There is an unspoken factor in judging life's success. When people think of success, they think of financial success, physical well-being or even relationships. But rarely do people talk about or try to achieve Social Status. Relationships may appear similar, but relationships is more about close friends by being yourself. What I am referring to is the skills of networking and having an abundance of people that you can connect with. So if you have an abundance of friends, then your Social Status is high. If you have a few friends, than your Social Status is low.
So we can categorize social interaction into 4 types in order of increasing difficulty to achieve.
#1. Strangers - People you have not met or people you do not want to meet.
#2. Acquaintances - People that do not share similar interest or you cannot engage in social activities with.
#3. Close Friends - you are yourself and you reveal your vulnerabilities. You can hang out with them on a personal level without being a group setting. You cannot label them as a close friend, if they do not reveal their vulnerabilities to you. You cannot be a close friend, if you do not reveal your vulnerabilities to them. Life is risk....
#4. Friends - People you hang out with outside of work in a group setting. You would not socialize with them alone on a one-to-one environment.
Notice I did not put in family. Sometimes, people do not chose their family and some families are just terrible. So with each family member, you may chose to label each member in one of the 4 categories.
Another thing to note is that I have #3 as Close Friends and #4 as Friends. That is because it is easier to have a few close friends than to have a lot of distant friends. #3 takes being yourself. #4 takes skill.
Ideally, your goal should be to have lots in #4 and #3. To achieve this, be friendly to everyone you meet and add social value to everyone you meet. Start with the attitude everyone you see wants to be your friend.
On a side note, men and even women, may look down on a man that cannot pick up. This judgement is actually a catch 22. When a man cannot pick up, he loses Social Value. When a man loses Social Value, it is harder to find him attractive.
So what is one to do? My answer is, it is easier to pick up on your own and then to pick up with buddies. I get into the detail in other articles.