Social Media, SEO, Design, Brand, Influence: What’s Most Important?

It was about 9:30 on Tuesday morning when I got a call on my cell from my eldest daughter. The voice on the other end was trembling, and I could tell even before she said two words that something was wrong.

“Dad, I just got in a pretty bad accident.”

No father ever wants to hear those words, but thankfully it didn’t take long to learn that she was okay and that no one else involved was injured either. Her car, however, was in pretty bad shape. This was a car that we had bought her less than a year ago from Goodwill Auto Donations, so it wasn’t an incredibly expensive loss, but it was still unexpected and a serious concern. Finding that balance between frustration at the carelessness and inexperience that caused this new expense and the relief that our daughter was unharmed was not a difficult one.

Sure, we suddenly had to figure out a way to purchase a replacement so she could get to and from her college classes and her job. Sure, we just moved across the country and depleted any savings we may have been able to use at this moment. Sure, we just recently started paying twice as much rent and other higher expenses in order to live in San Francisco, yet we were abruptly going to have to find a way to come up with even more cash.

Yet none of these things really matter when compared to the fact that our daughter is fine, especially considering she could have ended up seriously injured, or worse. Looking at the damage to her car, in the photo above that was taken minutes after the accident, it’s easy to see that things could have ended up much differently for her.

In case you haven’t already guessed, the answer to the question in the title is: none of the above.

Sure, these are all valuable tools that we may use to further our network, strengthen our brand, grow our community, increase traffic to our website, and so on. They are good tools, and they are important for many of us who work or even socialize on the web. They are the subject of countless articles and tutorials and conferences and business meetings. They fill headlines and drive strategies and contribute to the rise and fall of many different things.

But if any of these tools are the most important element of your life, I believe you are missing the point.

People are the most important entities in existence. Relationships – real relationships with people who you love and who love you – are what drive us to become the best person that we can possibly be. The rest of it may somehow be involved in helping us get there, but it should never become our primary focus, should it?

I am a web and graphic designer who uses social media to connect with others, brand and grow my business, and contribute to influencing change and growth among my community. So each of these tools in the title are very important to me, but they are essential for a single solitary reason: they directly or indirectly bring income that provides for my family. Yes, they are things that I am passionate about, and I am so fortunate to be able to make a living pursuing my passion. But they will forever be a passion that falls in line behind my number one loves: my wife, my three children, my true friends and my parents and relatives.

I guess this is just a reminder to me that I am choosing to shout out loud, just in case anyone else needs to be reminded. Let’s refrain from ever making the mistake of putting tools and networks and goals and strategies before people, and especially before people we love. Maybe if enough of us started there we could begin to see some visible change in the world around us.

Worth a shot, isn’t it?