“My success is not because of who I am, but because of whom I come to know”
My last three trail tips have focused on the impact of a broken leg accident that happened to me four years ago. I’ve touched on: Getting Prepared, Recovery, and The Cost of Being in a Hurry. And now I’ll finish out this series by touching on the importance of having a network of friends who you can rely on in time of trouble. And I’m not taking about the 1000 friends you may have on Face Book or the 500 contacts you have on LinkedIn. I’m talking about the network of friends that you do real life with; it’s your: Dirt Friends, New Friends, and Weak Link Friends.
Dirt Friends are the ones that have been around forever with me and like me they are “as old as dirt”. I can say a simple phrase to them and it will invoke a memory from 20 years ago. They have walked through the good times, hard times, dry times and flourishing times and have “stood the test of time.”
New Friends are the more recent ones; which in my case are the ones I’ve gotten to know since moving to Colorado in 2010. I’m starting to do life with them; so we engage in activities and during those times, share our pasts and discuss future hopes and dreams.
Weak Link Friends are more like acquaintances or people you know that operate in different worlds/social structures. During a time of recovery, “we can rely on them to give us access to opportunities and worlds to we don’t belong,” The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell. My neighbor who is a retired orthopedic doctor is an example of a Weak Link Friend. After my accident, he went through vivid details on how they put the titanium rod in my tibia and offered other tips for recovery.
All of these friends helped me in different ways during my recovery: being there to visit, finishing projects for me, giving me words of encouragement, setting up a new home office, sending me cards etc. And the key here was having these friends before the accident happened. You can’t go into a major life event and say “how do I get some friends to help me through this time.”
Now being on the other side of the accident, I have a different perspective and focus on friendships. Hence the two quotes I started with. Because they don’t just apply to what I have received, but they also apply to what I offer to my friends.
“Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.” A quote from Senior Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church. The friends I have and how they challenge, encourage, and keep me on track has been key to getting me to where I am today: be it in my hiking, personal, or professional life. And I need to be the same to them. Am I the friend that will challenge, encourage, and help keep them on the track to where they want to go?
“My success is not because of who I am, but because of whom I come to know.” A quote from Sherlock Holmes, Elementary TV show. I am more successful with my hiking, personal growth, and professional life because of what my friends have taught me in these areas. And am I the friend who is willing to invest in others and help them be more successful?
Friendships are improved and taken to the next level in our hiking, personal life, and professional life when I intentionally think and plan my encounters with them. Do my friends leave a visit with me, thinking “that was a waste of time” or are they thinking “wow that was an encouraging, productivity, strengthening time together?” I know it’s a cliché, but we really do need to be the type of a friend that we want others to be to us.
Al Andersen 