Some years ago an ad appeared in the San Francisco Guardian. It read: 

Our lives are filled with emptiness,
desperation, and misery. We want
friends. We pay $9.99 an hour for
friendship. Please tell us how pretty
we look.

Intrigued, a journalist responded to the ad. He called the number listed and made an appointment. Arriving ten minutes late, Dave and Terri met him at the door. 

Terri greeted him with, “Good friends should be prompt.”

Once inside, she explained the ad. “We’re deadly serious about this We don’t want to be your friend. We want you to be our friend. We’re not interested in your problems. This is not a give and take relationship. It’s strictly a take relationship. We want the benefits of friendship but none of its burdens. That’s why we’re willing to pay.” 

After the allotted time passed, the journalist prepared to leave. He was handed a check for $9.99. On the memo line, Terri had written, “For friendship.” 

Now before you dismiss Dave and Terri as a couple of kooks, answer me this: How much are you willing pay for friendship? It isn’t free. For any relationship to succeed – real life and Internet friends – you have to be willing to make an investment. 

Instead of cash, pay a friend a compliment.

You could give them a gift of time. Don’t talk, just listen. Be there for them. 

Investments in friendship pay a lifetime of benefits. Generosity is gold. 

STRENGTH FOR THE QUEST
Because Life Is More Than A Journey