Goals are an important part of life. They instill passion and drive. They make us better people. They help us achieve our dreams.

I have had a goal (dare say I a dream?) ever since I started using the professional social network, LinkedIn. My goal was to be one of the few, the proud who could display that “500+” next to his name for the number of contacts I had linked to. It says more than just the fact that I know more people than you. It says, “I know so many people, I am not going to tell you how many. You only know that it’s more than 500.”

I would lay awake at nights staring at the ceiling and drawing out “500” with my eyes. When my daughter was born, my wife had to snatch the birth certificate from my trembling hands before I could write in “500 Contacts Critchfield.” I wanted to instill he importance of my dream in my children.

Well, after many months of blood, sweat, and tears, I can finally say I am part of the 500 club. The agony, the pain, and the sleepless nights were an easy price to pay for the euphoria I feel today. I did it without becoming a “link whore.” As Ol’ Blue Eyes would say, “I did it my way.”

Who was the lucky person who made my dream come true, you ask? Mr. Mac Wrigley, Assistant Vice President, Construction Loan Officer at Syringa Bank. I have known Mac for almost 8 years now and he is a scholar and a gentleman. So, Mr. “Give Me a Loan So I Can Build Another Ugly Strip Mall,” this one’s for you. You made one young man’s dream come true!