Arthur Brooks draws a hard line between real friends and deal friends, and the difference could change how you see everyone around you. Deal friends are in it for what you can offer them. Real friends are there because they actually care about you. Brooks argues that a lot of us, even people at the top, are surrounded by deal friends while losing touch with the ones who matter.

Links referenced in this episode:

• jamesabrown.net

This is the Daily note from jamesabrown.net Arthur Brooks, who studies happiness at Harvard, makes a distinction worth hearing.

He talks about deal friends in Real Friends.

Deal friends are the people you know through work.

They care about your title and what you can do for them.

Real friends, on the other hand, are useless in the best way.

They don't care about your status, he says.

CEOs are often the most lonely people in any company because they're surrounded by deal friends and forget to keep real friends.

I think most of us have done some version of that.

We've let real friendships fade while keeping professional ones that don't nourish us.

I think it's left a lot of us feeling unknown and unseen.

What do you think?

Let me know on jamesabrown.net on that note.

I'm James A.

Brown and as always, be well.