While friendship is work, no, this is *not* a paid position which I'm looking to fill. I'm actually looking for good friends - or, more specifically through this project, people whom I mutually resonate with.

So, no, the only compensation potentially offered here is good conversation, engaging ideas, and genuine encouragement to brighten your day. But, if you think about it... that's not too shabby, no?

Personally, I’m looking to find new connections I resonate with - positive social interactions that add to my day. For context, I’m an introvert, a homebody, and a rather busy person… so, I have limited bandwidth for attending non-work-related events or for venturing out into the elements when I don’t have to. This project is a couch-compatible means of meeting people asynchronously and with some actual potential for depth.

Beyond myself and my own goals, however, this is also a means of highlighting and searching for viable solutions for the current epidemic of loneliness (with a heavy focus on mid-life loneliness, in particular). There must be something better we can do to make meaningful connections at any life stage, I feel. I’m here to be the guinea pig to find a way that works.

Transparently, for this scope of this pilot month, positive social interactions are the main goal. Blossoming friendships aren’t ruled out - and I am genuinely hoping to foster those - but within the timeframe and parameters of this project, full friendships are not expected.

Realistically? I expect maybe 50 - 100 people will read this page. Perhaps 5 -10 will be galvanized to check out my Substack, curious enough to want to know me through my words. And maybe 2 - 3 humans will actually resonate with the questions and prompts I’ll send out - such that, by December, there might even be one person not yet burnt out on my earnestness who’ll want to have an actual chat. Fingers crossed.

But even if that’s all that happens, I’ll count it a personal success, because, transparently, I do have a few side-quests here:

• To remember and honor the friends I’ve lost by making an effort to forge new relationships of resonance.

• To experiment with new approaches for introverted adults to build meaningful connections.

• To build awareness around midlife loneliness - and to highlight how existing “solutions” often overlook the priorities, constraints, and realities of those who are lonely, but not actually alone.

So, honestly? Even the trying of this adds value - for me, and I hope, for others, as well.

We shall see.

Looking at my schedule now, I can probably write one reflection-based email (or Letter for a Friend) per week via Substack. I can share prompts or questions around times per week there as notes. I’ll also allocate around an hour per day and 4 hours per Saturday this month to read through, moderate, and follow up on responses to the questions and posts shared each week.

At the end of the recruitment period, I’ll likely have a group call - a Q&A and casual discussion, reviewing our responses, thoughts, and learnings from this experiment.

But, in short, this is a fluid concept, and I’ll definitely learn and adjust as I go.

The honest answer is that I’m just frugal - and rather than launch a brand new website, get new contact information, etc - it’s just easier to add this project to a website I already have.

But, no, I don’t consider this to be a work project, although it *is* aligned with my UPWARD orientation towards empathy, humanity, and growth - as well as my commitment to learning more and doing better.

This is such a good question, and I could probably write a whole letter about this on Substack at some point. If you're interested, feel free to ask this question in your screening survey or in the writing assignment, and follow along there for that bit of insight.

Absolutely - and I'd very much appreciate the support! Just make sure you don't edit or modify the images - and that you link back to this project directly (www.workupward.com/friends). Thanks for the help!