We're not offering a promotion for you to go out and buy a car or truck, but a proven relationship-building tool that will help you achieve your life goals. Unless you are an 'I' (ego centered) personality type, you probably have some issues about meeting people and building meaningful relationships. If you are shy, reserved, quiet or reticent, or find ideas more interesting than meeting people, building relationships may be difficult and painful. FORD is a strategy or principle that is easy to learn and master and will give you a wonderful tool to enrich your life.

FORD is an acronym: The F is for Family, the O is for Occupation, the R is for Recreation and the D is for Dreams. Almost every person you will ever meet will be passionate about at least one of these four themes. You may notice that there is also a certain continuity and alignment with the four personality types, which is why it is so successful as an icebreaker and as a tool in getting to know someone.

People love to share their passions and interests and they automatically like people who are willing to listen. An easy way to use this principle is to simply say when introduced or meeting someone: "I have learned that most people are passionate about at least one of four areas of life; family, occupation, recreation and their dreams. Please tell me about your passion." That should provide at least 5 to 10 minutes of listening and will give you many opportunities to ask more questions and, if you are interested, allow you to get to know the person much better. If you are not interested, be polite and move on. By continuously using this technique, you will meet many people who are interesting to you, and you will make many wonderful relationships. The quantity and quality of your relationships is your choice; this technique will give you the means to have as many meaningful relationships as you desire. A life rich in relationships is a magnificent life.

An At-Home Exercise to Help You Meet New People

A wonderful exercise that will help you meet many new and fascinating people and enrich your life is to commit to practicing this principle at least once a day. You do not have to wait until you meet a stranger. How many people at work or in your social group do you actually know well? Practice on them. Give yourself a chance to discover a true friend who was recently merely an acquaintance. A friend is only a stranger who you have not taken the time to know and learn about.

Where and how can you use this technique to develop relationships that will help you achieve your goals faster, easier and without stress? What are the benefits you see in embracing this principle? What changes will you put in place to adopt it? When will you choose to make this strategy a part of your life?

I___________________ will begin to practice this strategy daily beginning on the _____day of ____________.

I___________________ will review my Power Living documents ____________________(enter date).

I have learned the following are the benefits of applying these principles and enabling me to embrace my life to its fullest:

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Congratulations - You have just taken another step on the road to "Power Living!"