Going Left Or Right?

Recently, I interviewed Christine Perakis for an upcoming episode of the Networking Rx podcast. Who is Christine? Just your average attorney ... who also happens to be a published author, business consultant, and officially licensed captain of a 100-ton ship that was credited with rescuing countless others on the open ocean. No, she is far from average. And to add to that resume, soon she'll be releasing another book -- The Resilient Leader. In it she shares about her ordeal surviving two Category 5 hurricanes over the course of a few weeks. And she did so stranded and completely alone. She uses that experience to encourage community building and leadership.

In our interview, what resonated most was her point that "you should be careful not to mistake social platform connections with the kind of community that will really be there for you in a crisis." In essence, what she said is that in life, you cannot go it alone. And while likes, comments and shares are wonderful, they are of little value when a storm really hits home, be it literally or figuratively. What matters most in your life are those connections that you can actually wave at, offer a handshake to and have a pleasant conversation with as you get the mail.

Yes, these are the people who live (or work) directly to the left and right of you. To be successful, as Christine shares, you need real people in your life. And you need to be willing to help them in times of trouble. And, equally important, you need to have the courage to ask for help when the tables are turned. But you need to build these relationships before crisis hits. Powerful!

You can catch the full interview with Christine on the July 23rd episode of the Networking Rx podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/networking-rx/id1435163721). And you can pre-order The Resilient Leader by going to https://resilientleaderbook.com. But to build community with your neighbors, all you need to do is walk out your front door and smile.

When you do, will you start to the left or to the right?