Who Are The 5 People You Are Surrounding Yourself With?
Have you ever heard it said that you are average of the 5 people you surround yourself with most? I believe it was Jim Rohn who first made the statement…at least he is who usually gets the credit for it!
Think about it for a moment. In fact, grab a pen and paper, and write down the names of the 5 people you surround yourself with. Now, next to each name, write what you think their average annual income is. Go ahead and calculate the average of those incomes. Is it pretty close to how much you make? Kind of scary, isn’t it?
Now the big question is…are you happy with that number?
Is it what you wanted out of life? Or is it short of your expectations?
Take a closer look at that list of 5 again. Are these 5 people making you stretch to reach their level of success, or are they holding you back?
What is your definition of success?
Is it just income? Or does your definition of success encounter other areas of life as well?
For me, success equates to more than just income. I am a believer in what I call the 5 Building Blocks of Life…Health, Relationships, Finance, Business, and Spirituality. When you are firing on all cylinders in these areas, your life goes from good to AMAZING! From mediocre to METEORIC! It’s when you Grab Life Big! Let’s take a closer look at each of the 5 Building Blocks:
HEALTH
We start with health for a reason. If your health isn’t optimal, I am willing to bet all the remaining areas will suffer as well. We need optimal health to be more connected in our relationships; to be more on top of our finances; to help foster a stronger connection to our spirituality; to have the energy to run our business at a high level.
Our health has 3 basic categories we need to focus on.
First is Nutrition. What you put into your body has a direct correlation to the energy that you can expend. It also affects the clarity of your thinking. I am not saying you need to be perfect when it comes to nutrition. Never allowing yourself any indulgences does not make for a fun life in my book.
Personally, when I cut down my sugary sweets and my bread/pasta intake, it made a world of difference. I dropped over 20 pounds. My thinking became clearer. I was more focused and more energetic. Overall, I just felt better. I still have deserts on occasion. But now I find myself opting for Paleo-style home-made desserts rather than store-bought treats. I still have pizza once a week. The cheeseburger and fries? Sure, but here and there, not multiple times a week like before.
Next is Exercise. I hate going to the gym. Actually, I despise it. But I love boxing and martial arts-style workouts. They are fun for me. It keeps me active, and in shape. I look better, which makes me feel better. So I found a gym that offers those types of classes and I am consistent with it. I also like nature. So when the weather isn’t horrible, I will get up and start my day with a nice 30 minute walk. It gets the blood flowing. It releases any stress that might be building up. The stress I am aware of, and even more importantly, the stress I am carrying that I am not aware of.
Finally, we have to Rest. We all know how important rest is. Yet, that doesn’t stop of from burning the candle at both ends. We think, we can catch up on the weekend. Well, it doesn’t work that way. Rest affects your mood, brain and learning functions, as well keeping our hormones balanced. This also helps with our cravings and allows us to make better choices when it comes to nutrition.
Find a mentor that will hold you accountable to your health goals and make a commitment to have weekly check ins at a minimum. Daily check ins work even better.
RELATIONSHIPS
Have you ever stopped to think about how important our relationships are? They have the ability to shape our lives in so many ways. Relationships don’t just consist of you and your significant other (or lack thereof). Your family. Your co-workers. Your friends. Your clients and your competitors and colleagues. I have a few rules that I try intend to apply to all my relationships. I have found that when I use these rules, my relationships tend to flourish. When I was younger, I was not as intentional in my relationships, and surprise, surprise, they weren’t as strong as they are today.
Rule #1: Be A Good Listener. Truly hear not only what the other person is saying, but more importantly, how they are saying it, and why. When I was younger, I thought I was a good listener. Really, I was just waiting to talk. There is a big difference. I have learned that by listening, I could resolve issues or improve situations, by actually SAYING less. Sometimes in our quest to “be right,” we diminish some of our best relationships, which ultimately makes us “wrong.”
Rule #2: Always Come From Contribution. It’s so easy to put ourselves first. In fact, it’s a natural tendency for some of us. However, if you want to see your relationships improve, come from contribution, and put the other party’s needs ahead of your own. Be helpful. Do the right thing. Make the right choice, even when it’s the most difficult. When you stop putting your needs first, you’ll be surprised to see how often your needs are actually met, AND exceeded.
Rule #3: Know When To Cut Bait. We all have those people in our lives. Whether they are friends, co-workers, significant others, or even family. Sometimes they mean well, other times, they are just mean. Either way, it doesn’t matter. When you find yourself in a relationship with someone who is constantly negative, or constantly putting you down, get rid of them. They will only hold you back. Sometimes this is harder than others, and sometimes, it feels impossible, especially when it’s family. All I can say is do your best to limit your exposure. Something else that might be helpful is if you know you are going to be spending time with these energy suckers, prepare in advance. Listen to some positive mindset affirmations or podcasts on the way to see them. Visualize what your perfect day with them will look like and keep that vision in your mind. It won’t make it perfect, but it will make it better.
Find a mentor who has strong relationships in his/her life. Someone who shares the same values that you do. Communicate with this mentor often and ask for guidance as well as needed criticism to improve your relationships on every level.
FINANCE
What is one of the biggest causes of divorce in this country? Finances. Couples fight over the money, or lack there of, they have to pay the bills and live life. A lot of times it becomes a blame game. A lot of times, both parties have contributed to the situation. Whose fault it is really doesn’t matter. What matters is that almost any financial situation, no matter how bad it seems, can be overcome. It takes a plan. It takes commitment. It takes discipline. And it can be done. There are a ton of free resources out there that can help you if your financial situation needs some help. BUT HERE THIS: none of those resources will do you any good, if you don’t create the right habits for financial health. When you take control of your finances, and start collecting assets while shredding debts and liabilities, your world will seem brighter. Start by reading The Richest Man In Babylon.
Regardless of where you are in your finances, find a mentor who has a proven track record for not only helping others get on track, but has also stayed on track with their own finances.
BUSINESS
Everyone should have their own business. Obviously the purpose of this website is based on real estate, so that is the business we will be focusing on here. If you are a sales associate, your sales is one of your businesses. Of course you may also have ownership shares in a title company, or other related businesses. However, sales or investment properties, or both, will most likely be your primary business(es) if you are on this site.
Your business should have a singular purpose: to fund the (your) perfect life. Your business is simply a vehicle to building wealth. As you start building wealth and increasing your net worth, you can start investing the surplus profits into properties, notes, stocks, other businesses, etc. The goal here is to reinvest your profits into assets that will spin-off passive or semi-passive income for you. This is the first step to creating financial independence. For our purposes, financial independence is when you have enough passive income to offset your living expenses.
I highly suggest a business coach and a mentor(s) to help you not only focus on your business…you want it to grow beyond you, so that with leverage and systems you create an asset.
SPIRITUALITY
If health is what is at the foundation of the 5 Pillars, spirituality is what ties them all together. Spirituality is not about religion. It is about your beliefs. It is about having gratitude towards something larger than you. Whether that is God, the universe, or whatever it is that you believe in, spirituality gives us a sense of something greater.
It helps us to put into perspective what is most important in life. Having a sense of spirituality in your life can help you overcome some of the inevitable downturns that can happen in life. I know when my father passed, I lost my sense of spirituality for a long time. As I look back, that time was much darker than it needed to be. Once I found a mentor who helped me regain my spirituality, life began to shine again.
Find a mentor or coach who can help you develop your spirituality, and bring in daily practices that will strengthen those practices.
I am sure you noticed that at the end of each of the 5 Building Blocks I made a suggestion to find a mentor. This doesn’t have to be someone you pay. It just has to be someone who will hold you accountable. Someone who believes in you, and is willing to help you work through the struggles while helping celebrate the successes. Pick mentors who are further along than you are. You want someone who can pull you up. There is a place down the road where you will be a mentor to others and you will do the pulling. Make these mentors the 5 people you surround yourself with. Your financial net worth will increase, and so will your emotional net worth as well.