I watched the acceptance speech of Ennio Morricone during the Oscars with fascination. He was presented with an Honorary Oscar for his lifetime achievements in composing and conducting. As his friend Clint Eastwood translated from Italian, "He (Ennio) says this Oscar is not a point of arrival but a starting point to continue writing with the same passion and dedication he's had since the very beginning on the screen." Here is a man who has composed more than 300 motion picture scores over a 45-year career and he's just getting started! I am writing this month's newsletter as I listen to Ennio's composition of "Ecstasy of Gold" from my favorite Western of all time, "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." The music is so inspiring and uplifting. Further in Ennio's acceptance speech, he talks about the importance of friendship and how he wouldn't have received the Oscar without friends and directors like Clint. Ennio and Clint's friendship stretches back to 1967.
Friendship has been on my mind over the last several months. I have had a number of good friends move out of the area. One even moved out of the country to Taiwan and I haven't seen him for years. A few others have literally drifted away for no apparent reason other than changing interests and agendas. Seeing friends such as Ennio and Clint who have known each other for so long reminded me of the importance of friendship. Since I had put the topic of friendship 'out there,' I was interested to see what would happen in addition to staying up way past my bedtime watching the Oscars.
I had known for sometime about the Men's Group at my church. I thought they only met at the crack of dawn during a breakfast meeting once a month. I was reminded in the church bulletin about an additional monthly meeting in the evening. These meetings feature a book to kick off the discussions. Wouldn't you know it that the most recent book up for discussion was "Vital Friends" by Tom Rath? I took this as a sign and made sure I was going to attend my first evening meeting. The book talks about the importance of one-to-one friendships versus the teams and individuals who are studied at great length in the business world. The author states, "Friendships add significant value to our marriages, families, work and lives. At some level, everything we see and feel is the product of a personal relationship. Look around you and see if you can identify anything created in true isolation."
This last point brought to mind one of my sales managers at a computer reseller. He did a very good job developing each employee who worked for him, but he didn't put any energy into developing the one-to-one relationship between himself and each person on his staff. I liked working at this reseller, but I felt something of substance was lacking. According to Gallup Workplace Research, a person who has a best friend at work is significantly more likely to engage their customers, be more productive, have fun on the job, innovate and share new ideas, and a slew of other benefits. When was the last time you read a good book about the friendship of two individuals and the benefits of this kind of relationship? I was reminded of the strong friendship between Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the Second World War. They spent every holiday together and their strong bond clearly aided the allied cause in the defeat of that era's axis of evil.
In the Men's Group we talked about the different set of skills and experiences each of us brings to a friendship. I have known one friend since junior high school and we enjoy talking about the subject of wine while another friend is a fellow photographer and we always get into a discussion about the latest photography gear and where we have traveled. As we discussed the various types of friends, one thing was ringing clear, no one friend or person can bring everything we need to a relationship. Some friendships change over time, as is clearly the case for me. In fact, one way to measure a person's wealth is by the quality of his or her friends. And the quality of a friendship always involves how we allocate our time.
How do you invest in your friendships? This goes beyond instant messaging and the occasional e-mail. Do you spend time having quality conversations and how often do you see your friend in person? In order to sustain quality friendships, we all have to try a little harder. This reminds me of the benefits of trying a little harder when I was taking photographs of Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plain in England. My wife and I pulled up to the park right as it was closing. I took a few photographs outside the fence right near our car, but I felt I needed to try a little harder. My wife is extremely supportive of my work, so she said she would wait in the car with our son as I figured out a better angle.
As the sun was setting behind the 5,000 year-old structure, I walked over a mile down the road, which cuts right through the park. During this walk, I found a slight indentation in the high fencing. I positioned my camera on my ultra-light weight tripod and took a few great photos in what I call have been calling the magic minutes. Trying harder in my photography definitely yields higher quality results. But I didn't take the photograph alone. My wife was a big part of the process as Ennio's friendships with various directors are a large part of his success. How do you try harder in your friendships, especially those you have where you work? Would you make the cut of being a quality friend to somebody else? One way to begin is to start with sincere compliments of why particular friends are important in your life. Go ahead, I encourage you to try harder!
Mark Sincevich works with individuals and organizations to increase their communication power so that they gain a fresh perspective, generate new ideas, sharpen the focus and create more business. He uses a unique photography angle in his creative keynotes, meeting facilitation and powerful presentation skills programs. Mark is the Founder and Chief Perspective Officer of Staash Press, a member of the National Speakers Association and the Executive Director of the Digital Photography Institute. In between assignments, Mark can be found spending time with his family or writing in cafés with character. He can be contacted at 301-654-3010 or http://www.staashpress.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Sincevich
