Finding joy in relationships.

We Each Followed Our Joy This Weekend

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We Each Followed Our Joy This Weekend

Finding Joy in Relationships

This weekend reminded me of something simple and true about finding joy in relationships. The people we love don’t need to feel the same passions we do for our passions to matter. What matters is that we pay attention to what matters to them, too. When we notice what lights them up, their joy becomes something we understand and appreciate, even if we never feel it in quite the same way.

That truth sits at the heart of finding joy in relationships, whether they’re personal or business.

But First a Story.

I saw Paul McCartney perform for the first time when I was six years old. I was sitting cross-legged in front of a black-and-white television watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. That moment rewired something inside me, and Paul became the standard I used to make sense of modern music from then on. McCartney became my Bach, my Mozart. His voice, his melodies, and his style stayed with me for the next sixty years.

I last saw McCartney live on the Wings Over America tour in Atlanta half a century ago. Yes, I had bought tickets to see him on other tours, but life kept rearranging my calendar. Or, as McCartney’s mate John Lennon sang, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” So when a good friend told me he had an extra tenth-row seat for this year’s show, I dropped everything and flew to Buffalo (in the winter, I might add) to see McCartney again.

Sir Paul is eighty-three years old with a back catalog of songs that feel like the soundtrack to my life. When he stepped onstage, he carried all those years with the same joy I remember he had when he was thirty-three.

The night was wonderful. It was emotional and everything I hoped it would be.

Where Joy Shows Up in Our Lives

How Support Strengthens Connection and Helps Us Find Joy in Relationships.

While I was in Buffalo pursuing my passions, my wife was in Miami following hers. Gloria went birdwatching early Sunday morning and finally saw a pileated woodpecker. It is the largest woodpecker in the western hemisphere, and a bird she had spent years looking for. When she told me about it, her voice carried the same excitement I felt when Paul walked onto the stage.

And that’s the point of this story. Finding joy in relationships does not necessarily require shared passions. It requires shared support. It requires caring about the spark that lights up the people we love.

Sure, I’d like to see a pileated woodpecker. And I know Gloria would love to see Paul McCartney. But neither of us feels those experiences with the same intensity. That’s not a problem. That’s the beauty of it.

Each of us followed our joy.

Each of us experienced something that moved us.

And we each felt that inner spark.

Plus, we each shared the experience with someone who respects what matters to us, even when that passion might feel different for the other person.

What Shared Joy Looks Like

Relationships grow when we honor what lights up the people around us. That includes our partners, our friends, our customers and clients, and everyone we lead. Joy is joy, no matter where it comes from. And when we support each other that way, we get to feel something even bigger. We get to feel connected.

This weekend, Gloria found her woodpecker. I found my McCartney. And together we found the quiet happiness that comes from cheering each other on. That’s what finding joy in relationships is all about.

Finding The Joy in Relationships That Connects Us at Work

That sense of connection matters in every part of life, including the work we do with our employees, our teams, and our clients. When leaders understand this, trust grows and communication opens in powerful ways. Finding joy in relationships creates stronger teams and stronger outcomes.

If You Are Planning Your 2026 Meetings

I still have a few keynote dates available, and I would be glad to help your audience feel more connected, more focused, and more inspired. If you want a program built around human connection, clear communication, and finding joy in relationships, reach out, and we can talk about creating something meaningful for your event.