Effort

Effort: The use of physical or mental energy to do something.

To me, effort is one of the biggest currencies people have out there. I mean, it takes effort to keep a good relationship, be it with your significant other, or friends. It takes effort to do a good job at work. It takes effort to know what you want and go after it. It's something that we all have the ability to do, but only some really make the effort to do.

So I'd like to share some examples of efforts my friends have made recently that have touched me:

• Brian and I used to live just blocks apart and work one floor apart, but its taken some extraordinary effort on his part to really make us the great friends we've become. After we moved to SF and he moved to Frankfurt, Germany, he took the time to come the whole way here for a long weekend in the Fall of 2004. It it ended up one of those incredible bonding weekends where we talked about all kinds of things we never had before and learned that we had way more in common than previously thought. He's made the effort to come here at 5 times since then, including this past weekend, and ever time he visits, it's always a blast, and I always feel closer with him after he leaves. I know it takes a tremendous amount of effort to come the whole way here, and I really appreciate it.

• Our good pal Lee also come from DC to visit for a weekend last month. Surprisingly, this was his first visit to the Bay Area, and he made the most of it. He borrowed the MINI to drive up the coast as he experienced the stunning scenery of Point Reyes and Muir Woods. He had asked if he could use his iPod while in the MINI, but I sadly reported that I didn't have any connections for the car. It was a brief conversation; I told him I tons of CDs he could borrow and left it at that. So what do I receive in the mail a week later? A hook-up for the iPod that uses that radio rather than the tape player, so now the MINI is all set up for iPod motoring! Of course I didn't expect any kind of gift for hosting him. But he took the effort to not only give me something I will make frequent use of, but something I didn't even know I wanted.

• While we were in Africa last month, Todd stayed at our place for some of the time to look after it and make use of our laundry and cars. We were glad to have someone stay there since we were gone so long and he even picked us up at the airport on time. But there were a few extra "effort" touches when we got home that demonstrates what a classy guy he is. He took the time to wash the car and have our place spotless while we were gone, which was great. Beyond that, we found a vase full of flowers and a nice note thanking us for always making him feel at home. While those gestures didn't take nearly as much effort as the cleanings did, they are they ones that touched me more.

So sometimes it's the big things, and sometimes it's the small. I feel pretty lucky to have such thoughtful friends and I can only try and make the effort to let them know how much I appreciate it.