"You've gone down one path, and I've headed down a different one."
My husband of twenty-two years said this to me a few days ago while we were walking together, and if we were characters in a novel, that statement might have been followed up with, "I want a divorce."
Except that he said, "And because of that we've succeeded."
It's true. We've each followed our personal and professional interests and turned them into strengths that we leverage for each other and for our family.
Partnerships--both personal and professional--can thrive if we fill in each others' skill and perspective gaps.
Conversations--both personal and professional--can be engaging if we fill in each others' information and imagination gaps.
But that's not why partnerships and conversations succeed.
They succeed when people care about the same thing...
For the authors in my writers group, it's simply about telling the best story possible.
For the companies I work with and the CEOs I coach, it is their compelling vision or mission.
For my husband and me, it's because we adore the three gremlins we've brought into the world. As a family, we're united by love and sarcasm (our lingua franca.)
We're headed into the holiday season, often as joyous as it is stressful. I remind myself that we're succeeding together because we have different skills, passions, and perspectives...and when we care about the same things.
I wish you all a joyous season of thriving relationships and engaging conversations...and success in every possible way.
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