Surround Yourself with
Successful People
AFFIRMATIONS
for
Meditation and Reflection
I am joyfully surrounding myself with positive people who have a solution-oriented approach to life.
Because we become like the people we spend the most time with, I am spending my time with people who lift others up rather than put them down.
I am feeling energized being surrounded by people who are happy and committed to lifelong learning.
You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
—JIM ROHN
Business philosopher and bestselling author
When I was a first-year history teacher in a Chicago high school, I dubbed the teacher’s lounge the “Ain’t It Awful Club.” Clouds of cigarette smoke and emotional negativity hung constantly in the air. It didn’t take long before I was sick and tired of hearing things like, “There is no way you can teach these kids; they are totally out of control.” A constant stream of negative judgments, criticisms, blaming, and complaining flowed unabated throughout the lounge.
But by dropping out of the Ain’t It Awful Club—by never hanging out in the teacher’s lounge—here’s how that first year turned out: I was selected by the students as Teacher of the Year, and it was only my first year of teaching! I had instead joined a group of dedicated teachers in the school library who actually believed they could overcome any obstacle in their path. I wanted to be successful, and I wanted my students to be successful, so I chose to become a conduit for positivity and encouragement. You can make that choice, too.
I am joyfully surrounding myself with positive people who have a solution-oriented approach to life.
Parents are forever telling their children not to associate with certain kids because they know we become like the people we hang out with. If you want to be successful, follow the average parent’s advice and start hanging out with successful people.
The other day I ran into a friend who started to tell me how difficult it is for her to meet successful, unmarried men. When I asked her where she’d been looking, she rattled off a list of local bars and nightclubs. I suggested she change her approach and start looking where quality single guys are more likely to hang out.
So it is with friends and anyone else you associate with.
Get active in your industry associations, attend professional conferences and lectures, sign up for a retreat, get active in your Chamber of Commerce or with other civic groups like Toastmasters, Optimists International, and the Rotary Club. Volunteer to serve at your church, temple, or mosque with other leaders. Get on the board of a local charity you care about. When you fly, upgrade to first-class or business-class whenever you can, and use airline premier clubs when you have a layover at the airport. There are lots of places where you’ll find high achievers. Go to where they are and make some connections.
Because we become like the people we spend the most time with, I am spending my time with people who lift others up rather than put them down.
My mentor W. Clement Stone taught me a valuable exercise that I’d like you to do today:
Make a list of all the people you spend time with regularly, like your family members, colleagues, gym partners, or the people in your church or civic groups. Then, put a minus sign (–) next to the people who are negative and toxic, and put a plus sign (+) next to those who are positive and nurturing.
Do you see a pattern emerging? Is your family or workplace full of toxic people? Are your friends encouraging you or are they triggering a lack of self-esteem and undermining your self-confidence? Make an honest decision about each person on your list based solely on their negative or positive impact on your life.
Now comes the hard part. See all those people in the negative column? Find a way to remove yourself from their sphere of influence or at least reduce the amount of time you spend around them. Try to replace them with people who would fit into the positive column—or spend more time with the positive people already in your life. Until you reach the point in your self-development where you no longer allow people to affect you with their negativity, you’re better off spending time alone, doing things like visualizing your dreams!
I am feeling energized being surrounded by people who are happy and committed to lifelong learning.