“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
— Jim Rohn
Yikes! It might be time to find some new friends.
Seriously, you are influenced by the people with whom you spend the bulk of your time. Who are those people? Think through a typical week in your life. Who do you hang out with most? Is it your family, people at work, or members of a church group, a book club, a hiking group? Who are your closest friends? Who do you go to for advice?
Some people respond to this statement with a feeling of helplessness. They didn’t choose their five people. They’re stuck with the group they have due to circumstances beyond their control. That is completely untrue. You cannot cry victim here. You have every right to choose the people around you. The controls are in your hands and no one else’s.
Seek out people you admire, and spend time with them. Do you have an elderly relative who holds a wealth of information about your heritage? Why not sit at her feet and let her tell you about your family? Is there someone at work you really admire? Sit down with them in the lunchroom and start a conversation.
Your assignment today is to take a critical look at the five people you spend the most time with. Are they individuals who inspire you? Do they make you laugh, or do they bring you down? Do they belittle you, or do they encourage you? Do they nurture you and allow you to grow, or do they squash your dreams every chance they get? You are influenced both positively and negatively by people around you. It is time to choose your friends wisely.
DAY
12
“Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time . . . The wait is simply too long.”
— Leonard Bernstein
Inspiration is not just for writers. It is a wonderful asset for achieving your dreams in any walk of life. Finding inspiration, though, is an interesting and sometimes frustrating journey. Most of us wait for it to hit, like nomads in the desert searching the sky for the possibility of rain.
Leonard Bernstein suggested that you can do more than wait. Develop a plan for the off time. Set an approach to life when you are not bubbling over with inspiration. You can accomplish just as much on an average, uninspired day, if you are in the practice of cultivating inspiration. The work is just a bit more tedious.
One terrific way to cultivate inspiration is to start a journal. Get in the practice of writing in your journal every day. If you don’t know what to say, write “I don’t know what to say.” Pretty soon you’ll get bored with that statement and write down what’s really on your mind. The key to journaling is honesty. This is not an assignment you will ever turn in to a teacher, so say what you really feel.
When you journal, you are turning over the earth of your mind and soul and getting it ready for planting ideas. Journaling is a non-judgmental task. Just write down what comes to mind. Let your pen on the paper be an extension of your thoughts. Do not try to think about what you are going to say first and then write it down. This is not meant to be a perfect composition. The action is much more important than the result.
DAY
13
“Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you.”
— Mother Teresa
It is easy to worry about the numbers. “I’m not spending enough time with my children.” “I don’t make enough money in my job.” “I only made it to the gym once this week.” “I gave a donation to a charity, but they need so much more.” That kind of worry leads to a feeling of being overwhelmed, and that’s a dangerous place. When you feel overwhelmed, you are precariously close to giving up.
Don’t let yourself go down that dark alley. Concentrate on the present. What can you do right now that would cause a positive ripple effect? Is one of your children struggling with math homework? Go help them right now. Is there a part-time job you can pick up a couple of nights a week to boost your income? Apply for it. Have you pursued new job opportunities recently that would include an increase in salary? It can’t hurt to look. Do you feel fat and flabby today? Go for a walk or get yourself to the gym no matter what. Concentrate on what you can do today, and force yourself to drop your worries about tomorrow every time they surface.
One of the best ways to get out of the funk of worry is to be helpful to someone else. It immediately takes your mind off of your own problems, and it feels good. Are you a member of a volunteer organization? You don’t have to necessarily join the Peace Corps to help. What can you do in your community today to help someone other than yourself? You will be surprised to see how reaching out to others will eventually help you.
DAY
14
“You have achieved success if you have lived well, laughed often and loved much.”
— Author Unknown
If you died today, would you be able to look back on your life with satisfaction, or would you feel like you missed out? Life is not merely meant to be endured. It is really meant to be celebrated every step of the way. Are you having fun yet?
Don’t wait for the big pay-off before you start enjoying your life. There is no proof to support the idea that successful people must pay their dues by toiling endlessly and forfeiting happiness for a number of years until they reach their goal. You can actually be happy and enjoy life all along the road to success. It’s true! Take off your blinders and look at the scenery. There is so much out there for you to experience. Life is a journey, not a destination. You have a 100 percent chance of dying, but it’s what you do between now and then that counts.
One of the greatest measures of success is friendship. Have you lived well with your friends and family? Do you isolate yourself from them, or do you get together and share laughter and love?
How do you define success? Is it purely monetary? What makes your life good? Do you agree with this quote? The definition of a successful life is different for everyone. It is up to you to define when and how you achieve success.
Your assignment today is to write down five things in your life for which you are grateful and five ways in which you are successful today.
DAY
15
“If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”
— Thomas Edison
What are you capable of doing? Do you have any idea? Have you ever tested your limits? Thomas Edison suggests that very few of us have a clue about our real capabilities. What might we accomplish if we work together using our resources to their fullest? It is an awesome thing to consider. How wonderful it would be to be part of a world where we all explored our capabilities. Is that a ridiculous dream? Not necessarily.
The first step in discovering your capabilities is to try new things. You have no idea what you are capable of until you try. Janet always thought it would be incredible to climb a mountain, but she wasn’t in very good shape. She set a date in early September and gave herself a year to work up the nerve. She walked with her best friend, Judy, four or five times a week. They started out walking around the block, but every week they increased their distance just a little. By August, the ladies were hiking nearly twenty miles a week.