If Not…. You Might Be Missing the Magic
We live in a time when technology allows us to stay more connected than ever, and we have access to thousands of people at our fingertips and dozens of platforms to share our ideas. Real friendships in business have lead to the creation of companies and transformed industries.
But real friendships are on the decline, trust is harder to build, and people are forming fewer meaningful relationships than they used to. In all this noise, we’re actually getting lonelier… and we’re forgetting how to invest in the people around us.
Therefore, we’re missing out on the real magic… the kind that only happens when strong relationships turn into big ideas, businesses, and bold legacies.
The truth is, opportunities don’t just show up because you’re smart or lucky. They show up because of people.
That text, that intro, that coffee, that conversation… it all matters more than we think. And when we zoom out and look at the biggest entrepreneurial success stories, one thing becomes clear: most of them started with a relationship.
Let me show you what I mean about Real Relationships:
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Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (Apple) – A mutual friend brought them together. Woz built it. Jobs sold it. Together, they made history.
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Bill Gates and Paul Allen (Microsoft) – Grew up geeking out over computers. Built one of the world’s most powerful companies.
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Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard (Hewlett-Packard) – Bonded at Stanford and on a camping trip. Their garage startup helped spark Silicon Valley.
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Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google) – From classmates to co-creators of the search engine that runs our digital lives.
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Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield (Ben & Jerry’s) – Lifelong friends who built a business rooted in joy, trust, and social impact.
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Warby Parker Founders – Four friends at Wharton who took on the eyewear industry together.
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Evan Williams and Biz Stone (Twitter) – Work buddies turned co-founders. A conversation led to a platform that changed how we communicate.
These real friendships weren’t just lucky breaks, they were seeds that were nurtured.
If you are not actively seeking real friendships with people at school, work, or in your industry… you could be missing out on the serendipity that could change your whole life. Too often people rely on online and digital likes, links, shares, and follows…. but in most cases that is not a deep enough relationships to spur the creation of a new product or transform an industry.
Takeaways:
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Sometimes it all starts with a chance encounter.
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It only grows when you show up, contribute, and build trust.
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Build your network with purpose. Invest in friendships. Create space for collaboration.
Because if you’re trying to build something legendary… you won’t do it alone.
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Thom Singer, CSP, is a professional keynote speaker and the CEO at the Austin Technology Council.