A friend is someone with whom you can share, anything you have on your mind.
A friend is someone who will lift you ahead, when you have fallen behind. 🙂
I’m blessed to have several ‘best friends‘ in my life
( of course my beautiful wife Corene is at the top of the list) , <- both true and insurance in case she reads this post. 🙂
Another one of my best friends in the world is a guy named Brandon.
Here he is with his family.
Our friendship started many years ago in the living room of a house they were living in.
I gave him a couple of my favorite books, Think And Grow Rich and Psycho-Cybernetics.
Over the years those 2 teeny, tiny gifts I gave him have turned into a rich harvest of gifts he’s given me.
What makes a great friend?
The list is long but here are 2 things that stand out to me.
He Listens
It seems there are very few people in the world you can tell what’s really on your mind.
- “What will they think?”,
- “What will they say?” and
- “Do they really care?”
…are questions that stop most of us from talking about and sharing some of the most important things with most people.
A great friend like Brandon removes those barriers with unconditional love and an open mind.
I remember one time I was having one of the greatest challenges of my life.
Something I felt I could talk to no one about.
One day I went to lunch with Brandon and I opened up.
He listened and he loved with an open mind completely free from judgement.
I can’t tell you how much that meant to me at that point in my life.
He Grows
Those 2 little books I shared with him way back when, pale in comparison to the books he’s read & continues to read.
Every time I talk to Brandon, he’s telling me about great ideas he’s learning from books and from life.
He asks great questions and seeks great answers.
He’s hungry for wisdom.
Because of this, when we talk, both of us are fed.
We bounce off each other and the vibration is high.
I leave all my conversations with him feeling great!
His wife Dani jokes that she can always tell when Brandon and I have talked by the way he is behaving after our conversations. 🙂
Ray Dahlio in his new book Principles, shares 2 secrets to a great life.
- Meaningful work
- Meaningful relationships
This year, I want more of #2 in my life.
Thanks Brandon, for teaching me what to look for.