Lyrics from Nas and Damian Marley. "Friends," on the Distant Relatives album. I say, no new "friends" because I desire authentic relationships only, and authenticity is hard to come by.
Recently, I challenged myself to develop a new relationship with a person… lets call him "A Gate Keeper". This individual knows the people I want to know, has access to what I want to obtain, and we have a lot in common. That being said, there could be a huge conflict! In a time when finding people who "get you" are hard to come by, it's my hope to never exploit our relationship in order to benefit through his (The Gate Keepers) access. There are fewer things I fear more than losing something that it good... I hate the feeling you get when you look back and say, "Man I messed that up!"
Is it possible to have a legitimate friendship without taking advantage of the relationship for your benefit? Can one be both business and personal without stepping out of bounds on either side? When at my best, I feel like a good friendship is more important than a business power move. No new "friends" because real Ryders are hard to come by and aren't added frequently. I appraise friendship on loyalty, and have never considered business to also be personal. Business relationships work best when its "give and take". Personal relationships work best when its "give without looking to take".
Lets quote some Nas:
Real men we have a code of ethics. No question
No jealousies No feminine tendencies We expecting
No gossip No phony logic No counting your homey pocket
Spare no expense for legal defense if your homey locked up
No keeping tabs on who was the last who looked out
Selfishness that's a character flaw No holding out
Yo what happened to the honor
You're dealing with sensitive Primadonna drama
Recently, I challenged myself to develop a new relationship with a person… lets call him "A Gate Keeper". This individual knows the people I want to know, has access to what I want to obtain, and we have a lot in common. That being said, there could be a huge conflict! In a time when finding people who "get you" are hard to come by, it's my hope to never exploit our relationship in order to benefit through his (The Gate Keepers) access. There are fewer things I fear more than losing something that it good... I hate the feeling you get when you look back and say, "Man I messed that up!"
Is it possible to have a legitimate friendship without taking advantage of the relationship for your benefit? Can one be both business and personal without stepping out of bounds on either side? When at my best, I feel like a good friendship is more important than a business power move. No new "friends" because real Ryders are hard to come by and aren't added frequently. I appraise friendship on loyalty, and have never considered business to also be personal. Business relationships work best when its "give and take". Personal relationships work best when its "give without looking to take".
Lets quote some Nas:
Real men we have a code of ethics. No question
No jealousies No feminine tendencies We expecting
No gossip No phony logic No counting your homey pocket
Spare no expense for legal defense if your homey locked up
No keeping tabs on who was the last who looked out
Selfishness that's a character flaw No holding out
Yo what happened to the honor
You're dealing with sensitive Primadonna drama
Side note: Do I own this album on vinyl? Yup, sure do, and it sounds so much better than when you Youtubed it.
Lets get Biblical:
Friendship (like love) works best when its willing to be one sided… its not a business decision. You don't enter into it solely to get "something" out of it. Its organic, not contrived and we never keep "tabs on who was the last to look out". Jesus has this kind of loyalty, so I try to model it. He came to us out of dedication. He died out of loyalty. He rose from the grave out of honor. God went to great lengths to save, and didn't spare his son in the process. I hope you admire his selflessness. Business and Personal relationships are hard to navigate and manage… but with Jesus it was all personal, not business.
So I'm trying to forgo business and build a real friendship that lasts.
Friendship (like love) works best when its willing to be one sided… its not a business decision. You don't enter into it solely to get "something" out of it. Its organic, not contrived and we never keep "tabs on who was the last to look out". Jesus has this kind of loyalty, so I try to model it. He came to us out of dedication. He died out of loyalty. He rose from the grave out of honor. God went to great lengths to save, and didn't spare his son in the process. I hope you admire his selflessness. Business and Personal relationships are hard to navigate and manage… but with Jesus it was all personal, not business.
So I'm trying to forgo business and build a real friendship that lasts.
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