Our cover story this month is about two men who met 45 years ago and have maintained a close friendship ever since. Both Hawley Smith and Chester Stokes credit that friendship with their successes here.
Friendships start with commonality. Chester and Hawley are fraternity brothers. I have tons of friends I met through the newspaper business. It wouldn’t be a presumption to say that your circle contains many Realtors.
The best quote I know, considering these times, is “Friends in need are friends indeed.”
And I Googled up a few more:
Miguel de Cervantes: “Tell me what company thou keepst, and I’ll tell thee what thou art.”
Confucious: “Have no friends not equal to yourself.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson: “A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud.”
Samuel Johnston: “True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and choice.”
George Washington: “Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for ‘tis better to be alone than in bad company.”
Epicurus: “It is not so much our friends’ help that helps us as the confident knowledge that they will help us.”
Euripides: “One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives.”
Emily Dickinson: “My friends are my estate.”
I’ve been dealing with people in the real estate and construction industries most of my life and I’m proud of the friendships I’ve made. No reason to list names here; it would be bragging to name names, it would be dangerous because I’d leave out someone.
It is a wonderful feeling to walk into a room - example: when I spoke at the Sales and Marketing Council recently - and not be able to go more than 10 feet without being greeted by an old friend.
Think about it; where are you the most comfortable? When you’re in friendly territory, of course.
You see where I’m going. Right now, we need each other. But you don’t have to go out and find a support group. They’re right there, right in front of each one of us. We’re lucky to be involved in industries where friendships can come easily, and where they can be retained.
Let me end this by trying to not get too dramatic. There are all sorts of things each of us can say about our friends: how much we like them, how much we enjoy their company and, yes, how much we need them.
I’m not good at dramatics, so let me say only this: treasure them, just as Chester and Hawley treasure each other.
- Jim Bailey is president of Bailey Publishing & Communications and publisher of Realty/Builder Connection.