Want to be a Better Person? Pick the Right Books and the Right People
Five years from now you will be the same as you are today except for two things: The people you meet and the books you read. ~ Charles "Tremendous" Jones
We are the sum total of our experiences from the beginning to just a moment ago. This is also the sum total of the knowledge we have and the people we associate with. If you read nothing but gossip and social media updates from random people, that is what you will know and absorb. If you read biographies about great people, personal development books, inspirational stories, then that is what you will know and absorb.
As for people, hang around thinkers and you will be a better thinker. Hang around winners and you will be a better winner.
Hang around a bunch of complaining and whining losers and you'll be a better complaining and whining loser.
What I really, really, like about regular personal assessment is that throughout a 5-year span there are many opportunities for growth, improvement, refinement, and achievement.
One example from my own story:
5 years ago, in the year 2012, I was a partner in a training business that wasn't growing and needed to be closed. I was hanging around people who settled for OK and I was personally struggling because I wanted more. I was slowly adding new people to my inner circle. Eventually, I dissolved the partnership and broke ties with that person, focused on moving forward and learning from those who were further along than I was and here I am today. Had I stayed with that partner in the training business I would still be struggling against an urge to be more, do more.
Where were you 5 years ago?
What were you doing?
Who were you hanging around?
Where are you today?
What are you doing?
Who are you hanging around?
Has anything changed? Does anything need to be changed?
Do you have questions about where to find better books or where to find people to surround yourself with?
Share your thoughts in the comments - let's discuss it.
this post originally appeared in The GROW Alliance Facebook group
Very thought provoking post, thank you. Reading is like taking ideas from the mind of someone wiser and smarter than yourself and using them for your benefit, it's very valuable. Looking forward to your future posts, resteemed this so more people can see.
I'm glad you liked the post. I agree about the reading - the best thing about books is that I can access the wisdom and experience of many who have gone before me. I can read Plato or Benjamin Franklin, Anne Frank or Viktor Frankl, J.R.R. Tolkein or Isaac Asimov. I'm better for having read them, and am greater for having applied what I learned from them. Thanks for the resteem! I appreciate it.
That's very true, it's amazing really. Likewise, I've learned a lot from books and am a better person for it. No, thank you for the amazing post! It made me realise I need to start reading consistently.