We are a culmination of the five people with whom we spend the most time. As a business owner, you need to consider taking inventory of your inner circle to make sure you are surrounding yourself with the right people to support your success.
Maybe you've heard the phrase...
You are a culmination of the five people with whom you spend the most time.
As you navigate your creative career, this is certainly something to consider!
If you're on a mission to building the career of your dreams, consider the following questions:
Who's influencing you right now?
Who's voice is loudest in your mind?
Are the people you're surrounding yourself with daily adding value to your life, or taking it away?
Over the past several years, I've placed intentional focus on making sure that I'm spending quality time with people who inspire me. People who challenge me. People who think differently, look differently, create differently.
Why?
I started noticing that when I spent a meaningful amount of time with friends who didn't have ambition, or family who didn't embrace my entrepreneurial, mission-driven lifestyle, I found myself falling deeper and deeper in creative ruts, and more frequently, too!
As I began to place more intention on surrounding myself with thoughtful, passionate, and curious people, my energy shifted to a more productive and empowered place. This was happening without any effort on my end. The act of simply surrounding myself by the right people made a huge positive impact in my overall well-being.
The people with whom you spend the most time will ultimately play a role in shaping who you are and who you are becoming.
If you want to achieve greatness (whatever that means to you), or reach the next level of your career, go find someone who has already done what you want to do! Talk to them, interview them, take them to coffee or hop on a video chat. Read their books, listen to their podcasts, enroll in their programs. Immerse yourself.
When you have big dreams, but you are consistently spending your time with mediocre people or unproductive mindsets, you're slowing yourself down big time.
But, don't stress. The five people of our inner circle can change often.
Today I want to challenge you to be more intentional about the people you allow into your inner circle. Are they contributing to your success, or holding you back?
This doesn't mean to you have to drastically cut off ties with your one friend who only wants to eat pizza and play video games all day (...although sometimes extreme measures are needed). It simply means you need to spend MORE time with more influential, growth-mindset individuals than you do with the unambitious thinkers.
Don't forget to include yourself in your top five influencers. Your inner voice carries a lot of weight! Be sure that voice is speaking to you with honesty, kindness, and love.
So... who's your five?
Today is a good time to start taking inventory of the people you allow to occupy the space in your thoughts so you can begin moving more forcefully toward your dreams in life.
You've got this (with a little help from your top five friends)!
CALL TO ACTION: Grab your journal and write down the names of the top five people you honestly spend the most time with. Who's voices are you consuming the most? Now, write down all of the positive and negative value that they bring to your life. When you notice the negative list growing longer than the positive, it is time to reevaluate that person's place in your top five, and start searching for a new member of the inner circle.