The right friends

Chapter 320

“Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.” Dan Rockwell

Every bit of positive change and improvement in my life, is because of friends. As the quality of my friends improved, so did the quality of my life. Others might argue that the quality of my life improved so the quality of my friends did too, but that doesn’t hold much water in my life, because my “improvements” are not financial or monetary, but rather by the power and control that I have over my own destiny each day and the caliber of people I get to spend time with each day.

I would say that I am on my fourth generation of friends and very very few have made it from the first or second generation to the current cadre of friends. And those early friends struggle to keep up with the power and goodness and generosity of the later generations. You think that sounds cold, but it is simply life moving forward. Because great friendship is about a great balance of power and giving and receiving. When it becomes clear that I am doing all the work of the friendship, it is time to move on, regardless of how much I like so and so. Don’t get me wrong, we are still “friendly” but we aren’t investing what is necessary to build a great future together. 

And its always about your future. If your relationships aren’t moving forward, then they are likely moving backwards, which is still preferable and more clear than static ones. The right friends will always, always be cheering your progress. The wrong friends will be holding you back, sabotaging your progress and choices, wanting you to go back to the good ole’ days and do stupid stuff again.