How to be appreciated by others, anywhere.

This gonna be a very short email, but I trust it will teach you a crucial lesson.

Last Friday, I was talking to some friends when one of them told me “Vale, you’re a bridge."

This was a… strange compliment to say the least.

But I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, and my conclusion is that being a bridge is one of the easiest and most fulfilling ways to be appreciated by others.

A few examples:

✨I have a friend who dreams of being a scriptwriter, even though he’s a law student. Every time a course, video, or contest for scriptwriting comes up on my feed, I’m the friend who sends it to him. I believe he deserves to chase that dream, I believe he is capable of doing it, and so I try to support that in every way I can.

✨One of my closest friends is a psychologist, and a great one at that. She wanted a job that was more fulfilling and made her earn more money. I introduced her to my mom, a close-to-burnout workaholic who urgently needed to start adding people to her clinic’s team. Now, they’re working together and they’re both fulfilled in what they’re doing, they’re both earning well and neither is burning out. Talk about a win-win.

✨I had a friend who crushed on another one of my friends when he first saw her. When I had the chance, I introduced them. They started dating not two weeks later and now, they’ve been together for about 9 or 10 months.

Now, there’s nothing special about me that allowed me to do this.

Being able to do this comes down to three things:

• Paying attention to what your friends say they want to do, experience, or who they want to meet.

• Paying attention to seeing if I had any way to take them closer to where they wanted

• Bridging that gap in any way that I could: introducing people, sharing opportunities, etcetera.

Now, I do this because I truly, genuinely, enjoy it.

I love seeing my friends do well. Both those who I’m very close with, and those that others would categorize as “acquaintances.”

I think this is one of the main things that makes other people enjoy my company and appreciate me.

I actively look for ways to add to their lives.

I believe if those I love are doing well, that will result in wellbeing for me, too.

And so far, I can say it’s proven to be true.

You receive back what you put out.

And if you put love, support, and bridging out into the world, in one way or another, the world will repay you. Sometimes it may happen directly: the person you help offers help back. And sometimes, it will happen in ways you would never expect.

When it does, it’s time to receive, and say thank you.

Until then, the philosophy of giving first still proves to be the most fulfilling and rewarding way to live.

So this week, I invite you to ask, “do I have access to any resources, people, or opportunities that may help those I love?”

If the answer is yes, don’t hesitate. Be the bridge.

I hope the rest of your week feels like allowing yourself to receive, to receive without any guilt or without feeling like you should pay it back.

Enjoy the gifts the universe offers you.

Until next Wednesday!

-Vale, The Friendly Artist