Teeming With Life

“The last time I started a company I tried to do everything myself.  Doing so taught me that I could be much more successful by bringing in the right people to work with me.  This time I’m building a great team from the start!”

-Brad LaPray

Teeming With Life

Brad LaPray is a successful builder of businesses.  I happened to have the good fortune of meeting him not long ago and have been able to spend a little bit of time getting to know him.  He was looking for some specific help so I scheduled a lunch meeting to introduce him to another friend with the “how to” skills he was seeking.

During lunch, Brad talked with us about one of his prior successful companies and said, “The last time I started a company I tried to do everything myself.  Doing so taught me that I could be much more successful by bringing in the right people to work with me.  This time I’m building a great team from the start!”

I was intrigued by his insight and immediately recognized that he knows that, no matter how good a business looks on paper, no matter what he’s accomplished in the past, no matter how smart he is, he will never be as successful as he could be unless there are other people there to help him.  I’ve thought about this over and over again, wondering how to apply this remarkable insight to the personal side of life.

A long time ago I had a personal conversation, with the chairman of my graduate school committee, just before graduation.  He was instrumental in getting me into graduate school as well as changing my academic approach to learning.  Because of my deep respect for him I listened intently to his advice.

“Now that you’re graduating you have a choice to make.” He said.  “You need to decide whether you’re going to seek money or power.”  Then he went on to tell me a story.

He had been consulting for a large company and was called to the CEO’s huge estate for a meeting.  “I walked into the home and was struck by its beauty and size, but what hit me most was that it was empty.  There was no family with him there, and even though we had an amazing gourmet lunch, prepared by his personal chef, I could not help but feel his loneliness and isolation.  And, when it was time for me to leave, this great captain begged me to stay for just a little bit longer so he wouldn’t be bound to his solitary life again.”  Then he said something else that has stuck with me for these many years.

“What ever you decide, make sure you build a strong family and friendships along the way.  Those relationships are what will give you true happiness!”

So here’s the personal side of what my friend Brad has taught me.  No matter how good our lives look on paper, no matter what we have accomplished in the past, no matter how smart we are, we will never be as successful or as happy as possible unless we have others, who have made a personal investment, beside us.

Brad has created a compelling business vision that is allowing him to attract others who believe what he believes.  Smart and talented people are drawn to him because they share his vision.  They are adding their special abilities and know-how to create something truly remarkable.

What are you doing to make life teem around you?