Most of us have friends. We have friends that we keep in touch with through online social networking tools such as Facebook or Twitter. We also have friends that we communicate and have a relationship with in real life on a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly basis.

You may have 512 Facebook friends, 4811 Twitter followers, and 12 people you consider your close friends. But how many of these people can you consider your TRUE friends? How many of these people will be there for you when your life is crumbling? How many will help you when you are struggling? Or help you go through a significant change in your life? What I am getting at is:

The author of “Never Eat Alone”, Keith Ferrazzi wants you to ask yourself these questions in his recently published book, “Who’s Got Your Back.” In a great interview with Kara Swisher of All Things Digital, Keith talks about how in today’s society, people define “being connected” by the amount of people they have in their database, Facebook or Twitter profiles, or e-mail lists, which in turn can give you a false sense of connectivity.

Being well connected is not about the quantity but rather the quality of your relationships. Keith talks about how you only really need about three people in your life to help you succeed.

Right now you may be thinking… I have people like that in my life. Do you? Really?

Are these the people…

• You can be totally wrong with.
• With whom you can let your guard down.
• Who will kick you in the ass and hold you accountable for the things you say you are going to do in your life.
• Who tell you the truth! (because most people don’t)

Do you have people like that in your life? If you don’t, it is never too late to establish such relationships.

Keith advises to find relationships that are safe enough with whom you can practice being open and accountable. You can try this with individuals online. However, meet people in real life in order to help you solidify the relationship. In addition, don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and really honest because why would you want to settle to being fake.

“You can’t continue to struggle along. As too many people are living alone, are lost or just don’t have real friends. Isolation won’t get us to prosperity. Damn it, we are going to help each other to be successful by calling each other, pushing each other, encouraging each other.”- Keith Ferrazzi

Instead of growing your twitter following or having many “what you call” friends, take the time to develop deep friendships. Do this by being open to new relationships or re-connecting an old friendship. Have trust in others and at the same time be accountable to others.

Thank you for reading! If you have not already, why not subscribe to my RSS feed, or you can get the latest updates from me in your Email inbox for free.