My dad had a very good friend who grew up in an Arkansas farming town as one of nine children. This man rose up from abject poverty to become very wealthy. He ended up owning over a hundred units of real estate and accumulated a staggering fortune. He was a vibrant and charismatic person who saw business as a dog-eat-dog boxing match, with his financial statement serving as his score card.

He contracted cancer later in life, and I went to visit him with my dad several months ago on what became the day before he died. We laughed and chatted about his many accomplishments in life for over an hour. As we were leaving, he called me back into the room. When I approached his bed, he grabbed me by the arm and said,

“Don’t miss the point like I did. I wish I’d spent as much time and energy accumulating relationships as I had houses. I wish I had invested my heart as aggressively as I did my money. Only now do I understand true wealth, and none of it appears on a balance sheet.”

We’ve all heard a similar story before. He probably had heard a similar story. When we look back at our lives, it will be our relationships that will matter most. Yet, still, our lives don’t reflect this wisdom. Ask anyone what their highest priorities are, and they will tell you their relationships with family and friends. But then you look at their calendars, you watch who gets priority when the phone rings, and the reality is quite different.

A great benefit to the economic recession this past year is that it forces us to assess what’s really important. “Things” lost their luster, and relationships became our saving grace. My wish is that we stay sober to this truth. The holiday season is an opportunity for us to exercise giving from our hearts and our wallets.

This issue of SUCCESS is dedicated to helping you revitalize, restore and recommit to your important relationships in life. Phil and Robin McGraw understand that family comes first, at the holidays and year-round, and they offer their tips from more than 30 years of marriage and parenting two successful children (page 50). Wayne Dyer (page 72) and Deepak Chopra (page 76) suggest that the path to true wealth starts as an inside job.

We are here to exercise our gifts and talents. It is important to achieve and succeed, in both the marketplace and in our personal lives. Let’s not “miss the point.” Make sure your calendar represents the priorities you claim to be most important in life.

Thoughts on how you will/are allocating versus just accumulating? Tell us in comments below…