Are your friends bringing down your value?

Let's think about this for a minute. This doesn't say you are the equivalent of the 5 people you spend the most time with, or that you are as successful as your 5 most successful friends. The AVERAGE of the people you spend the most time with. That means you take that five, and take the MEAN of those 5. If you were to take the average of a set of numbers, and you have 4 low numbers, that 4 brings your total down.

There is a similar and  popular quote in spanish speaking countries... 

“Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres.” Roughly translated, it means, “Tell me who you associate with, and I’ll tell you who you are.” 

We are what we continually do. We also act in an environment in which we are comfortable. If your friends sit around, drink,  and play video games, why would you do any differently? (Hopefully, that doesn't describe too many of you. lol)  Your friends, family, circle, workplace, network, IMMEDIATE access should continually encourage you to take it to that NEXT level. And there's ALWAYS a next level. We thrive on progression. This can be as little or as big as needed for you as long as you are MOVING. People have this general idea for what it means to be better or successful. Your success is just that. YOURS. You don't have to have what your neighbor has or do what your neighbor does, as long as what you are doing and where you are going is better than where you were.  

You cannot LIVE that with people surrounding you that don't believe in the same things. People are generally fearful and selfish. We don't want to be reminded of what we SHOULD be doing. Some people would prefer to be around people worse off than they are, so they don't look bad. And people who aren't on the same page as you may not be willing to encourage your success. 

“It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.”

― Warren Buffett

Who better to quote than Warren Buffett. We fear the challenge of living up to ...Fill in the blank. I want people around me who want it all. I don't want people around me to tell me what I cannot do. My insecure subconscious can do that on its' own.  You can make up an excuse for anything, and it's so much easier to do that than to do and feel 'failure'. The failure is not in doing. It's in NOT trying. 

Who do you have surrounding you today representing your destiny?

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

—Proverbs 27:17

Some things are not meant to RESSURECT

I had the opportunity recently to take some time away from my everyday for a little R and R.  I made a few local trips last year but none that weren't related to a show, and none for me. So, this was the first time I had actually gotten out in over a year. I decided earlier in the year that this was necessary and one day just booked a trip. I saw a few ticket prices to Miami and I have never been to Florida.  Those that know me know that Miami is not really my speed for 'relaxing', so I booked the trip instead, to Ft Lauderdale with the thinking that if I wanted to get into something crazy, I would take the short drive to Miami.  The trip came faster than I knew but immediately after my first show of the year, so I was excited to be able to get away.   

During this time, relaxing was the main thing but I also wanted to reflect on things in my life, where I was, and just reset emotionally, mentally, etc.  There were two main things I wanted to share that left the most impact on me during those few days.

THE SUN RISES for EVERYONE

I went running every morning on the beach before breakfast. There was one morning I went to the beach right across the street from my hotel. Another morning, I biked further south, at least 5-7 miles first, before I began my run. When I entered the beach in both instances, the sun looked the same. It was centered in the background shining on the long expansion of sand to my left and right.  I know how the universe works, but for some reason, I was expecting it to be further up or out of my view because I had moved further along the beach. lol. 

Sometimes, we get hung up on feeling badly because we don't have what we need or we don't think we have enough.  Most of the time we have what we need. We just decide to 'sleep in' and with your hustle from day to day, you miss the basic things that are always there for you.  Take the time to reflect on the quiet and the people, friends, family, situations, etc that have always been there for you. The people and situations that are your rock don't usually change, because they ARE consistent. Don't establish your base with people or things that don't have roots. When you need to come back to them, they need to be there, unconditionally and ready to rejuvenate you. Choose who falls into this bucket wisely. 

LETTING GO does not mean GIVING UP

I love being outdoors, and I love the sun. I can put good use into a pair of sneakers when the weather is right. Last summer, I bought my first pair of Brooks, which is a really great brand of running shoe.  I did an impulse purchase actually, because I was supposed to go to boot camp outdoors with one of my trainers, and I forgot to pack my sneakers. I stopped off at the first running store I found but it was a great store. They tested my running pattern on a treadmill to determine which sneaker would work best. I found that I  have a neutral gait but apparently a choosy color selection because every color I chose, they did not have. lol. So, LITERALLY 7 pairs later, I found a color I could wear every day. 

Now, you are supposed to change out your sneakers almost as often as you change your oil in your car depending on how much you run. Every 3000 miles or every 3 months. During the summer, I can run at least 4 days a week. By August, I should have been ready for new shoes. THEY WERE SO COMFORTABLE. I even had someone send me new ones for Christmas, but I continued to wear my old shoes. One day, someone in class says, ' Are those your socks?'  I looked down at my shoes, and sure enough, my toe was poking out of the side. lol. Ah, I think it's really time to let go.  

While I was in FL, I took one last picture, posted above, as a final farewell.  I knew I wouldn't NOT wear them unless I didn't have them. What better place to bury my shoes than the sunny state of Florida.   We do this in life too, right? Sometimes, you outgrow things, people, situations. Sometimes, things in your life just need to be replaced.  You've had them too long, or they are no longer useful to you in the capacity you had originally intended. No longer GOOD for you, no matter how USED to them you have gotten.  But we hang on to it, because we're used to it. It still feels ok, for the most part.  It feels ok because we're used to the feeling and we are afraid the 'new pair' will hurt our feet. 

When I finally put on the new pair, my ankles hurt and my shins were sore. NOT because these were bad shoes, but because I wore the OLD shoes too long. The new shoes had to correct what bad posture I had established in a pair of shoes I should have let go of a long time ago. There will be growing pains. There is PAIN when you have GROWTH, but you have to move forward, let go, and sometimes, go through a little discomfort to finally come to a better place.

These are my sneakers by the trash at the hotel. Even looking at this makes me a little sad.  

Courage is a choice. Choose courage over fear.