Surround Yourself With People You Want To Become.
Speaker Jim Rohn says, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” In mathematical terms, you’d say you are the “mean” of these people, which appropriately leads to my two pieces of wisdom on the subject: 1) don’t hang out with mean people or those who don’t appreciate the human spirit; and (2) choose good friends who are wholly different than you.
Over the course of a lifetime, it’s sad to see how many of us choose carbon copies as our reflections. We could learn a lot more from those who have alternative skills or a differing worldview.
Here’s a minute and a half of my thoughts in a Stanford lecture about why writers, artists, shamans, and other misfits (compared to my MBA brethren) have proven to be my best muses, conceptual blockbusters, and intimate friends.
Is it time to be a little more intentional about the company you keep?
