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

Will you be there...?

I have a group of ladies that are on a 10 week challenge to get into a bikini! For some of you, you are probably like what's the big deal, I go to nude beaches. lol. Some people have never worn a bikini, IN LIFE! Can you imagine that? There are people you see at the beach in shorts and a tee and that is the most stripped down they will be in public. So, THIS is a huge step for some of these ladies, and for some a note able shift in their lives.  I don't want to focus on that, just yet. What I want to talk to you about is commitment. The long haul. The after, after. I told the ladies that I want their COMMITMENT, not their EXCITEMENT.

I love it when people say they are excited about something, don't you?! ' OMG I'm so excited about *fill in the blank*. I can't wait to do *fill in the blank*. Oh this time I"m gonna ' FILL..IN ...THE ...BLANK'
Then what happens? You ask them about it later and they are equally UNEXCITED about what they were ECSTATIC about in the beginning. Back to the challenge. Sure, I needed the excitement in the beginning. The excitement brings about the decision to act. EXCITMENT is an emotion. I can be excited about something today, and HATE (another emotion) something tomorrow. If we were required to grant refunds on emotion, I would not make any money. But, once people commit something they think is substantial, ie money, then they are more willing to complete the task they promised at the inception. It's funny that our WORD isn't substantial enough.

I am speaking on exercise but this applies to life. Your 'new year's resolutions' to workout and get in better shape, and lose weight and lack thereof after  2 weeks at a meager attempt to keep a consistent schedule is no different than the 'moves' you're going to make to get a new job, or the lack luster attempt you make at  working at your relationship. Only then, to blame the failure on some outlier when your heart, determination and motivation weren't there in the beginning. Why do we say we want these things ? Because we really DO want these things. Why don't we follow through? Fear of failure? Fear of what's next? Fear of success even. Self sabotage? Sometimes the next steps to the success requires some change from you that you fear. Laziness? Fear of extra work? We don't want to risk being hurt whether it be our hearts, or our ego. You see, most people expect you to fail. It's so much easier to fall into everyone's expectations of being less than your full potential. Really think about that. How many people do you have in your immediate circle that push you to do more than you dream? What's the first thing a lot of people say to your desires or goals? 'That won't work' ' Oh a friend of mine did that and didn't like it' 'You've never been able to do that. What makes you think that will work now?' ' Oh well good luck, but you know how you are'  Be careful who you reach out to for 'advise' or confirmation. Your 'friends' are sometimes the worst comforters with their 'honest' opinions.

What do you want to do today? Then do it, and stick with it. Not tomorow. Not next week. Not when you feel better. Not when it stops snowing....

Write it down, slap that bitch on your wall...and own it.