“We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.”
Have you ever watched a professional billiard player run a table? It’s quite a display of concentration and purpose. They perform each shot with extraordinary focus, and often they’re taking up position for their next shot before the cue ball has even stopped rolling. It’s mesmerizing, and can even feel a little spooky.
When we’re doing what we love and doing it well, we similarly get “dialed in.” A sense of purpose in our life lends us a sense of purpose in our individual acts. They add up, they lead somewhere new. (I would also wager to say that we may become most miserable when we lack purpose in our lives.)
Building rapport with people can be a valuable component in helping you maintain purpose in your career. When you make meaningful introductions and community bonds, you’re reminded why you love what you do, and why what you do contributes to peoples’ lives.
It’s not always about referrals and sales. Just like those billiard balls that carom off one another on the break, you may never know the various chain reactions you put into play when you take the time to consciously and considerately make building rapport a cornerstone of every single day.
Be a connector in peoples’ lives. Introduce and enrich. Champion friendships and understanding as you go.
