It isn’t stressed enough just how much the people around you shape who you are and where you go. In this episode, I break down the keys to building a purpose-driven squad of friends for purposeful friendships.
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Purposeful Friendships
Purposeful friendships are severely underrated. Friendship is the connection between two people who approve of and support each other. Family is given to you but your friends—your friends are the people you choose to walk through life with.
They are the community you’ve built or will build as a safe space for you and your ideas—purposeful friendships. There is a John Maxwell quote that says, “One is too small a number to achieve greatness,” and I completely agree with that.
When you think about that quote, it makes sense. God strategically created us to be interdependent upon each other. There are many scriptures that speak to our need to collaborate. Proverbs 27:17 talks about how iron sharpens iron. Ecclesiastes, chapter 4 starting at verse nine discusses how two people are better than one, and three are even better than two.
We were created to be in a community with one another and purposeful friendships are a great way to build community. I mean, even Jesus had a squad.
Why Your Friends Matter
Friendship in general is important, but even more important is who you decide to be friends with. We often think that we are able to make great decisions because we have great self-control or a strong will power. The truth is, successful, purpose-driven people are more disciplined and structure their lives so as to NOT require them to have strong self-control. What I’m trying to say is that purpose-driven people don’t allow themselves to be placed in tempting situations or bad environments.
It’s a lot easier to exercise restraint and self-control when you don’t need to use it often. It’s easy to not get drunk if you aren’t in an environment where people are constantly offering you liquor, especially if it’s free or low priced liquor.
That’s why a much better use of your time would be to improve your environment.
And a great way to improve your environment is to improve the quality of people you spend time by forming purposeful friendships.
Who You Need on Your Squad
Spiritual Warrior
When establishing your squad of purposeful friendships, having a spiritual warrior should be at the top of your list. Your spiritual warrior friend knows how to apply the living word of God to their lives and yours.. They know how to pray strategically and intercede on your behalf. This is the member of your tribe that keeps you focused on the truth and the truth is that you are made in God’s image and you are supposed to God-level results.
Trusted Critic
This is the member of your tribe that you pass ideas by because they are going to give you the real. This person must be successful at something because under no circumstances do you take constructive criticism from someone who has never constructed anything or succeeded at constructing something. This friend helps you stay well-rounded and grounded. They spot the holes in your ideas and have no problem letting you know when you aren’t making any sense. A trusted critic is a purposeful friendship must have.
Supportive Optimist
This is a respected member of your tribe who knows how to maneuver through challenges. The supportive optimist always has a solution. This is probably the role I play in most of my purposeful friendship circles.
Ride or Die
This member of your tribe is different from your supportive optimist friend. The ride or die is down for whatever. They don’t care what you need, if you’re right or wrong, in or out, they got your back. This is the friend that will drive you ten hours from one state to another just so you can “see something” lol. I hope you’re picking up what I’m putting down.
Adventurer
These are the people you travel with and party with. They help you relax and have fun.
This is not an exhaustive list. It’s really the bare minimum. I wanted to make sure I gave you a starting point though. My friends have been such an impactful part of my life and my walk-in purpose.
Spend some time thinking about your squad and how you can build more purposeful friendships.
- Who do you have around you?
- Are they in a position to add value to your life?
- Do you add value to their life?
- Do you want to add any of the friend types from my must-have list?
Want More?
If you enjoyed this episode, then you may also enjoy the episode of the show about the fear of success and how it hinders purpose or this episode detailing what to expect when operating in your purpose.
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Disclaimer: If you happen to purchase anything I recommend in this or any of my communications, it’s likely I’ll receive some kind of affiliate compensation. Still, I only recommend things that I truly believe in and have personally experienced. If you ever have an issue with anything I recommend, please let me know. My goal is to help you thrive in your purpose. — Pavielle