I can remember back to when I first moved to Cincinnati. For the first few years I hated it. The city was nice but I did not have much of a chance to really get to know her. I worked in sales and marketing with some small HR activities built within. This job took me around and about the city. I would get up at 5am head out to my first location about 50 miles away, work ten hours and then head back home. This made for a good 13 hour day depending on traffic. By the time I got home and cleaned up, I only had time to sleep and then replay the entire day over again. The routine was exhausting. For about 2 years I did this. The entire time the only people that I had to connect with were those who worked with me on the job. They were great people. All with their own hobbies and lives…

Our own lives: Sad to say, they were under the same pressures as well. While we were all pretty close and connected, my co-workers all had personal lives and looked forward to getting back home for some rest.

Before I moved to a fortune 500 company to start my work within Human Resources and move away from the unpredictable routine of my previous job in Sales and Marketing, I remember thinking that I hated my job. That I hated the travel, the people and all the seclusion it brought with it. Yet now, when I think back, I didn’t really hate the job, the seclusion or the people I was around. What I hated was the lack of strong relationships.

Always Remember: Relationships are more important than a job.

So Many Complaints: I think back to this as a result of hearing first hand accounts of individuals from all generations, fields and points of entry into their career. As people complain, I think the thing to remember is:

1. How Seriously Are You Taking The LIFE You Have and
2. How Much Time Are You Focusing On the Things that Truly Matter

Regardless of how I felt about the job back then, I know now that what I truly needed was to focus on the potential relationships that I was building, no matter how long or short. I took for granted the connections I made then and lost touch. I wish I had not.

Groups, Cliques and Categories ~ We do it wrong: We as individuals tend to dwell around our usual cliques and groups like flies. That stinks. It stinks because we can become stagnant and routine. Often times we stick to titles, industries and functions. We don’t get out of the box and try to see and share how we could be doing things better. We, as a population don’t do as well as we should in connecting with people that can not only help us become better in our careers and work but also better as people.

Don’t Forget to Connect: So I say all that to say this, never forget to connect with people. A job is there for a while, the project will come and go. You will go through ups and downs, changes and transitions. Your career will grow to new heights. However, without the people, what’s the point.

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