Creating strong and powerful connections with people and building relationships with them is what life is all about. Whether those relationships are personal or professional; the mark we leave on this world is determined by the quality of the way we impact others.

It’s been a rough week for me. Two of my closest friends, Don and Dianne Giammetta, were tragically killed in a plane crash.

One thing that prompted this video was Don and Dianne’s ability to create connections.

While we were connected via social media and texted; he was quick to invite us over for dinner or drinks several times per week. Building a relationship requires work and commitment.

There is no substitute for a face to face connection.

Here 3 factors that will help you grow your connections with others:

1. Create the connection

Discover who you need to connect and/or re-connect with someone. Set up a time to get together with them.

We are all so busy that we are going to do something after we are finished with an endless task list. You are not guaranteed a tomorrow. Embrace that.

The Wednesday before they passed, I was returning from kayaking and Don was shaking a cocktail glass inviting me up for a quick visit. I had other things that I could have done, but thank God I was able to chat with him about life, love, and plans for the upcoming summer.

2. Combat distractions.

We are hammered with so many demands on our time that most of us are in a perpetual reactionary mode.

Understand that “No” is a complete sentence. If you don’t want to do something, don’t feel like you have to offer 30 different reasons why you can’t do something.

They won’t hate you or disown you…and if they do; you don’t really need them in your lives anyway.

3. Ignite your passions

I talk with people who tell me about the awesome things they will do at some point in the future, but they just have to get through the present first.

None of us were born with an expiration date on our foreheads.

I do not believe in “What you conceive, you will achieve.” Conceiving a passion is the birth of it; but there are quite a few action steps between being born and growing up.

A fantastic speaker whom I shared the stage with at a convention in Nashville last week named Chad Smith said, “Your destiny is not determined by your dreams…it is determined by your direction.”

Related: Your Awesome Reel

If you are passionate about something, take a moment and assess where you are at and where you are aiming. If you dare driving east looking for a sunset, you will be disappointed.

Don’t be afraid to recalibrate your direction and move forward!