Never enter a relationship without having first created value in that relationship. Never stop creating value and nurturing your relationships. Always ask “What’s in it for them?” rather than “What’s in it for me?” Know what the other person cares about. Get to know them, their context, and their goals. Give relevant value. Don’t waste their time. Do your homework. If you want to develop transformational relationships, then approach relationships in a transformational, rather than transactional, way. Bring a result to the table. Make the pie bigger for everyone involved. Don’t come with big promises of future results. Bring immediate results. Don’t promise what you can’t deliver. Be a generous giver who is truly committed to service and growth, not status. Be nice to the people you meet on the way up because they are the same people you meet on the way down. Be grateful in large and small ways to the people in your life and you’ll attract incredible abundance.

–Dan Sullivan