Shared Experiences are a Catalyst for Connection

As I come off an amaz­ing sum­mer and reflect on the high­lights that were most mem­o­rable and mean­ing­ful, I’m remind­ed of the dif­fer­ence between indi­vid­ual and shared experiences.

Over time, I’ve been lucky to vis­it some of the most beau­ti­ful and inter­est­ing places in the world. I’ve been able to meet founders and lead­ers of suc­cess­ful com­pa­nies. In addi­tion, I’ve been lucky enough to stay in some of the best hotels, eat in some of the best restau­rants; and to chal­lenge myself in car-rac­ing adventures.

And while these self-grat­i­fy­ing expe­ri­ences were amaz­ing, they were dif­fer­ent than those I’ve shared with peo­ple I care about. You just can’t ful­ly com­mu­ni­cate their impact to some­one unless they are there.

Shared expe­ri­ences are a cat­a­lyst for con­nec­tion and bond­ing, for the sto­ries, laugh­ter and mem­o­ries that can be reliv­ed, together.

So, as I reflect on this past sum­mer, the high­lights are those shared, awe­some expe­ri­ences with small- to medi­um-sized groups of peo­ple I care about.

Like when a dozen of us attend­ed a reg­u­lar par­ty and turned it into our own dress-up-themed par­ty-with­in-a-par­ty. Or when three gen­er­a­tions of my fam­i­ly played Cards of Human­i­ty togeth­er. We’re still laugh­ing about it!

These are the ​‘heart suc­cess­es” I talk about in Your Oxy­gen Mask First (Chap­ter 1, Live an Amaz­ing Life) that light you up inside. They give you a sense of sat­is­fac­tion, enjoy­ment and ful­fill­ment and define how you feel about your­self – and are dif­fer­ent from the ​“head suc­cess­es”, of the pride of reach­ing goals, and acquir­ing per­son­al wealth and possessions.

“…you need to sort out what heart suc­cess is to you so it can be part of your game plan. If you play your cards right, you’ll be able to look back, decades from now, with zero regrets. This is the true test of an amaz­ing life.” — Kevin Lawrence, Your Oxy­gen Mask First

And they can hap­pen with your team, too. At a recent retreat, the CEO of the com­pa­ny invit­ed every­one and their fam­i­lies to a BBQ at his home. This was much more mean­ing­ful than than the usu­al exec­u­tive din­ner. The chance to get to know each oth­er bet­ter was def­i­nite­ly a highlight.

The Chal­lenge

• As you think reflect on your year or sum­mer – what gave you a 10/10 heart success?
• As you think about the rest of this year, what can give you the same suc­cess, with your fam­i­ly and friends, and your team at work?

Addi­tion­al Articles

Suc­cess: Achieve­ment vs. Fulfillment

Enjoy­ing Life in Tan­dem with Your Busi­ness Experiences

Cel­e­brat­ing Suc­cess and Accom­plish­ments of Your People

Cre­at­ing an Amaz­ing Life Plan

Lawrence & Co’s work focus­es on sus­tain­able and enhanced growth for you and your busi­ness. Our diverse and expe­ri­enced group of advi­sors can help your lead­ers and exec­u­tive teams stay com­pet­i­tive through the use of var­i­ous learn­ing tools includ­ing work­shops, webi­na­rs, exec­u­tive retreats, or one-to-one coaching.

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