Many people strive to amass as many friends as they possibly can. In my view, though, you only need two or three really good friends to feel fulfilled in life. There's a marked difference between having a deep friendship with someone you trust entirely, and having more of a superficial relationship, where you might converse with each other once in a blue moon on Facebook or at a special occasion. To me, building friendships isn't a numbers game. It's the quality, not the quantity, that truly counts. In fact, I only have three real friends, all of whom I made groomsmen at my wedding. I've known one of them since kindergarten, the other since high school, and the third guy since my first semester of college. While I may not be able to see or talk to them as often as I'd like, I know these guys are there for me when I need them -- just as I am for them. We have our occasional spats and differences of opinion, but the friendships are strong enough to survive a...

In several of my posts, I've stressed the benefits of keeping a small circle of great friends as opposed to a large group of people you may not even be that close to. But here's the truth: the wider your circle of really good friends, the better. The reason for this is that even the people you call your best friends can flake out on you from time to time or behave uncharacteristically.  Maybe the person has hit a rough patch, is unusually busy, or just doesn't care to invest as much time in the friendship anymore. Thus, it's good to have back-up friends you can turn to in the event one proves unreliable.   The same can be said in the realm of dating. Most of us have witnessed people we're dating go from seemingly interested to flaky almost overnight. It's much easier to stomach the vagaries of one's behavior when you have other prospects lined up.  Think of it like job hunting. It's always easier to find a job when you already have a jo...