The Power of a Supportive Partner

While I know this is my blog, my wife, Bonnie, wrote this and I thought it valuable enough to pass along. Enjoy.

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I got to thinking about the above title recently. I had an email from someone at HBW about how you can look at ALL the leaders at HBW with a supportive spouse and see how successful they are because they pull together. Then Barney’s last blog spoke about the emotional involvement a person needs to really become successful in our business. This being true, the importance of partner support becomes even more apparent. How can a person become and stay emotionally involved in their endeavor without a supportive partner – they simply cannot. Everyone involved in our business knows that it is through continual efforts with inherent successes and failures that we build a dynamic ongoing business. How is it possible to stay focused and positive if you don’t have the support of your partner? Your partner needs you to be there for them in times of trouble and challenge in their business lives as well as their personal lives.

As you may know, Barney loves the game of golf, and consequently we have learned all about Phil Mickelson, recent Masters champion's, life. There may be many reasons for his success, but the fantastic support of his parents seems to be the most compelling reason behind his success. His parents nurtured him and did whatever was needed to help him develop into the awesome player he became.

Have you ever thought about the power of Two over the power of One? I recently helped my daughter moved from one home to another. Of course movers moved the large items such as furniture, etc, but you know how much stuff most of us have. With another person the job was challenging but not insurmountable, whereas attempting it alone would have been almost impossible. Like minded people can accomplish almost anything; our whole civilization was founded on these principles but it’s not something you think about.

Having determined that a supportive partner/spouse is important and crucial, I think it is a good idea to take a closer look at what a supportive spouse means and what they can accomplish. There are many aspects and manners of providing support as a spouse/partner, and therefore there is no one exact right way to be. For some HBW partners, this involves becoming licensed and actually assisting in those activities in which a license is required. There are considerations concerning this, as there are costs involved with acquiring and maintaining any license in financial services. It is not essential that the partner get licensed, but is an option if they are interested in being involved to that extent.

It all depends on what your partner needs. A supportive partner must be willing to do what is needed, period. When at first thought a response might be, “why should I have to do that”, upon more introspection you realize that doing whatever is needed is the only way to operate. We all have different talents, and analyzing where your strengths lie and utilizing them can be the difference between real success and otherwise. Most likely it will become necessary to do things you may not be comfortable with, such as speaking to strangers or in front of a group of people. Many people have trouble with this, but it’s absolutely necessary if you want to have a thriving organization. I can tell you from personal experience that overcoming a weakness in your efforts to do what is needed can be exhilarating. The possibilities start to unfold and you may find you are capable of so much more than you ever realized in the past. On the other hand, some times it’s things like running errands, making coffee and cleaning up that are required which may invoke the “why should I have to do that” thought. You have to do that stuff too because that is what is required at that time, period.

My recommendation is to explore the possibilities with the amount and type of support you are involved in. As with everything in life, things change, and what might work or be needed at one time can be quite different at another time. Being involved in your partner’s/spouse’s business can add so much to your own life and add really interesting layers to your relationship.

I would like to offer this theory: HBW has become the great organization it is in part because of the great partners we have!