Today's track: Radiohead — Creep (acoustic)

I used to cling to relationships like they were artifacts.

Like if I let a friendship go — even one that had run its course — I was letting go of some piece of myself. A version of me that existed back then. Pure nostalgia, dressed up as loyalty.

I don't do that anymore.

The people I'm closest to now — the ones I'm texting when something fires me up, sending links to at 10pm — are people I connect with intellectually. That's the thread. Doesn't matter how we met. What matters is that when we get into a conversation, something happens. Ideas start moving. We go down rabbit holes. We leave thinking about something differently than when we started.

These friendships were never forced. They came together as we connected more intellectually — conversations about religion, aliens, science, things a lot of people would find far-fetched. But that's what curious people do. You bring something up and instead of a blank stare, you hear: oh yeah, I've gone down that rabbit hole too.

And even when someone has a zany take, they can back it up. They have a reason. You weigh it as you want — but there's something there. It's fun being able to have that kind of discourse. Nobody's yelling. If you disagree, you just ask more probing questions. Get further understanding. Sometimes it changes your mind. Sometimes it just changes your interest in the topic.

With all the curious people in my life, there's a pattern. You start talking about something intellectual and you find out: we've been listening to a lot of the same bands. Went to some of the same concerts. Read a lot of the same books. We've landed in the same places about religion. About politics. About the environment. About death — what does it actually mean? About how we value our time. How we prioritize our body, our routine. What actually matters.

All of that just comes out when you go down the rabbit holes together. You didn't plan it. It surfaces.

When I used to show luxury homes, I had a habit: I'd check the fridge.

Not to be nosy. Because I wanted to see what successful people actually ate. What habits they'd built. What they kept around. You learn a lot from what someone stocks.

Same thing with the curious people in my life. When you really talk to them, you see where their focus is. What they've read. What they believe and why. You get a window into their convictions. And because you genuinely appreciate the person, you appreciate all of it. You want to understand how they got there.

And almost always — these are people who don't subscribe to whatever the world is putting out in mass. They're not consuming what everyone else consumes, chasing whatever's popular, following the herd. They've gone their own direction. Found their own things that light them up. That's exactly who you want to be learning from.

That's who I'm gleaning the best habits from.

Geniuses, all of them.

If you're struggling to find that kind of friendship — maybe the move is simpler than you think. Pursue the things that actually interest you. Put them out into the world. Write about them. Talk about them. The right people are looking for you too — they just don't know where to find you yet.

Have a great one.

Warmly,
Rob Bergeron
Owner–Realtor at Award-Winning Winner Realty
Winner Realty | OffMarket.deals | Property Partner Data Company | HireMySub.com

The Morning Bergeron daily track playlist: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/the-morning-bergeron/pl.u-pMyl2GlSW1N3qv

PS: 8 of 10 people diagnosed with colon cancer say they have hot dogs in their diet.