Russ Off The Cuff Russ Ewell

“The Friendship Factor” was the first book to make me think about the importance of friendship, and that how I had been building them was more careless than careful. Over the years I have come to understand the truth of the statement that, “deep friendship requires cultivation..."

With all we have discussed in this series based on the article from Lead Different titled "The Lost Art of Friendship," now is the time to take action by investing in quality friendships.  This episode sets us up to take action.  Enjoy building friendships.

William Deresiewicz writing in his essay "The Death of Friendship" says, "We seem terribly fragile now. A friend fulfills her duty, we suppose, by taking our side..."  This runs counter to the idea of depth and friendship leaning toward the superficiality of 'leaving each other alone,' instead of 'trying to make each other better.'  

In this episode we talk about the 3 qualities we can invest in which increase the depth of our friendships.

William Deresiewicz writing in his essay "The Death of Friendship" makes the observation that modern day friendship is lacking in comparison to the ancients or classical friendship.  He writes, "As for the moral content of classical friendship, its commitment to virtue and mutual improvement, that, too, has been lost."  This  episode is about reclaiming the true meaning of friendship, returning to the quality look and feel the ancients experienced.

This episode discusses the truth ancients believed about friendship, that it requires extraordinary qualities of character.  We discuss 3 key qualities in this episode.


"The Death of Friendship by William Deresiewicz."
How Many Friends Does One Person Need? by Robin Dunbar

This episode discusses the truth that friendship is rare, precious, and hard won.  This definition is taking from the ancients based on the essay "The Death of Friendship by William Deresiewicz."


How Many Friends Does One Person Need? by Robin Dunbar

This episode takes as its thesis the idea that "We cannot be friends with everyone otherwise friendship has no meaning." Before you react consider the ideas inside this episode:


Aptitude for Friendship:  Do we ever think about our question our aptitude for friendship?
The Meaninglessness of Friendship:  What is it about our lack of definition to friendship which can cause it to become meaningless?
Restoring Meaning to Friendship:  9 things that give meaning and definition to our friendships
The Death of Friendship by William Deresiewicz