Meet the man on a mission to make 10,000 friends. This lofty friendship goal is one that he has spent years striving toward. Watch the short but powerful clip to learn about the man who has made friendship a big goal of his and how he is going about making it a reality.

Social media has exploded within the last decade or so. It’s nearly everywhere we look, having impacted many areas of our lives. On the popular platforms, in addition to needlessly arguing with complete strangers and posting and looking at photos of cats and dogs, people can collect followers, or friends, as Facebook refers to them.

But what does having a “friend” on Facebook mean if it’s someone you haven’t talked to or seen in years, or if they are someone you have never met and don’t even know? Not a whole lot is the correct answer. At that point, the number of friends someone has on Facebook is nothing more than some odd status symbol.

In a clip posted on YouTube, Rob Lawless explains how and why he set a goal of making 10,000 friends. He has been working on it for nearly 10 years.

“I thought it was fascinating, this idea that a chance interaction could change your path, and I wanted to ask myself, ‘What happens if you introduce 10,000 chance interactions to your life?’”

In the video, Rob states what he considers making a new friend and what he and they must do to consider that a new friendship.

“We just have to spend an hour together, one on one,” he said. “And there’s no set list of questions. It’s not an interview.”

Rob’s friends range in age from a 5-year-old boy to a 100-year-old woman. He has also traveled to many different countries while working toward his goal.

“You expand your perspective with every interaction that you have with someone,” he said.

Proverbs 17:17 “A friend is loving at all times, and becomes a brother in times of trouble.”