Recently, I sat down to begin writing the acknowledgments section of my upcoming book, Traumapreneur.
If you've ever written a book, you know that the acknowledgments aren't simply a list of names. They're a chance to pause and recognize the people who shaped your life, challenged your thinking, opened doors, believed in you, or simply walked beside you during an important season.
Before I started writing, I pulled my last book, From Suck to Success, off the shelf. It was published in 2021, and I wanted to reread the acknowledgments before starting this new chapter.
What happened next surprised me.
As I read through the names, I realized how many of those people are no longer active parts of my life.
There wasn't a dramatic falling out.
No betrayal.
No ugly ending.
Life simply... happened.
Some relationships slowly faded. The phone calls became less frequent. The text messages stopped. We each became busy building our businesses, raising families, traveling, or simply living life. Before long, months had turned into years.
It reminded me of the old saying that people come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.
Whether that saying is literally true isn't really the point.
The point is that relationships evolve.
As entrepreneurs, we experience this perhaps more than most people. We join organizations, leave organizations, build companies, sell companies, change industries, hire people, mentor people, coach people, and move through different seasons of our lives. Along the way, our relationships naturally change with us.
As I continued reading those acknowledgments, I found myself thinking about former employees from my years at Diversified Industrial Staffing. I thought about clients I've coached over the last nearly 10 years. I thought about entrepreneurs I've met through EO Forum retreats, Vistage programs, keynote speeches, and workshops.
Many of those people are still connected to me on LinkedIn. Every now and then I'll see a promotion, a wedding, a grandchild, or a business milestone scroll across my screen.
Yet if I'm being honest, I haven't had a real conversation with many of them in years.
That realization created a surprising sense of melancholy.
Not regret.
Just perspective.
It reminded me how easy it is to assume meaningful relationships will simply maintain themselves.
The reality is they rarely do.
Anthropologist Robin Dunbar, whose research on friendship and social networks has become foundational in understanding human relationships, found that friendships require intentional maintenance. Unlike family relationships, friendships begin to weaken surprisingly quickly when we stop investing time and attention in them. They don't usually end because of conflict. They simply drift through neglect.
I don't think most of us wake up and decide to let an important relationship disappear.
Instead, we tell ourselves we'll call next week.
We'll send the text tomorrow.
We'll grab lunch when things slow down.
The problem is that "later" has a way of quietly becoming never.
One of the things entrepreneurship has taught me is that relationships compound just like investments do. Small deposits made consistently over time create extraordinary returns. The same is true with trust, friendship, mentorship, and connection.
I've also learned something equally important.
Not every relationship is supposed to last forever.
Some people arrive exactly when we need them. They teach us something about leadership, resilience, parenting, faith, business, or ourselves. Then life moves both of us in different directions. That doesn't diminish the value of the relationship. In many ways, it honors the purpose it served.
I've also come to believe that while some relationships naturally run their course, others simply deserve another investment. They haven't ended because of conflict or betrayal. They've just gone quiet. Life got busy. Priorities shifted. We assumed we'd reconnect when things slowed down, and before we knew it, months had turned into years.
As I finished rereading the acknowledgments from From Suck to Success, I realized I wasn't just thinking about the people who were no longer part of my daily life. I was thinking about the people I genuinely miss. There's a difference. One is simply noticing someone's absence. The other is recognizing the impact they had on your life and wishing you'd stayed more connected.
Maybe this newsletter isn't really about friendships at all. Maybe it's about intentionality.
As entrepreneurs, we're remarkably disciplined about nurturing the relationships that grow our businesses. We schedule follow-up calls with prospects, maintain CRM systems, stay connected with strategic partners, and make sure our clients know they're valued. We understand that relationships require investment if they're going to flourish.
What if we applied even a fraction of that same intentionality to the people who have helped us grow personally? The mentors who challenged us, the former colleagues who stood beside us during difficult seasons, the old friend who always believed in us, or the person who quietly made us a better leader simply by being part of our life.
So I'd like to leave you with one question.
Who came to mind while you were reading this?
Not the person you think you should reconnect with. The person whose face appeared immediately. The one you haven't talked to in far too long. Maybe they came into your life for a reason. Maybe they were there for a season. Or maybe they're someone who deserves another season.
If that's the case, don't wait for the perfect time. Send the text. Make the phone call. Schedule the lunch. You may discover that while time has passed, the relationship wasn't lost at all—it was simply waiting for someone to make the first move.
