The 10 Kinds of Friends Everyone Needs

No matter how much of a superhero you may think you are, you need other supers in your life as friends.

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No matter how much of a superhero you may think you are, you need friends in your life. And not just the "Come on, Barbie, let's go party" type of friends. You want real friends who can help you when life inevitably throws piles of doo-doo on you.

Typically, no one person can be all things to you all the time, just as no one member of the Justice League or the Avengers has every single superpower. Therefore, try to find a group of people who can in some combination collectively cover the following 10 heroic personas:

1. The Caped Crusader: These are folks who'll show up in times of crisis whenever you need them and always be on the mark, so to speak. Even if you don't see them for a while, rest assured once that Bat Signal goes up, they'll drop everything, put on their capes, and show up like Batman. This can include filling in when someone else has left you in the lurch, rolling in when someone is giving you grief, and running a late-night urgent errand when you're in need.
2. The Light: These are straight-shooters who won't mince words and will shed light on any situation. You'll get the truth and nothing but the truth from them. Lights aren't about simply telling you how everything sucks, though. Instead, they'll show you the light and where to go, bring real hope, and want what's best for you.
3. The Protector: These are the champs you'll want on your side in an alley fight. They can instantly recognize when you may be under threat, have as a first instinct the desire to protect you, and can kick the threat's you-know-what. Even if they happen to be all rainbows, stuffed hedgehogs, and smiles when times are good, wait until someone crosses you. 'Cause that's when the Protectors' claws come out.
4. The Entertainer: When you are down and out, you need people to keep you occupied and your spirits up. Enter the Entertainers. They can be fun, share their Netflix-like library of stories, and talk about seemingly anything whether it's who done you wrong or your theory about how squirrels are trying to corner the crypto market.
5. The Amazonian: In this case, Amazonian doesn't refer to the legendary warriors or the land around the Amazon River. Instead, it is a play on the name of that gigantic e-commerce company, Amazon. Like the company, Amazonians will quickly provide you with what you need whether it is a plunger, a pillow shaped like Harry Styles, or enough pea protein to serve a cruise ship for a decade. After all, when you are in times of need, you do have practical needs.
6. The Nurturer: Need a place to crash for peace and support? Need someone to bake you cake, like a lot of cake, to calm your worries? Need someone to play Scrabble with, even when you can only muster certain choice four-letter words? Nurturers are the opposite of Debbie Downers and can serve as Debbie Uppers, boosting spirits and offering you figurative and literal shelter during the storms of life.
7. The Oracle: These are the wise folks who can see what others may not see, offer sage advice, and help solve the toughest problems. They can be as steady as hedgehogs in army tanks, have supercomputer-like brains, and have a palpable inner calm even when the virtual bleep hits the virtual fan.
8. The Advocate: No matter the situation, you are gonna need people who advocate for you, especially when you are not looking. Maybe it's creating opportunities for you by tooting horns for you, reminding everyone in the healthcare system that you are a human being with friends rather than a sack of flour with arms, or spreading your positive reputation far and wide, like a ceiling fan and a fan of you fan.
9. The Empath: These are the gemstones who know you and what you want and need and, here's the key thing, truly feel for you, help you, and want what's best for you. They don't just say, "I'm an empath. Look at me." Instead, they have a knack for saying and doing the right things in the right ways at the right times. They can also help others understand and help you better. True Empaths will show everyone the right paths for you in times of need.
10. The Conductor, Quarterback, or Chair of the Board: Finally, all the supers mentioned above may not naturally come together. So you'll need supers who can help coordinate everyone and everything when needed. These folks are natural leaders, people of action, and those who keenly understand different people and interpersonal dynamics. They'll shield you from the 50 million suggestions, questions, and comments from everyone, approximately 68.712% of which may be well-meaning but impractical. What you will see is the well-oiled result of what Conductors have coordinated. Conductors can quickly rally everyone together even in the matter of hours when you are suffering an unexpected turn of events during a crisis.

Again, while these may seem like 10 distinct super personas, they don't necessarily need to be 10 different non-overlapping people. A given person could encompass more than one persona at a given time. Or maybe a person could be different personas at different times.

Regardless, it's not easy to find any super. The world is more full of pooper rather than super hero personas. If you do have any of the 10 supers, cherish them. And if you happen to have all 10 in some combination, consider yourself lucky. Very lucky.

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