When you think of relationships, who do you think of?  Maybe family, friends, or coworkers are who you think of first.  What’s interesting is how your relationships with those you may not consider “close” can affect your life.

There are several examples I can give of them there are two that come to mind first.  One example is that of a bank teller I know who helped me when I had a banking issue.  While I don’t need to go into details, basically I was upset, but I usually never show it.  The bank teller who I worked with was very nice, and of course I didn’t raise my voice but just considered the trouble I was having as a little hurdle that needed to be overcome.  A few days later, the bank teller happened to walk into a company meeting we were having and investigating the possibility of working with our company.

When I saw her come in I had a couple of thoughts, one, how did she find out about the meeting and our company, and two, boy am I glad I was so calm and collected earlier.  What type of impression would she have had of the company if I had been a jerk?  In summary, she has since started working with us and has helped bring revenue into our company.

The second story was one going way back to when I was working at AOL.  I was a floor manager in a call center, and another floor manager had been hired recently.  Although we were working in different departments, I did my best to help him become comfortable in the new job and gave advice when asked.  We got along great and then he moved off to a call center in another state.

About three years later, he called to let me know he had moved to another company as the president of the company, remembered my helping him and offered me a job working for him at close to double what I had been making.  Over the course of a couple years my salary doubled again.

As both of these stories relate, you never know how the people you work with or encounter on a daily basis could one day affect your life in one way or another.  The message I’m trying to relay here is that all of your relationships meaning those with people close to you and also those you may not consider close to you can have a huge impact on your life.  Be careful what you say to those you come in contact with. Be kind to everyone you come in contact with and remember the new person you meet today could hold your future in their hands either as a colleague, client, or friend.

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