How Your Past Successes Can Help You Build Social Capital
Sometimes it feels like no matter what you do, nothing really changes. You keep putting in effort, but the progress you want stays out of reach and that can be deeply frustrating and lonely. Often, this feeling comes from not having the connections you need to support your goals, decisions, or next steps. You might not have even considered that building those connections is a form of wealth, a kind of relationship wealth that can open doors, provide resources, and help life and work move forward in meaningful ways.
Most of us don’t think of social capital as something to develop intentionally, but it’s a skill and an asset that can be grown, just like any other kind of wealth. The connections we nurture become a foundation of support, influence, and opportunity that can accelerate progress in ways that pure effort alone cannot.
Jon Acuff, author of the book Soundtracks, recently reminded me of this idea on his podcast when he said, “win the way you’ve won before.” Instead of trying to start fresh or chase new tactics, he encourages us to reflect on how we’ve succeeded in the past and lean into those proven strengths and strategies again.
When you pause to think about your own wins, what comes to mind? For me, two stand out clearly: my health journey and the renovation of our current home.
The fitness journey wasn’t just about discipline. It was about discovering what actually worked for me, recipes I enjoyed, workouts that fit my schedule, and then weaving those pieces into my daily life. Over time, those choices became less about pushing through and more about following a system I’d built. That’s a kind of winning that’s sustainable.
The home renovation was a different kind of win. It wasn’t just about the physical work; it was about the vision I held: a clear picture of how the finished property would support and transform our lives. Even when others couldn’t see it yet, that vision kept me going. Day by day, I showed up and did the work, confident that the result would be worth it.
Your wins might look very different. Maybe you’ve advanced professionally by following your own approach, made progress in your career by trusting your instincts, or built trust in a team. The important part is to identify those strengths and think about how you can apply them to building the connections that matter now.
It’s easy to feel like building social capital requires starting over: new networking events, awkward outreach, or chasing strangers. What if the most powerful moves are the ones you’ve already made in other areas of your life?
Building relationship wealth takes intention, but it’s not about reinventing the wheel. It’s about reconnecting with what you know works: reaching out consistently, offering genuine support, showing up over time, and investing in others without an immediate ask.
Think about who’s already in your orbit. Who could you check in with this week? What small gesture might deepen a connection you’ve let slide? Sometimes the key isn’t adding more people but deepening the relationships you already have.
When you apply the same mindset that got you through past challenges to your relationships, it becomes less overwhelming. You can build social capital in a way that feels natural and authentic because you’re drawing on your own experience.
So the next time you feel stuck or underconnected, remember: you don’t have to start from scratch. You’ve already done hard things and succeeded. You can win the way you’ve won before.
Let’s Keep Building Together
If this post spoke to you, imagine what could happen when you start growing your world with intentional connection. Whether you want to deepen your relationships, create new opportunities, or simply feel more supported, I’m here to help.
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Let’s turn connection into progress together.
