Dealing with Loss

One of our peer group veterans, Jeff Penland from CNS in St Joseph, Missouri, lost a son this past weekend. As I write this post I am in the car (not driving thanks to my lovely bride) heading south to be in town for the funeral tomorrow morning. Often we think of peer groups as a place to go to get business information and ideas. This week I have been blessed to experience another very important aspect of peer power - sharing a heavy burden and lifting one another up in difficult times. Jeff's 24 year old son will be buried tomorrow. It doesn't get much tougher than that. But over the last few days I have been blessed to read emails, hear of phone calls and witness the power of peers as they care for a brother in pain.

Often we live in isolation and don't have anywhere to turn when things get tough. But one of the real values of a peer group is that a band of brothers begin to develop a deep relationship that is about far more than business. People connect at a level that is not experienced by many. It is a dynamic of a peer group that I think has more power than any other. People begin to become involved in each others lives at a level that is deep and intimate - and there is a common concern for the well being of each one in the group. It shows the power when one in the group stumbles under the weight of life, and the rest can reach down and pick them up and restore them to life. Oh how difficult it is for those who have to deal with everything alone. So many crumble under the pressures of life and business.

Find some peers you can share life with. Business is important, but it is not the end game. Living life with a group of people who share a common bond is the most powerful resource we can have on this earth. Community is so critical to our success. Find it. Don't give up until you do. It will be the best investment you have ever made.