Thanks for your comments and for sharing your story.

You bring up a very good point about some friendships dying because we don’t tend to it.

When friendships fade, I really don’t see anything wrong with that as long as it’s natural, and not because of misunderstanding or fights. When friendships fade, it can be easily picked up when the opportunity is there.

I think it’s also important to understand the purpose of your friendships. Some friendships are casual and social, and you meet up whenever there’s an event. Others friendships are deep and connected and you rely on each other to understand life. Maybe you need to have friends to talk business with, or sports with, or girls with. They vary. Then there are friends that you just talk about anything ridiculous. If you understand the purpose of your friendship, you also understand the elements of the friendship, and understand that some friends aren’t meant to last, endure, or be constant.

It also depends on what your definition of a good friend is. Someone to listen to you, share business ideas, support you in your endeavors…?

Because you aren’t dead yet, there’s still time. How do you really define friendships lasting…you’re still alive.

In my case, my closest friend lives in Paris and I live in CA. We email constantly, speak every few weeks, and see each other x2 a year. She is thousands of miles away, but feel like she’s next door. She fits my definition of a close friend because she understands and supports me.

There are people that I see and talk to every week, but they don’t fit my definition as a close friend. And that’s OK too, they’re good casual friends. If I wanted to take it up a notch, I would first begin to share a bit of myself and start to understand them by listening to them.

Hope that helps.

Thanh

Also, Dale Carnegie is amazing.

These are really good tips. I practice some of them. I don’t usually have problems at getting to know people and and I actually make very good friends.

My problem is being able to keep the friendship for a long time. If I stop seeing my friends for some reason, I find it difficult to keep in touch with them. I need to work on that.