Relational Bank Account

Someone in my mastermind group brought up the topic of the relational bank account the other day, and it got me thinking. It wasn’t a new idea to me (I came across it when we read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People for Bookworm), but it challenged me to ask myself:

What’s the balance on my most important relationships?

You see, relationships are a lot like bank accounts. Every time we come in contact with someone, a transaction is made.

There are only two options:

You debit the relationship account by adding to your balance (deposit)
You credit the relationship account by subtracting from it (withdrawal)

I left that mastermind meeting with a renewed challenge to give more than I take.

I have to be honest here: I don’t always succeed at this. Just like buying something you don’t need on a credit card, it’s easy to take the people in your life for granted. You do’t feel the cost in the moment, but every time you do this, you extend your line of credit which eventually must be repaid. I make a withdrawal every time I get upset with my wife or yell at my kids. But I do my best to keep those accounts full by consistently making deposits, and I try to admit my mistakes when I mess up.

Author Chris Bailey once told me that people are the reason for productivity. In other words, it doesn’t matter how much you get done if you’ve depleted your relational bank accounts.

I encourage you take inventory of your own relational bank accounts. What’s one thing you can do today to make a deposit in the life of someone important to you?

Until next time – keep going, and keep growing!

— Mike Schmitz

The Focused 2022 Calendar is Here!

Every year, David Sparks & I partner with Jesse from NeuYear to create a Focused branded calendar. This year’s calendar is now available, and turned out great:

This year’s calendar has a couple of nice upgrades over the previous year, like check circles to track habits, wee numbers, days left in the quarter, and space at the top for your yearly/quarterly themes. Plus, there’s a landscape version printed on the back so you can choose which orientation you prefer.

They are $28 (+ shipping) and you can get your own here.