For the first time, I accepted a FB friend’s request from a stranger. Because running. Because writing. Because strangers are underrated.

On the one hand, the bond you share with your immediate family is special. Your partner, your parents, your siblings, your children — there is trust that’s taken decades to build, notwithstanding the fact that some of life’s ugliest feuds often happen between close relatives.

On the other hand, I’ve often thought about how precious and life-changing interactions with strangers can be. I have many examples that deserve a place in a memoir (which I will one day complete!) or at least a story on Medium (I will write these stories too!). And sometimes these interactions are not life-changing, but they are still enjoyable. There is a sense of profound brotherhood.

To start with, our partners and spouses were once total strangers! One moment there is nothing, absolutely nothing connecting two people in this universe. Then you meet and become as close as two people can be. If you’re lucky you carry that closeness for a lifetime.

It can be similar in business. Sometimes you have two buddies start a business. Let’s say there are schoolmates or collegemates. They are not strangers. But I also have several experiences where I partnered with strangers. Not every endeavor worked out but I don’t regret having trusted a stranger, even if ultimately things didn’t work out.