video, I'm going to share with you five specific secrets that I personally use to build outstanding strategic relationships to help keep me moving forward and hopefully help you do the same.
I've been asked more times than I can count how I was able to get breakthrough and live the way I live. And it always comes down to surrounding myself with the right people, with the right skills who are very talented in areas that I'm not. So here's the truth. Seeking out help is not weakness, it's wisdom. Why on earth would you waste 10 years trying to do it all by yourself when you can actually get some help, get the mentorship and get the right people, invest 10 months and get the same stinking results. Why? Because you're able to leverage your gifts, your talents and theirs to, to actually get those same amazing results. That's why this is so important. That's why I'm sharing these five steps and secrets with you today. STEP 1. Identify the needs of your plan and the areas where you need the most support. Far too many times we are operating in stuff that we shouldn't be operating in. I know, while I understand accounting that I don't want to have to count every stinking invoice and look at invoice numbers, it's not my gift. However, I've got team members that, that is their gift. Their gift is the details. Their gift is the analytics. I'm better at big vision, right? So I know if I'm going to create an organization, a solid family, a great relationship, I'm a vision based thinker and I'm going to need the relationships right that are strong in the areas I'm weak at. And that's just one example of where great relationships and surrounding yourself with the right people, with the right priorities that backfill your blind spots can come in handy. Step number two is really important. Be genuine in your search. Never slimy. What I mean by that is when you're looking for the right people, you are not looking to manipulate people. You are looking at a way to inspire people to help you with your specific strategic plan or your specific strategic vision, if you will. You need the right people doing the right thing and respecting you in the right way in order for you to actually make progress. Otherwise, if you trick people into working with you and you trick people into following you, inevitably what will happen is they will end up becoming disgusted after they discover the dishonesty, you can't have that. You've got to be honest at all times and making sure that these people are there for the right reasons and making sure you're there with them for the right reasons. And that's how you're able to move forward. Now, before we move into the next step, I'd be honored if you considered subscribing to the channel. That way you can actually get regular updates on how Life Mastery works and how to put it to work for you. And as always, please do me a favor, smash the bell icon. That way you can actually get real time results with real time information. Step number three, seek partnerships that always are equal in value. Here's what I mean by that. Far too many times we go to ask people to be our mentors and maybe our co pilots, if you will. In other words, they're people we can kind of bounce stuff off of, but we always go to them with what we want, our problems and our needs, if you will. Well, that's exhausting for anyone. So if you're going to invest in finding people that actually pour into you on a regular basis, then you also need to take the time to make yourself available to help them as well. Relationships are only beneficial if everybody is winning. You cannot have a one sided approach to having a strategic relationship. You've got to be able to give and take in equal measure in such a way that allows both parties to constantly be winning. Step number four, always proceed with charismatic caution. Here's what I mean by that. I want you to be excited to create these new relationships and be open minded to these relationships. But I don't want you to dive in headfirst because if you dive in headfirst, you may actually end up missing key character breakdowns that may cost you dearly in the future. It's important to get to know other people in the strategy, if you will, that kind of fill the needs that we've already talked about at a personal level. Because at a personal level you're able to discover whether or not they have integrity or they lack integrity. So you want to make sure you take the time to proceed with caution, but. But do so in an excited manner, right? Because you're on the search. You're on the search for the right people to be part of the right program to help you get the right progress. Step number five, show interest in their life and their goals rather than focusing on yours alone. Why is that important? People will come alongside of you if they also feel like you add value to them. And when you spend time getting to know people in such a way that allows you to develop a key personal relationship and you care about their goals, their aspiration and their vision, then they will likely see everything as a win win scenario on their side. And by definition, you've now built a win win scenario where this relationship now adds value to you and adds value to them. And that's why you've got to focus on their needs just as much as your own. Bonus secret in step number one, consistently ask yourself, how can I play a more active role in making their goals a reality? If you go to someone with your hand always out, eventually they're not going to want to put anything in it. However, if you go to someone with your hand always giving, then they're always going to want to let you in to actually open up dialogue and conversation. So much of my overall success and some of the things that I've done has been by pouring into the person that I greatly admire most. So maybe that, maybe someone that I'm looking for mentorship in. When you add value to other people, it develops a spirit of reciprocity and friendship that stands the test of time. So make sure that you're asking them and you're making a strong effort into actually helping them with their own ambitions and goals. And that way you'll develop healthy relationships. Now, I've got another bonus step, but before I mention that, I want to invite you to check out a free resource that I've linked in the description. It's called seven relationships you must have to win at life. Here's what you get out of that resource. It's going to help you identify what these seven relationships are and give you ideas and concepts on how to partner with these people to help you get moving. All right. Bonus step number two. Always learn from others, but never take from others. And here's what I mean by that. It's vitally important that you don't actually break trust with the relationships you're building. So in the example of content space, right, I create a ton of content. I always get admired and always get like smiles on my face when someone gives me a reference for something that I created even though they're currently using it. Have zero problem with that. Where it becomes tricky is when someone claims an idea, a concept, or something like that of their own and begin to use it in the public without actually talking to us or actually saying, hey, look, do you mind if I do this? Okay. I'm going to be less likely to want to help them become successful because in my mind, they've kind of illustrated a selfish ambition to steal, so to speak. Now you can use lots of different examples there, but in the meantime, the concept is the same. Make sure you're learning, but make sure you're never stealing. Alright? Hopefully you've gotten a lot out of these particular steps and secrets that can help you build these amazing relationships. And in the meantime, if you're trying to get more out of your strategic connections, then check out this video right here. And also, don't forget about the link in the description with a free ebook. Check that out. That way you can help win. Also, I would love it if you would partner with us and actually subscribe to the channel and I'll see you in the next video.
