We Become the Average of the Five People We Spend Most Time With

Many of us perform jobs for extended periods of time that are not the perfect fit. We perform tasks we do not like, and that do not match our skill set. We often choose to work with people we do not like nor respect just because we need to pay bills and make ends meet. Oh, well that is part of life, and part of learning and growing. While we all must go through some of this in life, we all have a chance to stand up, make some firm choices to build our own future that is best for us and for our families. I say this as over seventy percent of Americans and Europeans spend most of their lives in jobs and careers they do not like, often because of job security, risk averseness, and overall lack of a plan. These career choices often are also the result of the wrong advice, often benign advice done by our parents or our teachers.

Well, I think this can be changed for the better, and as I argue in several of my interviews and blogs, success and happiness are choices, and not the results of random events. To get there though, we need to implement decisions that help us get to the identified objectives. As a start we need to prioritize the decision we need to focus on in order to build the self-confidence that allows us to advance our personal growth.

Keep in mind that we perform around 30 thousand decisions per day, and if you are an entrepreneur this number is much higher. In order to focus on those decisions that make us grow the fastest, and “Become mentally and physically unstoppable”, here are five areas of focus to build a path to success. I call these “low regret actions” as they will deliver lasting success regardless of your identified life’s objectives”

• Exercise every day for 1 hour. While this seems like a lot, it is not when you start counting how many hours a day you spend on social media, or on other digital “non-growth actions”. Focus on your body wellness and fitness as it will deliver happiness and self-confidence.
• Read a book a month in the area of your expertise. The more you read, the more you learn, and the more you learn, the more you learn. If you are not a reader, become one. It is just a matter of prioritizing your inner growth, which coincidentally is an investment in yourself.
• Spend 15 minutes in nature every day as this will help you understand your priorities in life. Nature will act as a way to meditate and will help you prioritize what matters and let go of everything else.
• Start with no when you get offered to join a project, go to a party, and/or any other distracting event. Instead of trying to please everyone and saying yes, start saying no unless the yes will help you accomplish your N1 goal in life.
• Surround yourself with outstanding people: As we become the average of the five people we spend most time with (outside of our close family), we’d better be very selective about who you spend time with. Ensure that the five people that enter your lives are likable, ethical, energetic and talented. This will deliver lasting results and positive energy.

Final Thought

Thriving in life is the result of the sum of decisions. And often, what you decide not to do is more important than what you decide to do. Hence understand and use No as your default decision setting. Don’t worry about right or wrong decisions, as there are not such things, think instead of the smartest decision you can make that will get you quicker to your most important goal in life and in business. What you should not do to start with, is work with people you don’t like, and you don’t respect. While accomplishing this will take time, start a list right away listing people that you need to remove from your life. The sooner you replace bad or unnecessary people with incredible people in your life, the sooner you will start learning, become more confident and focused on the actions that matter most.