The Company You Keep
What do you want to be when you grow up? Remember this question? It is asked everyday by unthoughtful parents and adults. I say unthoughtful because, typically, after this question is asked there is no follow through of further conversation about the topic by the parent or adult. The adult may say, “Well you need to go to college and get really good grades to be an engineer.” We are failing when asking this question because we don’t say, or possibly don’t know, that the company we keep is just as important, or more important, than academic achievement.
Think about the six adults you spend the most time with. Are they people you admire and respect? Do they possess at least one characteristic you are in awe of, such as confidence, or patience, or integrity? Are they successful professionally? If you do not take something from these people who include themselves in your inner circle, it is probably time to start looking for a new set of pals. Mutually beneficial relationships keep us interdependent and growing as people.
Surround yourself with people doing things and going places, people of adoration and esteem. They will speed your development as a person and you will sharpen their personal and professional acumen through the questions you ask and the stumbles you take. FIND GOOD MENTORS, at least six, to become trusted advisors to your life’s work and development. And, next time you ask a kid what they want to be when they grow up, make sure you ask what his friends want to do as well.
Contributor: Alex Gothard