Patience, Co-Contributor's Positioning

An opportunity was brought to me by one of my acquaintances. Despite the involvement of multiple stakeholders, we were able to strike a deal within a very short period of time. We were all happy and in a celebratory mood. As soon as the deal finalized, one problem after the other started coming up. The closer we were getting to the completion of the deal, the problems were growing.

As the challenges were increasing so were our frustrations. We were all irritated to the extend that sometimes we were saying things that we might have not said in normal circumstances. Our level of frustration got to a point that we were trying to close the deal by whatever means we had in our possession, including taking legal action.

In our exchange of unpleasant words, one of our key stakeholders, Gord Cowan, was at peace like a calm sea. He was not only not agitated, but rather he was patiently handling the situation. We might have expressed our frustration at him, at times, he was the person who was trying to calm down the situation. Without him the situation could have gone out of hand. He was our anchor.

We were able to overcome our challenges and differences. We finally completed our transaction. Of course, the credit goes to Gord for making it happen. It was because of his patience that kept us all together and avoided the deal from falling apart.

We all moved on and many moons later, I wanted to meet Gord. I respected his patience and being the mature person in the room at the time. I admired his personality and his character. We both met and we reconnected right away. We had a much meaningful conversation. We were both deeply engaged to the extend that we shared our personal situations and vulnerabilities. I am proud to call him my Co-Contributor.

Patience is one of the best, if not the best, virtue to position ourselves as a Co-Contributor. Challenges come and go. What remains is our reaction to those challenges. In the spur of the moment, we might lose it and think that we had the right to do what we did. But in the long run, patience always shines brighter than anything else we could have said or done.

We usually justify our actions at the moment of roughness. And then, most of the time, if not all the time, we regret what we did when we were upset. At the very least, we wish we did nothing and just remained calm and collected.

Of course, people of patience are not only calm and collected during an upheaval, but they play a role in calming others. They have the capability to manage their urges and stay in control of the situation. They use their gift of generosity to give what others might lack. By giving they fill the gap for others.

Patience is one of the most powerful characteristics of a Co-Contributor. This trait may not be in all of us. For those of us that are more patient than others, we still need to keep an eye on ourselves and keep on practicing to be even more patient. We need to learn to manage our temperament. We need to learn to let go. We need to practice patience. It takes time, but it can be done.

We have to remember that patience is the best way to position ourselves as a Co-Contributor. When people reflect on our relationships, our level of patience is one of the first things that comes to mind. As the saying goes: "people forget what you said... but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Therefore, people are attracted to Co-Contributors with patience. People feel more comfortable in their presence. Others feel being themselves around them. As a result, people will have much deeper and more meaningful relationships with them.

People with patience are like magnets. They attract people of principle. Entrepreneurs want to do business with them as they know patience is a key in making things happen. The opportunities are endless for them. So, what better way to position ourselves as a Co-Contributor than to choose patience as our virtue.