The time to introduce you to the very last habit of public victory - synergize - has come. If you've read my previous articles pertaining to this topic, you should already be familiar with the foundation of being interdependent, but to genuinely tap into the power of building strong and beneficial relationships you need to understand the concept of synergizing. It's the highest activity in all life and a true manifestation of all habits put together.

Let's start with defining what it means to synergize and how it differs from a standard relationship. To synergize is to cooperate in a way that brings benefits to both sides and also creates an environment where everybody can thrive and get much more than they expected. It's a kind of deep relationship where two plus two equals more than just four, the whole is better than the sum of its parts. It's the combination of all the habits I've already written about. It appears only when you take all other habits and start living them. It's like having a win/win cooperation but on another level, so it allows you to find a third alternative that transcends all your expectations and allows you to create something that wasn't there before. It affects not only you but everybody involved, creating an environment to flourish. It basically unleashes the greatest power within people allowing them to unlock their full potential and thrive.

There are also a lot of examples of synergy in nature. If you plant two plants close together, their roots will mix together to improve the quality of the soil so both plants can grow better and faster. If you combine two weak strings together they can hold much more than separately. And finally, if two people work together they can achieve much more than on their own. You might be in a synergistic relationship but perhaps you didn't realize it. Think of cooperation in your life that empowered you to do more than you would normally expect from yourself. Think of people who gave you support for your ideas. And finally, think of an outcome that transcended far beyond what had been originally planned.

When you're in a synergistic relationship everything works smoothly and easily. You know that the people you cooperate with are the right ones, so you don't waste your time overseeing them. No one judges you for your decisions and mistakes. Everybody is focused on the goal and no matter what happens down the road you keep going. You basically trust the other side and therefore you can focus on important matters to strengthen the relationship and give more of yourself. Synergy creates the space for you to leverage your skills. It gives the proper momentum to move toward the goal.

How to synergize?

Without a doubt, it's not easy to synergize. It will require you to leave your comfort zone and confront the unknown. You need to open your mind and heart. You need to be ready for new opportunities, new options, and new alternatives. You have to be willing to listen and understand first. You need to temporarily subordinate your goals to higher values like trust. And obviously, it takes two to tango, so the other side must have the same attitude and openness to cooperate. It's impossible to synergize if one party is ready and open to new alternatives and the other remains secure and defensive. It's always a venture and a challenge because you'll never know how it's going to be until you truly engage. Sometimes it might be a failure, but it's worth trying, so always be open-minded and ready for an adventure. Remember, you never fail, you either succeed or learn.