We’re beyond 10 year high school reunions, beyond the memories of the births of our kids. We go way too far back to start there.
Elementary school together.
Middle school together.
High school together.
College campuses within a couple of hours.
Reside in three different states.
And now, one of us decides to live halfway across the globe while the other two start a stateside party hop.
Yes, we keep in touch. In touch with the changes of family life, in touch with each relocation, in touch with job titles, but we were not staying connected like we used to do. We haven’t had the deep conversations about life dreams as adults that happened as teenagers and college students. This missing step wasn’t intentional yet true nonetheless.
Now, life has happened and we were all approaching transitions at the same time. Some family related, career related, “I need my sanity” related, “remember when I used to be decisive” related, some adventure related. We realized that although lifelong friends, we’d dropped the ball on the development of our relationship.
The uncertain times had arrived. We needed each other more. We looked at ourselves and said, “Why not us? Why aren’t we?” Because for decades we have been one another’s back pocket support to achieve our goals whether academic, athletic, or proficiency in a craft or musical instrument. As adults, we had become accustomed to check-ins and updates, but not necessarily getting into the details behind the details. The season had reemerged. The resources we each needed to achieve what we wanted was already there. It resided within our already vetted friendships and story lines.
Meet Janeen, Jeri, and Melissa. Three childhood friends who made it well into their 30s. Careers taking different paths. Families growing and reshaping themselves. Responsibilities shifting and being redefined. We’d adulted long enough to know what we wanted and what we didn’t need.
In our reunion the question arose, how can we help one another make the most of our circumstances and respectively reach our life goals?
Purposeful phone calls began to cover our calendars. Conversations guided by reacquainting ourselves with ourselves. Tears shed and laughter erupting as truth is revealed, acknowledged, and placed on shoulders so that actions and words are imbued with intent. “Girl, I hear you.” is replaced by “I can help with that. I came across…” “You’ve done that before. You can do it again.” We spoke of the immense blessing we’ve always had in our connection and support for one another. How can we help others intentionally and effectively tap into the networks that’s already there so that the team wins?
We have researched, lived, and learned that there is power in your team. Each member plays a role in your personal growth, career trajectory, and life goals. We guide and coach you through the process of building and strengthening your networks as a mechanism for growth and development. Many of us spend so much time on social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, but we haven’t learned how to grow and harvest from our own connections. You are already online. Now, let’s make the most of this life.
Head over to our Facebook Group, “The Real 8”, and tag a friend that needs to move from check-ins to calendar dates.
