I can never understand why people hesitate in contacting old friends.
It has been one of the blessings in my life that over the 25+ years that I have been Chairing this august body, I have been able to reconnect with almost all of the people I worked with since the 1970’s. (Yes, I am that old!) I have even reconnected with some new friends that I have only known 10-20 years.
My experience has been that anyone you have ever known is DELIGHTED to hear from you. This goes for old “enemies” as well. While you may have argued at length with some of these idiots (Did I say idiots? I meant uninformed individuals.), the “discussion” was actually about work. Perhaps you just took some of their comments about you being the dumbest person on the face of the earth just a little too personally. (And you’re ugly too!)
I think at times we forget just how many of our waking hours are spent at work. We actually spend more time at work than we do at home with our families. (We don’t want to get into “quality time” issues.) So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that we tend to develop real bonds with folks we have known at work.
When I see someone I haven’t had the pleasure of being with for many years, it is hard for me to keep my mind clear as to the actual points in time when we worked together. The voice is often the same. I must admit they do seem to have aged a bit, but then perhaps I’m no longer in my 30’s either. (I don’t know, but I feel like I did when I was that young, at least mentally.)
The point of all of this is that as the conversation begins anew, the years that have gone by melt away. Perhaps we only talked every few years. Perhaps we haven’t talked in many years. It honestly doesn’t matter. We’re talking now.
Friends help friends, even long lost friends. I think it is pretty clear that your enemies aren’t going to help you. Why don’t you let your friends?
What I am going to ask you is have you honestly tried to track down ALL of your long lost friends? If they are financial folks, have you enjoyed the benefit of being a member of the largest networking group of senior financial folks in the entire world and tried looking them up using our Member Directory Search feature?
Look up all the firms where you have worked. Look up competitors. Perhaps you met some of these folks at industry meetings. If you don’t recognize some of the names, call anyway. They may know where some of your favorite long lost friends can be located.
One of the little known facts in this world is that it is easier to renew an old friendship than to make a new one.
And, remember, time stands still.
Regards, Matt
