Everyone says that business is about relationships. There’s no doubt that’s true. But, when you’re a solo-preneur, you often find yourself with so many relationships but very meaningful relationships. To keep your business moving forward you have to keep moving on from nurturing one relationship to nurturing the next. The small business person runs the risk of having a million surface-level relationships.
Yet, to live your best life you need a community around you. And, not just any community–a very specific community that helps you grow the life you’ve wanted to live.
In my journey, I’ve tried a lot of different kinds of communities. I’ve tried business networking groups, church small groups, professional organizations, co-working spaces, and many other types of community. Each of them has served very specific purposes. But, after a season, they often feel lacking. It wasn’t until recently that I was able to really name why.
Often when I’m in those groups, our collective interest is about one aspect of our lives. In networking groups the common point is usually around a service we provide and the focus is on our profession. In church groups it’s about the spiritual conversation. In most groups we have an affinity for the same thing and that’s the thing we focus on in that group. But, none of us are single-faceted. Our lives are multi-dimensional. In fact, I believe there are nine elements of our lives that can directly impact our sense of fulfillment.
If you want to create stability in your life to help you overcome the loneliness be purpsoeful about building your inner-circle of people. Find a group of people that will be invested in you and allow you to be invested in them. Find your people that you trust to invest in your whole life and not just one aspect of it.
Be intentional about surrounding yourself with four or five people that help raise the bar for your whole life and not just one dimension. When you have the right people around you and you spend meaningful time with your people there’s a calibration that occurs in your life. You know you have stability because there are people that know you and will help you live the life you desire and not just the life other people desire for you.
Overcome loneliness by building the right community of people around you.
Action step: Create a list of the 5 people you spend the most time with (outside of your immediate family). Consider if these people are helping your pursue a completeness of your life or a completeness of what they want from you? Of the current list of your five people determine who you need to go deeper with and who you may need to create some separation from so that you can have room to go deeper with someone else who will want you to live your best life.
