The people closest to you are critical to your success. And unless you’re taking the time to nurture those relationships, you may wake one morning to find yourself alone. Phil Gerbyshak did. Twice. Just goes to show how easy it is to take those relationships for granted – because if Phil can do it, anyone can do it.

Chase the drama or chase the dream.

I have a friend that’s a pretty smart guy. He’s completely unhappy, though. His relationship with his wife is in shambles, making it very difficult for him to even think about the future much less take the time necessary to discover his purpose. He spends all his energy steeped in the drama of the relationship, leaving little time for anything else.

I asked this guy once, “What are your wife’s dreams.” He didn’t know. And I don’t think he’s ever asked her. Maybe he’s too afraid he’ll get an answer that he doesn’t like. Or maybe he’s afraid that the drama is all that’s left of their relationship. I don’t know. But I do know, that if you want someone to support you, you must also support them.

Not so extreme?

But maybe your relationship with your significant other is pretty good. I think mine is. That said, I do tend to take my wife for granted. She’s the power behind our family, very supporting and encouraging of my current efforts to get MoreBetterLabs and Ruzuku off the ground. I put in a lot of time on Ruzuku and this blog while she’s pretty busy chasing after our two kids. We try to make time for each other, but it doesn’t always happen.

Affects your entire support network.

In all these examples, I’ve talked about spouses. But your support network can come from many different sources. A friend. Parent. Business partner. But the issue remains the same: if you’re not engaging and supporting them, you are at risk for losing your support network.

The BIG Question.

Whatever your situation is, ask yourself: Am I satisfied with the amount of time I spend really engaging with the people in my support network?

If you are, congratulations. I’d love to hear from you – leave some comments below about how you’re fully engaging your support network and empowering them to achieve their dreams as they do the same for you.

Baby Steps.

But if you’re not completely satisfied with your level of engagement, Rosa Say has a powerful first step that you can take called the Daily 5 Minutes.

Each day, without fail, [you] give five minutes of no-agenda time to [someone from your support network]. What [you] are giving is whole listening time, and [your] undivided attention to whatever that person has on their mind.

You’ve got 5 minutes, right?

The Ruzuku Learning Community.

To help you build the habit, Rosa is taking an early version of Ruzuku out for a spin – and you’re invited to come along. I think she summed it up perfectly on her blog today:

On Monday, November 2nd we will be launching a first-ever virtual habit-building challenge designed for The Daily 5 Minutes in partnership with Ruzuku.com. It is completely free to those of you who participate, and will last for 15 consecutive days, helping you build your own D5M habit in the Managing with Aloha way —with me as your coach.

Read more about her challenge here.

So, who loves you? Who are the people closest to you that make chasing your dreams possible? Sign up today and commit to spending five minutes a day for 15 days focused solely on them.

Published Thursday, October 29, 2009