3rd Annual Dean’s List. 2008-2009

Posted on | June 1, 2009 | 6 Comments

deanslist_20091

I must admit that this entry is nearly 5 months overdue. For those of who do not know, for the past two years, I have published the annual Dean’s List. It’s a list of people whom I had built up a significant relationship with and they have, in some way, made an impact on my life for that year. It’s almost like a gratitude list. I’m simply acknowledging and giving thanks to these people because I know that I could not accomplish anything in my life without the relationships that I have built, personally and professionally. Here is last year’s Dean’s List and 2006-2007 entry.

You may be wondering why I am only now publishing this list when I typically do it at the beginning of the year. To be honest, I felt that I lost my own way recently. I had lost my faith in people. Last year was a tumultuous year for me and I had lost trust in quite a few people whom I thought were friends. In many regards, those experiences left a sour taste in my mouth.

So why now? Well, I have just come back from a workshop hosted by, Keith Ferrazi, author of the best-seller, Never Eat Alone. His event talked about his new book, Whose Got Your Back, and preached the importance of how relationships are integral to accomplishing what we want in life.

As I listened to him, I was constantly reminded of the goal that I had set for myself 2 years ago and how my relationships would play an important role. I soon realized that I needed to snap out of it and get back to basics. I need to get back to the old me. I had to hold back tears because listening to him was a reminder that I was just letting myself down.

Those who know me well know that I’m a student of networking and have tried to hone it down to an art and science. Over the years, I’ve learned many tactics and strategies to become better at building relationships. In all my years of networking and meetings thousands of people, I had one question that I could never find the answer to. My gut told me to attend tonight because there might be a good chance that I’d find the answer. And I did.

I’m glad that I came because I needed this. So thanks to Keith, I managed to find the time to publish this list and give a simple thanks to those below. And of course, I intend to build that team that Keith preached tonight and I’m already working on building that out as we speak.

I am recommitting myself to the vision that I had built for myself two years ago again. Life often throws hardships at you and prevents you from achieving certain dreams because it wants to see if you have a dream that’s truly worth chasing.

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Lucy Long- I’m glad that you reconnected to me after nearly a decade. You are genuinely a nice person who deserves a lot. I’m glad that I’m one of the few guys that you’ve let ‘in’.

Kady Chiu- You must’ve known something that I didn’t know when we first met. I don’t think that we can call each other hybrid friends anymore. Perhaps the word, friends, is good enough now. Because regardless of context, business or social, that’s what we are. Your enthusiasm and generosity is your biggest strength and I hope you wouldn’t change that.

Christian Oh- After years of hibernation, we have somehow reconnected. And I think that we have more in common today than just poker. You connect unselfishly and are always inclusive. Out of all the people I know, I can’t even think about one person who has both those traits.

Rick Dassler- I would’ve never thought that you’d make this list two years in a row! But congratulations my friend. Because that’s what you are. I have safely taken away the ‘business’ part from ‘business friends’ and just made it friends. I know you’ve had a tough year but I know you’ll come out stronger and wiser than ever before. You’re one of the few that I can go to for insight on the issues of life.

JC Duarte- You helped me through a lot of challenges that I had with, well, you know : ) Your advice is worth its weight in gold. Please know that your advice and insight really helped me a lot and gave clarity when I needed it the most with women. I hope that someday, the world will know of “The Charming Guy”.

Grace Lee- I really mean it when I say that the money I paid for at the event that we met at was worth it. I would’ve gladly paid three times the amount to have built a genuine friendship with someone like you. You always get back to me, a great conversationalist, and always show a genuine interest.

Latosha Frink- You are also a surprise to me. I’m glad to have spent time with you last year and gotten to know and you me. As different as we may be on the outside, we share many similarities and values. I couldn’t ask for a better sidekick with my adventure group. Mature, down-to-earth, and always reaching out to others.

Minh Tran- There was a time last year that I knew I needed to develop some guy friendships. And then that’s when you came along. I value the time and the wisecracks we’ve made along the way. Thanks for just being.

Kathleen Smart- The only thing that I regret is that we never got a chance to truly follow through on our project. It’s not the project that I miss so much. It’s more the fact that I missed the opportunity to work in collaboration with the quintessential giver. I couldn’t do you justice by just calling you a good networker. But I hope that I’d do justice by saying that your kindness, enthusiasm, and dependability are the traits that I hope any business person or person should learn to live by. Perhaps we’ll find a way to work together again this year. One only hopes.

Zakia Williams- For a short moment in time, we shared many laughs and stories together. You’re one of the funniest and inclusive people that I know. I’m genuinely glad to have reconnected after so many years.

Kate Lim- For the person whom I name the Amazing Dinner after. An amazing person yourself. Watching you in action has given me the drive to recommit to my own dreams. I value every conversation, laugh, and moment that we ever shared.

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My goal with this entry is the following and I hope you’ll take it to heart;

To be a reminder and encourage excellence in all types of encounters and relationships that you build with people. To help encourage you to build your own list and thank those people who came along the way.
To publicly acknowledge those who made the most impact with me for the past year. Sometimes a simple acknowledgment of another person’s contribution is often enough for them. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
To reinitiate and start a conversation with many of you who I have not seen or heard from in a while. Maintaining a large and growing network with hundreds of people is seriously a lot of hard work.
Last but not least, to let you know that I’m not as mean as I may come off at times. Even brutally honest and candid people like me still have a heart

Category: Relationships

Comments

6 Responses to “3rd Annual Dean’s List. 2008-2009”

JC Duarte
June 2nd, 2009 @ 11:54 am

Augh shucks Dean, in my version of “who’s got your back” it’s all about paying it forward, doing for the sake of doing and just helping a decent bloke out cause he can use a hand once in awhile! I’m honored to make your list, and even more honored to be considered amongst those that you choose to reach out to in moments of greater challenges!

Hope to meet you in person one day, I have to get my “arse” to the states, reconnect with friends in Philly & hop down to Dc on Amtrak and come hang with you for a day!

Cheers!
JC
Kathy
June 2nd, 2009 @ 3:11 pm

Wow – Thank you so much! I am honored
Christian
June 2nd, 2009 @ 3:35 pm

Dean, you are always on my list. The best recognition is to be your friend. Thanks!
Grace L
June 2nd, 2009 @ 3:57 pm

Dean – once again, you honor me as a friend and never cease to amaze! Thank you for the friendship and fun! May we have many more years together.
Kady
June 3rd, 2009 @ 9:42 am

Dean,

I am truly vaclemped! Thank you for thinking of me. I am honored to make your list. You never seem to amaze me. Best of all, we are definitely not a hybrid friend anymore. We need more people like you to make this world a better place. Now that I’ve built up some cushion of Dean’s niceness, you can be mean to me a couple of times.
H. Dean
June 3rd, 2009 @ 2:34 pm

Thanks to all of you for being great people w/ great intentions.

I had lost my motivation and drive for a while and felt that I was just going through the motions of life. But listening to the speaker really made things click. I realized that I’m only letting myself down.

I am recommitting myself to my own life vision and purpose and have already started building my own lifeline group (jargon from the workshop). I will hold those people accountable and they will do the same for me as well.