Key points

• Many people are corporately successful but their relationships are weak

• The story of John with the unbalanced life portfolio

• Six ways to invest well into people and relationships

• “Too busy” is a poor excuse and suggests wonky priorities.

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In the first part of this 3-part series, I talked about putting time and effort into investments that pay worthwhile returns. Part 1 covered your health (read it here). You can have millions in currency, but if your health is poor, you won’t be happy.

Today, we continue the series with another key investment that truly matters and pays handsome dividends.

Introducing John

John (not his real name) is a successful corporate executive. He's good at what he does, is somewhat driven, and has earned great money over the past 15 years as he's climbed the corporate ladder. The trouble is, when I talked with him about how he felt his life was going he confessed that while he was corporately successful, he was lonely.

John was married and had two children, but he felt lonely. He also said that he didn't really have many good friends. He’d always seemed too busy or tired to put in the effort and now he had little to show for it on the friend front.

While he was corporately successful, he was lonely.

John is a classic example of someone with an unbalanced portfolio - too much investment in one area, but not enough in others. This is a risky strategy because it's like forgetting to water a feature pot plant you have at home, while continually watering a small patch of flowers in the corner garden.

The flowers will do OK (although may not need as much water as you give them) but the valuable feature pot plant is in danger of withering and dying.

We all need love in our lives, it's a fundamental need that enables us to feel we belong and are connected to others.

We're social beings.

If we don't pay enough attention to this fundamental need we're in danger of withering.

So are the others in our lives.

How to cultivate good relationships

I make sure that I regularly:

• Organise a date with my partner to do things we both like

• Contact my birth mother every week to make sure she's ok (you can read about our relationship here) despite being abandoned by her 60 years ago.

• Have afternoon tea and dinner once a week with my parents

• Send my daughter texts and messages of love and support

• Spend every Thursday picking up my granddaughter from school and having her stay the night

• Call two to three mates every couple of weeks to stay in touch, and organise a concert, movie or coffee.

Putting more of my investment energy into this crucial area will give me a better long-term return than always being 'too busy.'

‘Too busy’ is just an excuse for wonky priorities, and it pays poor dividends.

One thing I know now that I didn’t know when I was younger is that not everything matters to the same extent. So, I should avoid putting too much time and energy into those things that don’t matter the most in the end.

Question for you

What comes to mind when you read this article?

Rob

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