I like Nassim Taleb's adage that if you can say why you are friends with someone you probably aren't their friend. You need a funnel of potential candidate frie

I like Nassim Taleb's adage that if you can say why you are friends with someone you probably aren't their friend. You need a funnel of potential candidate friends and the best ones emerge from that. If you go one by one and decide whether they meet this or that criteria, you will end up with none. Practice openness, it's an acquired skill, especially when you learn to balance it with setting boundaries for yourself as well.