“Friends. How many of us have them?” and the True Meaning of Your Fave Five.

So As I sit here on the verge of my 33rd birthday, I’m looking through the large amount of phone numbers, email addresses, and various amounts of contact information that I have accumulated over the past several years and it disturbs me. As of today, I have over 460 contacts between my cells’ phone book, and email database which doesn’t include the stacks of business cards that never were transcribed into a digital counterpart. To most, that would be a bit of a WOW moment. For me it is an indicator of the many people who have come and gone throughout the last few years. Some by my own doing, but most were and still are fly by night. Some were really good friends but time, careers and families have changed some of the dynamics of our relationships. Some were cool for a time and then “That Something Happened” and it all changed. What is “That Something?” Only those people know. The un-returned phone calls. The countless email messages un-replied to, and the ignored IM’s. (I could never understand that) This is crazy.

As time creeps and at times flies by, I realized that going out of my way to make and to keep in contact has just begun to be too much. So as I write this email I am deleting a large portion of my contacts; in essence deleting a little bit of my past, with all intentions of moving on to a brighter future. This is not a sad moment for me. It has been great knowing a lot of these folks. Many of them I have had great lunches with spent many hours talking about future plans, and working to towards goals both professional and personal.

If I haven’t learned anything else, it is that people are placed in your life for seasons and are never meant to be there forever. That brings me to the concept of T-Mobile’s Fave Five. I thought, why 5 and not 10 or 20? Little did I know that beyond the marketing ploy there was a true insight. Then I thought Why Not? If you could simplify your life and relationships down to 5 core people who would they be? There were a few obvious choices including my mom, dad, and sister. But then the last two people/spots on my Fave Five stumped me. So I thought about it and thought about it again. I have a really good friend that I talk to on a regular basis here in NC. My friend from Philly is a possibility; we talk pretty regularly. I’m just not sure. 460 to 5 is a bit of a challenge. One thing I can say is that getting rid of these 420 contacts should make it a little bit easier. Question, who’s in your Fave Five!!!

- Tru
http://truittoneal.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/trutalk7-30-08.mp3