Years ago, a client gave me the draft of the dedication of his book.

His goal was to recognize and express his gratitude to a friend and colleague who had recently died. After several sentences of well-deserved praise, he ended with, “I was honored to call him my friend.”

When you think about that, it doesn’t make any sense.

I changed it to:

“I was honored that he called me his friend.”

You can call anyone your friend, but it doesn’t mean they are. The real honor in friendship comes from the gift of it.

It’s not an honor to call someone you care about and respect your friend, it’s an honor when they call you a friend.