Some Assembly Required: Seven Secrets to Building Lasting Relationships

Building longer-term successful relationships is similar to shooting a rocket at the moon - sometimes you're successful. Everyone is happy and the sailing is smooth. Sometimes, however, technical difficulties occur: the rocket never leaves the launch pad, blows up or fails to reach orbital velocity. Relationships that last do so by going through predictable phases, each with its own set of expectations and outcomes. You both begin your relationship with significant trust, fire, high expectations. You're in lust with each other and forgive those annoying little behaviors that, at first, seem cute and endearing but over time, start to grate and annoy. As a relationship starts to mature and the initial fire seems to lose its intensity, trust, respect, and mutual interests become the glue that allows the relationship to continue to grow to a new level of enjoyment. The normal doubts that creep in, like changing love, taking each other for granted, etc. require continuous maintenance and attention as the relationship develops into a deeper, more meaningful phase. Some Assembly Required is a book about building lasting relationships. Family, friends, and work environments are explored as we discuss the keys to success at each phase of a relationship. There are those who can only handle certain phases and lose patience or interest as the relationship matures. To help along this line, we discuss some of the secrets we've uncovered that will act as a guide to helping you build happy and fulfilling relationships - in your family, at work, and in a variety of shorter-termed social situations. The good thing about what we've uncovered is that we come at this issue from different perspectives. One of us has been in a long-term marriage (35+ years) and managed to survive the ups, downs, and challenges that occur with commitment over time. The other is finishing up his third marriage and heading towards the fourth. So, one knows what works and the other what doesn't. Combining our collective knowledge and experience, told through stories, examples, and recommendations, make this book a valuable guide to finding, building, repairing (if needed), and maintaining happy and fulfilling relationships at home and work.