Enjoy Being with Your Cousins More

Good morning, Live Better than a Billionaire-a-Holics!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Today's post was inspired by watching my daughter and niece together in recent weeks. The two young women are about two and a half years apart in age. They are normally separated by about two hundred miles of distance. But with cell phones they can be in touch quite a lot.

I was struck that they have the best of both worlds. They can relate to each other like sisters would . . . but they don't experience sibling rivalry.

This relationship opens up all sorts of possibilities. They share passions (such as for various soap operas), swap information (where the next great soap opera star red carpet opportunity will be), help each other with homework (by checking over each other's papers) and commiserate about how stodgy and confining their parents are.

When they are together, you can see a closeness that's almost like what some twins experience. It's very good for them and fun for the rest of us to observe.

As I watched this, it made me realize that cousins are a rare resource that most of us don't treat seriously enough. Cousins will pay attention to us because we are their close relative. Cousins will understand a lot about us because we've known each other for a long time. Chances are that we will share interests and passions. We can be easy together while being supportive.

I recently reached out to contact one of my favorite cousins, and our chats were a joy for both of us. That same respect and affection that we had for one another as younger adults was still there.

While you probably have many unusual opportunities to do things with your cousins, let me suggest some ideas of things that I plan to do with my cousins:

1. Give them a call once a month. This will help extend the bond that you have and give you a chance to establish new dimensions to your relationship. It's pretty hard not to have a calling plan that isn't free sometimes on the weekends. Call them then. Or consider joining the same calling plan so you can call them for free anytime.

2. Take time to go to family reunions. Let your cousins know you'll be there and encourage them to come. Ours is always the same time every year and in the same place, so I have no excuse for not going.

3. Invite your cousins to visit you. If you don't live in the same area, chances are that they would enjoy seeing the sights where you are.

4. Take your parents, aunts and uncles out for a meal and invite your cousins to join you with their families. This will be like a mini reunion that everyone should enjoy.

5. Plan a family picnic with your cousins. Have everyone bring a favorite dish and coordinate so that you'll have enough dishes of the right sorts, and you can have an enjoyable day with little effort by anyone.

6. Re-start some activity that you used to do together. My California cousins and I would go to theme parks and play miniature golf together. I'm sure we would have a ball doing those things again.

7. Tell your cousins how much you like them and what great fun you have had with them. They will be flattered to know how much you appreciate them, and this will encourage your cousins to include you in their plans more often.

8. If there is a larger family event, schedule time to be with your cousins before or after that event. My Dad used to like to hear his cousins play their musical instruments. He would go to dances where they were performing and listen happily. They appreciated his sincere interest, and I could see that they enjoyed the family events together even more because of his effort.

9. Compliment your cousins. They probably don't get enough appreciation. As a cousin, you are a credible and valuable source of such validation.

10. Praise your cousins to their parents and their children. The listeners will be interested in why you like your cousin so much. Your comments will bring everyone closer together.

11. Pray together. Chances are that your religious faiths are the same or fairly similar. Use that common background to share your spiritual lives.

12. Organize a vacation that your cousins would all enjoy and encourage them to join in. You can best organize this if you check dates, budgets and activity preferences in advance.

13. Get acquainted with your cousins' children. You can have a less stressful relationship with them than you can with your own children. If they are young, offer to take them out for awhile to give your cousin a break. I was honored when one of my cousin's sons turned out to be interested in management and became a fan of my writings in that area.

Can a billionaire do better? Yes, but I doubt that many are.

Billionaires could certainly apply time and resources to developing these relationships. Cousins are likely to expect gifts or bequests so billionaires might find these relationships less tainted by their wealth than most other family connections. But I have a hard time imagining Larry Ellison having his cousins over for a picnic in his Japanese garden. Pretension can get in the way of the simple pleasures.

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N.B. As you can tell, I'm experimenting with color. Let me know what you like and what I should change about my use of color. Many thanks to Linda Grace for her suggestions which I am following!

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

Here are some upcoming subjects:

Tomorrow, the subject is being a great aunt or uncle.

Wednesday, let's consider great ways to enjoy breakfast better than a billionaire.

On Thursday, we'll visit the mall to see how to outdo a billionaire.

Friday, I'll pay homage to my friend and mentor, Peter Drucker, who died recently.

On Saturday, let's head to Pro Player Stadium for a close look at how to enjoy football South Florida style!

If you are new to this blog, be sure to check out the updated table of contents entry that I posted on November 9. The table of contents will help you find earlier entries that may be of interest. I'll update this table of contents every week or so for your convenience.

August 31 was the most frequently read blog entry to date. Be sure to check it out!

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Live Spiritually Better than a Billionaire at http://livespirituallybetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Create Your Own 2,000 Percent Solutions at
http://2000percentsolutions.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Football Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoyfootballbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/ and

Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

I offer individual on-line tutorials and in-person seminars on living better than a billionaire on five dollars extra a day, creating 2,000 percent solutions (20 times the results with the same effort), developing more profitable business models and designing strategies that work regardless of the business environment. For information, contact me at ultimatecompetitiveadvantage@yahoo.com.

I am available to you as a speaker on these subjects. You can find my background at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_30_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html/.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell