Have you ever heard someone refer to your “six”? It refers to the six people who will carry your casket at your funeral.

Kind of morbid, isn’t it? But it’s important because it reminds us that we will all die someday. We all have an expiration date on our lives.

I want you to think about the six people in your life who would indeed carry your casket. How often do you speak to them? How close would you say these friends are to you?

If you have a hard time answering those questions, maybe it’s worth reconsidering how much time and energy you invest into those friendships.

I get it. We’re all busy with writing and other creative pursuits and commitments. But it’s not the only aspect of your life. You have family, friends, community, health, and other commitments. Writing is only one part of a bigger picture.

Don’t neglect your most important friendships and relationships to pursue your art or build a platform. Fans and readers and listeners can be fickle. They will only stick around as long as you give them something of value. But friendships are forever. Those are the people who stick with you through thick and thin. So make sure you’re investing time in those relationships and not spending all your time and energy on your writing.

Daily Question: Can you name your six?

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A big challenge that we face in our creative work is simply the fact that we work alone much of the time. Even if you work with a team on projects that include editors, graphic designers, beta readers, maybe co-authors or collaborators, or marketing people, you are still spending a large percentage of your time creating alone.

If you work from home, you can easily isolate yourself from other people who can give you emotional and creative nourishment. If the past two years have taught us anything, it’s that we need each other. You can have all the success in the world, but what is the point if you don’t have friends who will share the journey?

My guest today is the perfect person to help us think about how to make and grow our friendships as writers. His name is Jared Odle, and he is a missionary, copywriter, and business leader. He is working on a book and podcast related to loneliness and has done a lot of research and thinking about this topic.

Jared and I have also been friends for nearly 30 years. We went to college together, sang on a traveling music team together, and now we are both heavily engaged in writing as part of our businesses.

Jared is also part of our Daily Writer Community. A couple of months ago, he led a call on the topic of friendships, and I’m excited to share this recording with you on this episode. We discuss why it can be hard for creative people to make friends, as well as some practical tips for building and growing friendships.

I know that writers tend to gravitate toward topics like how to write a book or secrets of marketing, and those are important. But on this episode, we’re getting to the heart of what it means to have good relationships and why you need a support system of friends.

You can connect with Jared through the links below:

JaredOdle.com

Follow Jared on Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook

The post Jared Odle on Making & Growing Friendships as a Writer appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.