I don't really have a mantra when it comes to relationships. For me, listening is key. Clarity is so important.
Make a list of 200 prestigious, influential, and powerful people with whom you want to work, play, grow and do business.
All I really have in my life is my family and football. That's about it.
A friendship formed in childhood, in youth,--by happy accident at any stage of rising manhood,--becomes the genius that rules the rest of life.
CEOs shouldn't worry about their budget all the time - on a day-to-day basis, they should work on managing their company, building an awesome product, developing key relationships, identifying distribution channels, etc.
The key relationship for writers in film is producers, because those are the first two people involved and the ones who work on it intensely in a private way without the big machinery of film.
You have to make sure you have the right people around you to get the right fights, and you're not guaranteed to get the best fights.
There's no law that says you have to do what your mentor suggests. And the sooner you learn how to say 'no' confidently, the easier it will be to manage these key relationships.
All great men usually are awakened by the great women in their lives. No matter what friction is there, if that relationship was there, that usually is their best friend, at the end of the day.
