web3 & ai chief of staff

Aristotle believed there are three kinds of friendship: The first is friendship of utility: These are relationships built around usefulness. Colleagues, professional contacts, people connected by a shared purpose. There is nothing wrong with these friendships. But when the purpose ends, the relationship often does too. The second is friendship of pleasure: These are the people you enjoy being with. You laugh together, share interests, and enjoy one another’s company. These matter too. But they are often tied, at least in part, to what you bring—your wit, your energy, your charm. And when those things change, the friendship sometimes does too. Then there is friendship of virtue: This is the rarest kind. These friendships are built on mutual respect and admiration—not for what you accomplish, but for your character and values. They love your being, not your doing. They know you deeply, and you know them. They can last a lifetime. Spouses in healthy marriages have this. The closest siblings sometimes do too. So do the rarest of friends. Most people have very few of these. Strivers often have none. Many successful people are surrounded by others and still lack this kind of friendship. Achievement often trains us to be admired, not known. To perform well, not reveal weakness. So strivers tend to accumulate friendships of utility—and because success can be attractive, friendships of pleasure too. But they are often missing friendships of virtue. A lot of deal friends. Very few real ones. That emptiness is often where the meaning crisis begins. Here’s the exercise I give my students: List the ten people you spend the most time with each week. Then label each one: utility, pleasure, or virtue. A full social life is not the same thing as deep friendship. And one of the clearest markers of a meaningful life is not how many people are around you, but how many truly know you.