Men, I hope you read this. Women, I hope you share this. The topic doesn’t get talked about enough.
My buddy @jimmyconrad played for the US Men’s National Team in the 2006 World Cup and is now a member of the media covering the WC in Qatar. He sent me this article yesterday. All he texted was “interesting”.
Jimmy and I were introduced in 2017 by a mutual friend when we were building this alliance. He sent a video for our launch event – making sure to tell everyone he was upset he couldn’t come because “he’s even more handsome in person” 🙂
That’s the type of guy Jimmy is. And I call him my buddy, because he is. For five years we’ve known each other. And though we have only met one time in person…he feels like a brother.
Our relationship began with vulnerability. I shared my trauma story with him to explain why we were building the alliance. He felt comfortable to share back. Since that tie, he and I have shared so much: on email, DM’s, calls and even podcasts. The topics have ranged from sickness and loss of loved ones, to feelings of loneliness on the road, to how we approach difficult conversations with family. I’m lucky he is a friend.
And yet – all he wrote with that article was “interesting”. So I opened up about what I had learned, reading it, and his response, not surprisingly, was “yeah I can feel it myself and I am a social butterfly”.
Jimmy and I are two dudes who, by outward appearance, are around a lot of people all day, every day. But I think another reason why we have become buddies, from afar: is real, deep and meaningful male friendships where you CAN be truly open are HARD to come by. Sometimes even when you are surrounded by a lot of people, it FEELS the loneliest because you crave deeper/more meaningful connections.
Lots of reasons things have changed between men – tech being a big one: maybe more “connected” than ever, but: short messages replace long calls. More deadlines because we can be reached by more people. Less time to spend truly immersed in vonversation.
Men you’re not alone. Sounds weird but you’re not alone IN feeling alone. And if I can give any advice it’s: share YOUR vulnerabilities – even if you have to be “first”. That approach will tell who is open to true and meaningful connections.