Author: Rich Gorecki

As I continue to make my case for Better Male Friendships, I will finish this portion by describing a pair of important traits: teachability and the willingness to improve. These qualities are key to what I call a GodBuddy friendship—a deeper, more authentic kind of friendship that I believe every man truly needs. Men Need Other Men to Become Better Men No matter your spiritual background or religious beliefs, most would agree: boys and young men learn best when they have strong, principled male role models. As they begin their journey toward adulthood, they are shaped by those closest to them—especially parents, friends, extended family, and the people in their community. Engaged fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and mentors—like coaches, teachers, pastors, and youth leaders—play a vital role in that development. Male influence from those who’ve already walked the road to manhood is especially critical to understanding manhood and masculine behavior. Of

Most good friends support and encourage each other when one of them goes through rough patches in life, such as a divorce, health concerns, job changes, or financial troubles. They may even say, ” I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.” But adding the personal and sincere act of praying with each other for support and encouragement is one more trait that differentiates between good friends and the type of friendship that every man needs, what I call a GodBuddy. Men Need Support and Encouragement Ask someone for the definition of encouragement, and you’ll likely get something like “the act of giving individual support used as motivation.” Encouragement is motivation that helps pull us up after a setback. It helps us face criticism from our boss, challenges at home, or from the coaches and teachers at school. Generally speaking, most men thrive through positive motivation and encouragement rather than

Hopefully, by now, you realize there is a difference between good friends and the deeper, more authentic friendships that I believe every man needs, which I call a GodBuddy. As I continue to make my case for The Year for Better Male Friendships, I’m using excerpts from my book, Get Out of Your Man Cave: The Crisis of Male Friendships, to differentiate between good friends and GodBuddies. This next post covers the traits of patience and kindness, which we need when friends let us down or we encounter difficulty in any relationship. Practicing these traits will show that your friendship is reaching a level of maturity that many males may never achieve.  Traits that Transform Friendships Throughout this subset of posts, I’ve described several traits of male friendships. Most start by Finding Commonality and Building Chemistry. As we spend more time together, we become acquaintances. As we get to know