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The sun beat down unmercifully sending heat shimmers across the field before me, and stinging sweat was drawn to my eyes as if by a magnet. To my right, my battle buddy fired three shot groups at our "enemy" down the lane of fire and I jumped up and dashed for all I was worth to the next tree stump.
Landing full impact in the dust and the weeds, not even noticing the anthill streaming the little critters all over my arms and hands, I opened fire on the spring-hinged green "soldier" on top of the hill before me so my partner across the field could make his mad dash forward in much the same way I just had. My M16A1 rifle bucked in my hands, until I heard my partner firing, and once again I was off on a headlong dash for cover.
And so we progressed, he and I, up the training lane at what was surely one of the most adrenaline producing days of basic training. He providing covering fire for me, then me covering for him.
That's been several years ago, now. Heck, who am I kidding, "several" is more like eight or nine. But it remains vivid in my mind and I often think back to lessons I learned while serving in the military.
I make a living marketing and promoting my own online business now. And while the battles of the business world are arguably less life threatening than those we trained for in the Army, many of the lessons remain the same.
On that dusty field all those years ago, one simple principle held true: we owed our success to each other. Live or die, we had only each other to depend on. And the same principle holds true in business - you're only as good as the partnerships and the relationships you forge over time.
Honesty, integrity, and undying dedication, both to your partners and to your customers, assures your continued existence. If you're serious about your business relationships, treat them with the same respect and honor we gave our battle buddies in the military. That type of bond is not soon broken.
April 19, 2001
Contact: Chris Conlee