New Relationships with Old Friends

Monday Morning Match is a simple post – maybe a quote, inspirational story or idea – intended to spark some motivation inside each of you so your week gets off to a fantastic start on Monday morning.

The Boys Are Back in Town

Isn’t it neat when you hear a song on the radio that you haven’t heard in years and you suddenly find yourself singing every lyric as if you wrote it? Or when you have Jeopardy on in the background and you are suddenly shouting out answers to Alex Trebec as he asks the questions? Okay, I guess technically you’re shouting out questions to Alex’s answers, but you know what I meant.

This past week I was down in Jacksonville, Florida for an amazing real estate conference and while I was in town, I coordinated a meet up with several fraternity brothers of mine from the University of Florida. UF is located in Gainesville some 70 miles Southwest of Jacksonville so it’s not surprising that so many of my buddies live in the Northeast Florida area. Some of the guys I see on a regular basis for Gator football road trips and a few of the others I have “seen” on Facebook but there were three that I hadn’t seen in almost 30 years.

In All Kinds of Weather

We connected at a local craft beer place and as each person arrived, we exchanged friendly hugs and high fives and enjoyed some hoppy brews. We caught up on our lives after UF such as family and careers and where life was headed next. Once the pleasantries were exchanged across and around the tables, the reliving of our college years began.

The stories were probably less accurate and more embellished but we laughed until we cried. We shared funny stories of life in a fraternity house with 30 other guys, we reminisced about philanthropy events and Gator games, and we toasted some of our brothers that have passed away since our days on campus. We all agreed that it’s probably a good thing that social channels like Facebook and YouTube weren’t around back then but we were able to find a few digital memories on our phones from those days in the late 80’s and early 90’s when we had more hair and less body fat.

A few of us were able to get together a few nights later before I left town to continue our stories, share more about what we do to support our families and lifestyles we enjoy, and of course, enjoy a few local libations and dinner. I even brought along a few friends from the real estate conference and it was awesome how quickly the open arms of brotherhood welcomed them into the conversation.

“Dikaia Upotheke and be square with everyone”

It was a great example of the philosophy I often share with my students, session attendees, and subscribers here on Carp’s Corner; Building relationships, solving problems and having fun. Building relationships shouldn’t be restricted to only “new relationships.” I often find that deepening a relationship with someone you’ve known for years in an even better way to explore how we can solve problems and have fun along the way.

I just hope we don’t have to wait another thirty years to do it all over again…but then again, that’s kind of how I feel about my college years too. For now, though, I’ll just order another beer and try to remember a few more stories to share. Lord knows there are plenty to choose from.

“I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?”

As stated by narrator Gordie LaChance in the final line of the movie “Stand By Me“