 And a few verses, first couple of verses and also verse 13. So Romans 15 says, we then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good leading to edification. And goes on to explain how Christ was our example of patience, et cetera. So verse 5, now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded towards one another according to Christ Jesus. That you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Okay, that those are verses 5 and 6. And verse 13, Romans 15, verse 13. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. So Paul starts by exhorting and he's instructing, he's saying, you who are strong, you need to bear with those who are weak. And the scruples of the weak, meaning the limitations, the things that they do. You know, some of the things which are maybe not right even. You bear with the weak and then let each of us please his neighbor for his good and says now may the God of patience and comfort. Okay, so we see that God is the God or maybe, you know, saying God is the source of patience and comfort and may he grant you to be like-minded. So we need the patience that comes from him, we need the comfort that comes from him. And he prays saying, may he grant you this ability to be like-minded towards one another. And according to the Lord Jesus, so that you may be with unity that you may glorify God. And then verse 13, now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. You know, we've been dealing with, we've been talking about winning with people and we've been talking about how we can, you know, how we can understand others, how we can work with others, how we can, you know, better our perspective of others and so on. And this is something which is very, very powerful because we see that God is the God of patience and comfort. God is the God of hope and he can fill us with joy and peace in believing that we may abound in hope. And then, you know, we can do what God wants us to do when it comes to dealing with people, that we can please our neighbor for their good, for their edification, that we can bear with the scruples of the week and that we can be like-minded towards one another. So we see that for the believer, this is great news because, you know, in our flesh, maybe with our personalities or temperament, it is not possible. But with God, God being the God of patience and hope, God being the God of comfort, you know, when he fills us with joy, when he fills us with his peace, you know, we can reflect Christ and be who he wants us to be, right? So let's just pray and ask God to fill us with his love, with his joy, with his peace, that we may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Abound in hope, not just psyching ourselves, abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Father, we thank you, Lord. Father, we thank you that you are the God of hope, that you are the God of comfort and patience. And Master, we thank you that you have exalted us, God, to be like-minded with one heart and one mind when it comes to people, to be patient, Lord. And all this, Master, we thank you that we can do it with the power of the Holy Spirit. We thank you with your power residing in us, Lord, with your power, like a mighty river, Lord, flowing out of us. God, we know that we can do this, God. And we just want to ask you to fill us this morning, Lord, fill us with your love, fill us with your joy, fill us with your peace, God. And I just pray that the fruit of the Spirit, fruit of the Holy Spirit, will be formed in us. We thank you. We thank you. We bless your name, God. We bless your name, O God. Hallelujah. We bless your name. We bless your name. Yes, Lord, we pray that, Lord, you would sharpen us, Lord, as leaders, God, that you would sharpen us as influences, O Father God, in this aspect, O Master, Lord. When it comes to interacting, dealing, Lord, in all our relationships with people, Father God, we pray that, Lord, that you would sharpen this, that you would, Lord, really mature, O God, this ability, Father God. And I just pray that, Lord, this will be formed in each one of us, Lord. And it'll be, we will mature in this area, God. And I just pray, even for those of us who have, who have just cancelled ourselves, saying, this is not possible, or, you know, I cannot work with people. Lord, I pray for a fresh, or the impartation of hope, O Father God. Lord, may we abound in hope by the power of your Spirit in all our relationships, God, whether it's family, friends, or whether it's ministry, or professionally God, we pray that we may abound in hope by the power of your Spirit. We thank you. We give you all the praise and glory. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, welcome back, those who joined us now. Okay, we'll continue from where we left off, where we stopped last class. I think we looked at, we were looking at nurturing relationships, right? We looked at the gardening principle and we looked at 101 principle. John C. Maxwell talking about, you know, who's that one person to whom you can, or that, you know, that those people to whom you can invest 101% in them. So, you know, obviously we can't do it to a lot of people. We can do it to a few and we need to choose and invest that, right, like a spouse or family or, you know, someone whom we are mentoring and so on. Okay, he also talks about, in the same thing, about patience, about being a principle, about patience being a virtue that we need to have in a big measure while interacting with people. Okay, Ephesians 4 and verse 2 says, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love, right? The, I mean, the downside of patience is that it is put on display in the most unlikely of circumstances. The circumstances that demand are patience, right? So, so that's, that's the thing, you know, with people who, who require patience and then patience is put on display. The thing we need to understand is while working with people, well, definitely, you know, we can do things, maybe we can, we sometimes feel that yes, you know, there are certain things that I can do things where I can do it quicker. I can do it better. And, you know, I can journey on faster. I remember, you know, a person in church telling me, you know, first I would have gone so far, you know, if not for my family, if not for my spouse and children. You know, saying that, you know, I would have, I would have grown so much, I would have done so much, you know, if not, you know, they are, they are holding me back. Well, the reality is the truth is that family is God's design, you know, spouse, children, God's design. And yes, the dynamics change. And when you're in, you know, in, in a, in a marriage kind of a relationship when you have family, the dynamics change, right? The pace of things change. The season changes. And we need to understand, you know, how we can, we need to work or cooperate with the spirit in that season to see how we can be effective and how we can be fruitful. Because, well, God is the same, you know, maybe our expectations need to change. It needs to come in line with God and so on. So patience is, is something that's very, very important. Right. So when we realize that, yes, things have, things are slowing down because of other people, you know, things are, you know, I'm not able to go further. And I'm, I'm required to display this virtue of being patient with people, you know, and it is biblical. We see that, you know, the passage that we read just now, Romans chapter 15 talks about patience and because God is the God of patience and how he has been patient with us. You know, the same patients, if we can extend to others, you know, there will be times when, you know, it is, it is very difficult, right? But we, when we extend patience, then we nurture that relationship, that relationship definitely thrives and flourishes, you know, because of our patience with them, right? So, you know, just consider some event in your life or something that you went through, which really demanded patience. Okay, for you to be patient with the other person. And, and maybe that was taken for granted, you know, that was taken for granted that was, that was not, that really didn't go on, go down well. And because of which, you know, you decided you made a decision saying I will not be so. Okay, so, so there's a, you know, the right way of being patient. There is a, again, a wrong way of being patient. So let's talk about that for a minute. Okay. Okay. Oh, I realize I didn't share the notes. Fine, let's, let's, you know, let's talk about that. And when it comes to patience, patience is not being passive, right? Patience is not being passive in a sense. It's, it's not just your, you know, you're not involved or engaged in, in the situation or in the lives of people. No, that is not patience. It's, it's just being very passive and not reacting, not, you know, all this, you know, and all the while, you could be boiling stirred up on the inside. That is not patience. Patience is also, you know, patience done right is really communicating with the person, right, with the team. You know, maybe patience is also, you know, not if you don't communicate the truth or if you don't communicate the expectation. If you don't communicate what's, you know, what is, what needs to be done, you know, and now that is, if you don't communicate it, that, that doesn't mean that we are patient. No, we need to do that. We need to communicate it. We need to communicate the timeline and, and, you know, be patient as people work through it, you know, as people work through their mistakes, people work through the limitations. You know, so that is the right way of, of being patient. So, so I just want to hear from you. You know, if you have, if you have anything to share about, you know, patients not being done right. You know, the Bible calls us to be patient and maybe in a, you know, in a professional setting or even in a ministry setting, you know, we might think, okay, in a ministry setting, it's fine. You know, you can be all, you can be, you know, you know, all, you know, have or exercise all the patients you want. But actually, it's not so right. There are, there are things to be completed within a certain time frame. And, you know, that is, that is required, that is the expectation and we need to do that. Okay, so, so when you, when you don't do that, you know, and when you, when you, when you continue on that line, you know, not doing it, not, not meeting with expectations now. Now that can't go on forever. You know, that doesn't mean that, okay, so one day when you say, okay, you know, we have seen this repeatedly, and then this needs to end. So that doesn't mean the other person is being impatient, right? So enough chances or opportunities given expectations were shared and, and through it all, you know, the organization or the team has been, has been very patient, right? So, so any thoughts? I just love, I'd love to hear from us. You know, maybe you can talk about patients done right or patients not done right. Also, yeah, just like to hear from you. Any thoughts? It can be a work situation. It can be any other, you know, okay, Sam. Patients, it's not just waiting, but how we wait or how we behave while we wait, something I heard from, okay, okay, what do we do in the meantime? Right, right, right. Thanks, Sam. It's Sam's birthday today. Many happy birthday, Sam. But it's not, I think the depth is incorrect. I'm sorry, what? I think dates are wrong in the database. Oh, in the database, is it? Okay, we need to change that. Can you just tell me I'll, I'll change it after the class. So what is the exact date? Is it like, for August? Well, it's not clear. Maybe you can put it on the chat. I'll take that. Yeah, I'll change it. I saw the prompt today than I thought. Okay. Okay, so Anita is sharing after the birth of my child, I have learned to patients in the real sense. Okay, 20th August. Okay, just make a note of it. Just one second. And the year is the same, I guess, Sam. Okay. Right, after the birth of your child. That's true. Yeah, you realize you can't rush them, you know, certain times you can't, you can't push them, especially when they are very young. Right. And I remember, you know, taking my child to school and wanting my daughter to just get ready fast. There's only 15 minutes, you need to get dressed, have your breakfast and go, but it doesn't happen that way. It is, yeah, I think when one becomes a parent, you learn, or you have loads and loads of patients, right? So say, I think wanted to say something, say you put your hands up. Oh, yeah, I was just going to bring up the example you gave in one of our classes about one of the choir members, or was it the choir director who you had to sit down with? I mean, you would have exercised patient and just said, oh, he would change, but it was going to be detrimental to the whole group. So you had to take action. So that's, to me, patients done right. An example of patients done wrong is you're waiting for a particular kind of job. Maybe it's an engineering job, and basically you just sit at home, you know, and say, oh, you're patient and you're waiting for a job as an engineer, but whereas you have other skills you can leverage on in the meantime, right? So just sitting and waiting to me isn't patient, but engaging, doing something valuable with your time. I think it's described and still holding on, you know, for that engineering job or whatever particular field of endeavor one would like to be doing something. Doing something while that comes, you know, that's to me is the right way to be patient. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. So I think being patient with oneself, right? Yeah, that's right. Anyone else, if you have any real life examples that you'd like to share, that would be great. Okay. How many of you say that you are, you know, you can pride yourself on being patient, that you're really patient with this? Can I see your hands? No one. Okay. Okay. So Chris says yes. I mean, it's not, you know, it's not a very pleasant thing in the sense, I mean, he says not yet. You know, we all have expectations. We all have, you know, a mental picture of, okay, this is what patients is, and I've not reached yet. And I guess that's how it will be. You know, we'll all be, you know, a level of patience. We'll all display a level of patience. And it'll continue to be a journey, right? And Rupa says, okay, I've learned it over the years. Yes. So the thing is to know the fine line between, you know, patients and being just being passive or just not engaging. And also the importance of, you know, when it comes to relating to the importance of communication, you know, even to communicate, you know, the expectation and say, okay, it's fine this time, right? It's just go ahead. You know, here's another opportunity. Here's another chance. Go ahead and, you know, to communicate that, right? It's very important. So that kind of reiterates to you as well. And to the other person, okay. You know, the other exact principles that we learned earlier, like exchange principle, like to put ourselves in the other person's shoes helps, right? But what really makes it complex is that though we want to, you know, be understanding in a professional setting, there is the bigger picture of the expectation of the organization, the objectives of the organization that needs to be met. So, you know, how do you balance both, right? So that's the important thing, you know, that's a difficult thing rather. Well, personally, you can be patient with the person, but you need to in a professional manner, you know, communicate that as well and say, okay, this is the expectation. Okay. And these are the opportunities given. This is the timeline given. And within that, you will be, you know, you will wait and watch, right? And at the same time, you know, we can do what is required to, yeah, I see that, I'm still learning about patients, yes. So, and also we can do a bit about to equip the person, you know, to train the person to upskill the person so that they can get better at what they are doing, right? Yeah. So of course, you know, just focusing on skill and ability, which when people are unable to measure up, you know, which tests our patients. Thanks. Yeah. Yeah. So how many of you can say that I never get bored when I'm waiting for something? Let's say, you know, you're waiting for a train or something. Okay, Sam says, okay, he's never bored. Okay, Rupa says you're never bored. Okay. Let's say the train is delayed or the bus is delayed, you know, the transportation is delayed. How many of you can say that you're never bored? Okay, so I see Kennedy Avni also. Okay. Yeah. I think those are small steps, you know, to really exercise our patients. You know, if you're in a place like, like Bangalore, and, you know, to many places, there are, there are queues. There's always a queue. So it really, oh, even in traffic jams, wow. That's something. So, you know, in a place like Bangalore, you have plenty of opportunities to develop patients, right? If you step out of the house, you want to go someplace, the roads are choked. And, you know, but I think those, those can really help us, you know, those are opportunities to help being patient with others. Okay. Okay. So, so the thing is that, you know, even though it's, you know, it's, it's, it's, you know, it's to talk about it to discuss it, it's fine. But then when we put into practice, we know the reality of it, we know the challenges that come with it. And, and also, yeah, so Rupa says, preparation to wait helps, you know, telling ourselves that, yeah, that this will take time and this might, you know, take this duration, yeah, preparing ourselves helps. That's true. Okay. Let me just share the screen. And we look at a couple of more principles. This is the celebration principle. Okay. So, when interacting with people or when working with teams, when relating to people, the celebration principle is very important. You know, when we celebrate others' victories. Many times, our lives are wrapped around ourselves, right? And what we do, the focus is on ourselves. We don't realize it. Many, many times, it's that way. Because a lot depends on, you know, what you need to do, what you need to produce, what you need to submit, and so on. So the focus can be, you know, on ourselves to a, to a large extent, right? So, when we become other-focused, when we esteem others better than ourselves, when we look out for the, you know, as Scripture says, when we look out for the interests of others, in addition to our own, you know, we become other-focused. And one way to really be other-focused is to celebrate the victories. Celebrate the wins, however small or however, you know, big it is, to celebrate the wins. And it's important to go that, right? Romans 12, 15, rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. As much as we want, we would, you know, be with people, empathize with people, you know, and, you know, in times of defeat, in times of difficulties. So also, during our times of, you know, wins and to celebrate this really, you know, especially in a team setting, we're going to look at teamwork, especially in a team setting, it really boosts the morale of the person, encourages the person, and, you know, helps the person to go further than they thought possible, right? To celebrate the wins. Okay. So the high road principle is another thing which is hard on a flesh, right? It's not to retaliate, okay, but to take the high road, even when we are treated poorly, okay? And we still treat others with respect how we would like to be treated in such circumstances. And 1 Peter 3 and verse 9, not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. Okay. So the thing is to understand that, you know, we are calling is different. We are called to live life, a supernatural life. So when we talk about a supernatural life, it is about science, wonders and miracles. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, it is to live a life that is Christ like, right? And it is not only in, you know, very insulated church setting, but it is everywhere. It could be family, it could be the marketplace. It is to live, you know, in a dog eat dog kind of a world to live this. And we have biblical principles or biblical examples of people who live. So right in the midst of like the code of Nebuchadnezzar and other pagan rulers like Daniel lived. And, you know, it would be very interesting to see what his day was like, you know, how he started the day, how he had his team meetings, how he, you know, went through the went through some of his decisions and how he would communicate that with the teams. You know, that's something that I'd like to really, you know, watch and see and probably ask Daniel, you know, how he did it when we, you know, meet him. So, you know, so that's, we have been empowered by the Spirit to really live that kind of life. So as leaders, as influences, we don't have to shelve this for, for, you know, for a Sunday, or for, you know, for a fellowship, for a life group meeting. We don't have to shelve this. We can put it to test in the marketplace, right, right there. You know, sometimes, sometimes we, I mean, we are not treated fairly in the sense. I remember once an appraisal, which went really bad in the sense. I mean, sorry, not another appraisal went good. Okay, this was an interaction with the boss. So, so the boss was like, he was very upset that, you know, I was kind of sticking out. You know, I was not really, you know, being part of the group when it came to parties and when it came to, you know, things. So, so he, he was a little, you know, it was during a party. It was, you know, he was a little high. He had been drinking, everybody's been drinking. And so he just made a comment saying, you know, you, you don't do this, you don't do this, you know, you can't, you know, a few things. And I was feeling very upset. You know, I just went home. I was like, Oh God, what is this? You know, I was just trying to do my best. And then I was a, I was not a mature believer, but I was, you know, I had my issues that I was dealing with. But still, you know, this really stung, you know, especially from, you know, from a boss that you look up to and he was, he was fine. Otherwise, you know, very strong work ethics, a person of integrity. But this comments, these comments that he made, you know, really stung. So, so I was, I was, I was angry, I was upset, went through all those emotions, you know, who's he to talk like that and etc. But then just realized, you know, I'm just going to be quiet about it. I'm not going to get back or say something nasty, but just be quiet about it. And, and I remember, you know, he, after a few months, sitting across the table and we were going through an appraisal and he wrote down, you know, he has the capacity to work with any kind of boss or any, you know, a boss of whatever, you know, any kind of a boss he can work with. And I remember writing that and so he didn't say anything, he just smiled, he just, you know, signed that appraisal and it went well. So the thing is this, to take the high road, you know, it's, it's not always easy. While our flesh, flesh is all out and just wants to, you know, destroy that person wants to go at it and put that person in place for what they did. Or what they said. But when we take that high road, you know, we know that we have someone else backing us. Right. So that's the thing, you know, how will we see it being accomplished unless we unless we walk it. Right. So we don't have to, you know, whatever setting it is, you know, the truth of God's word works and whatever setting it could be. So we don't have to hold back. We don't have to compromise and we can ask for the wisdom of God. How do I do this right? So it demands wisdom. So how do I do this right? And how do I, you know, how do I do it? So this is something that we see. So we need to be committed to continually treat people well and treat them right. Okay. And it requires like the power of God for us to draw from the power of God, the word of God. Very interesting words. You know, we've been studying this in our Colossians class. As we've been doing the study, you know, Colossians chapter one talks about this in the prayer that Paul prays for the church in Colossae for the believers there. He says that, you know, for this reason, we also since the day he prays that prayer from verse nine onwards. And in verse, versus, this is increasing. I mean, sorry, this is interesting. Verse 11, he says strengthened with all might according to his glorious power. Okay. So strengthened with all might according to his glorious power. And that both those words might power talks about unanimous, you know, the supernatural power of God. So he's saying, you know, you be strengthened with that supernatural power of God and you be, you know, strengthened with all might. And according to his glorious power, according to it's not like any other thing that you can compare with according to his glorious power, may you be strengthened. And what's interesting is what follows next, right? Verse 11, the second part for all patients and long suffering with joy. So that's a, I don't know, you know, if we can make that connection, you know, it's talking about supernatural power of God, the supernatural, you know, the wonder working the science one miracles wonders flowing power of God. That's amazing. And that is what we need, which we see in Ephesians 6, you know, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might, and put on the armor and stand for all against all the wilds of the enemy. So here, he's talking about being strengthened according to his glorious power for all patients and long suffering to be Christ like to display these characteristics that we've been talking about. And the supernatural power of God, you know, is what Paul prays, you know, which means that this is what will help you to display the patients and the long suffering and not just grit your teeth and go with it, but to do so with joy. To do so with that, that simmering low grade, you know, stirring up joy inside of you that you will do that and live that out. So it's an amazing truth that that we as believers that we when we have the Holy Spirit living in us, you know, many times we don't really lean in. Right. But if we would lean in to the power of the Holy Spirit, and we would depend on the power of the Holy Spirit, then what we would display would be totally different. Right. So, yeah. So, so that is something that that we can do. We have access to and praise God, we can do that as leaders. Right. So let's look at another thing as we go forward to create a win-win relationships. Okay. You know, what we see is that especially in in, you know, in a professional business relationships. Well, yes, people do look at win-win, but the definition of win-win could change, you know, I win big and you win, you know, things. And or sometimes it'll be like I win, but you know, you don't win at all. Right. So when it comes to working with people when it comes to relationships with people, how do we have a win-win relationship? Or is it even possible? Right. So you might think, okay, you know, maybe in a in a business kind of a thing, you know, this, this whole imbalance is there, but it can happen in any kind of relationship. Right. Not just, you know, in a secular setting, so-called secular setting, you know, this is in balance of not having a win-win relationship. It can, it can happen anywhere, you know, in a ministry setting also, I need to get this done. And, you know, that is all that matters, you know, that imbalance can be there. So because we're all people. Right. So, so that's the thing. So we're going to look at how can we have a win-win creating intentionally a win-win relationship. Okay. So, so let's watch the video. I'll share the video, we'll watch the video where John C. Maxwell talks about four kinds of four principles rather, and we'll take a look at that. Okay. Let me share that. What's the time? Okay, we have 10 minutes. I'll stop it in 10 minutes. Four people principles. Number 22, the boomerang principle. When we help others, we help ourselves. Or as Andrew Carnegie said, no man becomes rich unless he enriches others. The question I must ask myself is, do I experience a return when I help others? Too many times people approach life like a slot machine. They want to put as little in as possible, and hopefully get a lot in return. There are three types of people I've noticed. There are number one, takers. Now, takers receive and never give. Many people focus on themselves and rarely go out of their way to do anything for others, and such people are takers. They worry only about what they can get, and they're never satisfied. Then there are traders receive and then give. Some people will focus on keeping score. They are willing to give, but their primary motivation isn't to help others. They see relationships as an exchange. Often they give because they think they owe something to someone who has helped them and they desire to make things even. Number three, investors. They give and then receive. In the third group, people focus on others. They give first, and then they receive something if something is offered in return. They believe that success comes from being helpful, caring, and constructive. They desire to make everything, and everyone, they touch better, and they understand that the best way to accomplish that is to give it themselves. Ironically, by possessing an agenda to give first, they are the ones who most often experience the synergy of a win-win relationship. So what do investors do? One, they thank others first. And two, they don't expect short-term gain. And number three, they invest in people with potential. Let me just stop here for a moment. In 1995, I spent six months making a list of 10 people that I would invest in. It took me quite some time to settle in on those that I should really do this with. To be honest with you, I took a spiritual route and I did some prayer. But I also just tried to observe and tried to find people that I especially thought had greater potential than me, that if I would serve them and if I would just invest in them, the return would be pretty huge. And I determined that I would never tell them that they were on the list. I would just invest in them. I can tell you, I started that in 1995. The list has somewhat changed. Of the 10 that I started off with, there are four still on the list. But through the process of time, some I helped for a period of time and then I felt that I had invested in them as much as I could to help them in the areas that I could help them in and many of them have gone on to do just tremendous things. So I would add, as I would drop one off, I would add another one. Ten people, they to this day don't know. They never will. The satisfaction is in me knowing that I'm giving, expecting nothing in return. And then as I watch them do well, the reward is amazing. Now, they're not doing well just because of my investment. In fact, to be honest with you, most of them are very competent. They would do well without my investment. But they're doing better because of my investment. And I know that. That's what I'm talking about in this whole issue of investing in people. If you do those three things and think of others first, don't expect short-term gains. Invest in people with potential. Number four is bound to happen. You will enjoy a return in due season. That's a fact. Paul at Edwin Markham wrote, There's a destiny that Marxist's brothers, no one goes his way alone. And all that we send into the lives of others comes back into our own. People principle number 23 is the friendship principle. And the friendship principle says all things being equal, people will work with people they like. All things not being equal, they still will. Thoreau said, the most I can do for a friend is simply be his friend. And the question that I must ask myself, am I a friend of the people I work with? There are four levels of business relationships. As soon as you understand the way that relationships affect business, you begin to realize that all business relationships are not created equal. As I have studied the subject, I have focused, and I have discovered that there are four levels. Number one is people knowledge. Your understanding of people helps you build your business. In the introduction of this book, I discussed the importance of people skills and business relationships. They are absolutely essential to success. All the product knowledge in the world won't help someone without people skills, nor will technical expertise, nor will the ability to build a brilliantly efficient organization. If individuals don't possess people skills, they very quickly hit a ceiling in their effectiveness. People knowledge. But number two is service skills. Your treatment of people helps build your business. Barry Gibbons, the author of this indecision is final, maintains, between 70 and 90% of decisions, not to repeat a purchase of anything, are not about product or price. They are about some dimension of service of the service relationship. Number three is business reputation. Your reputation for relationships helps you build the business. Howard Hotzkin said, whatever business you're in, you are in the business of relationships. That's why your reputation is your greatest asset. And then number four, personal friendship. Your friendship with others builds your business. The highest level of business relationships is reached when people like your business, but more important, they like you. When there's a heartfelt personal connection to another person, it becomes stronger than any other kind of business bond. That's why I say, all things being equal, people will work with people they like, and all things not being equal, they still will. Friendship is the difference maker. During the war in Vietnam, General William Westmoreland was reviewing a platoon of paratroopers and he would go down the line and ask them the same question, how do you like jumping? They would say, love it, sir. He just got the same greatest experience of my life, sir. He just kept getting these wonderful positive things about parachuting. He came down the line and finally came to a soldier and asked him the question, how do you like jumping? And he said, I hate it, sir. And then the general said, well, then why do you do it? And he said, because I want to be around the guys who do it, sir. It's the whole relationship factor. All things being equal. People will do business with people they like. All things not being equal, they still will. Number 24. People principle number 24, the partnership principle. Working together increases the odds of winning together. Or as tiny mother Teresa said, you can do what I cannot do and I can do what you cannot do. Together we can do great things. And the question you must ask yourself, are others better off because of their partnership with me? And my journey to understanding the partnership principle begins like this. Number one, I want to make a difference. Like many people, I started out in what I call the self-stage. My focus was on me and what I could do. That's not to say I was doing anything wrong. My motives were positive. But my perspective along with my effectiveness was so limited. Then I went to stage two. I want to make a difference with people. When I began to look at myself, I discovered that I could go farther and achieve more when others joined me on their journey. And as a result, I wanted to take everybody with me. It didn't take long for me to realize that was a mistake and here's why not everyone should take the trip. Passion. Have you ever worked with people who said that they were on board with you and believed in what you were doing to accomplish yet you kept having to talk them into doing their part? Those people have no passion for their work. They may want to take the ride, but they have no interest in peddling. Take them on and you will wear yourself out. Not everyone wants to take the trip. That deals with attitude. Some people just don't believe in you or what you're doing. That doesn't mean you're wrong or it doesn't make them wrong. It just means you shouldn't try to take them with you. Not everyone can take the trip. Ability. The difference between a partnership, oh this is a great statement, but just with a partnership and a rescue mission is capacity. Some people may want to make a difference, but they have no ability to affect what you're doing. You cannot afford to partner with someone with who there is no fit. The main lesson I learned during this phase is that I should try to build relationships with everyone, but I should forge partnerships with only a few. I've gone from I want to make a difference to I want to make a difference with people to number three. I want to make a difference with people who want to make a difference. Okay, we'll stop right here and then we'll come back after 10 minutes. Thank you.