There are adages that deal with the idea of keeping in touch. There are sayings, admonishments, truisms and advice all about keeping your friends, and making new ones. Sometimes, we fail to appreciate how very much our adult life parallels certain lessons we got when we were but children. Keeping in touch with your friends is one of them.

I can't recall how young I was when my parents started telling me of the value of friendship. I think I must have been about three or four years old. The newest and biggest thing in my life (aside from my baby brother) was a little friend who lived next door to our newly-purchased home. Instant friend, just add togetherness! That child and I were inseperable for the daylight hours. We did everything from hide and seek to tree climbing to pretending to be hunters in the tall grass... our world was the two back yards, and yet, it was a universe to us.

When the friend moved away, and had new experiences, right at junior high age, we both changed. Different outlooks during those critical formative years led to some very definitive changes in how we related to each other. But we did keep in touch. Though we didn't do it often, we kept in close enough touch to know that if we ever had a crisis, and needed to reach out, the other would be our lifeline, no questions asked. Friends kept are people who can help.

Big or little, whatever the problem, we can count on our friends to help. In a similar way, business contacts, networking connections, colleagues and partners are there for us. We keep in contact with them, regular even if not often, and we have a cadre that we can call upon when we need them. Making these connections, keeping them alive, is what makes the biggest difference in enterprises we undertake. We may not need much - direction, a name, maybe only a reaction to something we've done. Critique helps tremendously. Other times we may need help with a tough situation. Any way you look at it, these connections are our lifeline in the working world, just as our friends are for our personal lives.

The most interesting thing about whom you know is that everyone you know has some ability, talent, skill or discernment that can help you in some way. You can help them in some way. Everyone in your network is valuable, and valued. Keep it in mind, the next time you need to connect. This "keeping friends" lesson from childhood is an excellent one for our entire lifetime.

What other lessons from childhood do you use?