If you were to evaluate the major influences in your life that have shaped the kind of person you are, this has to be high on the list: the people and thoughts you choose to allow into your life. Mr. Shoaff gave me a very important warning in those early days that I would like to share with you. He said, "Never underestimate the power of influence." Indeed, the influence of those around us is so powerful! Many times we don't even realize we're being strongly affected because influences generally develop over an extended period of time.
Peer pressure is an especially powerful force because it is so subtle. If you're around people who spend all they make, chances are excellent that you'll spend all you make. If you are around people who go to more ball games than concerts, chances are excellent that you'll do the same thing. If you are around people who don't read, chances are excellent that you won't read.
People can keep nudging us off course a little at a time until finally, we find ourselves asking, "How did I get here?" Those subtle influences need to be studied carefully if we really want our lives to turn out the way we've planned.
With regard to this important point, let me give you three key questions to ask yourself. They may help you to make better analysis of your current associations.
Here is the first question: "Who am I around?" Make a mental note of the people with whom you most often associate. You've got to evaluate everybody who is able to influence you in any way.
The second question is: "What are these associations doing to me?" That's a major question to ask. What have they got me doing? What have they got me listening to? What have they got me reading? Where have they got me going? What do they have me thinking? How have they got me talking? How have they got me feeling? What have they got me saying? You've got to make a serious study of how others are influencing you, both negatively and positively.
Here's a final question: "Is that okay?" Maybe everyone you associate with has been a positive, energizing influence. Then again, maybe there are some bad apples in the bunch. All I'm suggesting here is that you take a close and objective look. Everything is worth a second look, especially the power of influence. Both will take you somewhere, but only one will take you in the direction you need to go.
It's easy to just dismiss the things that influence our lives. One man say's, "I live here, but I don't think it matters. I'm around these people, but I don't think it hurts." I would take another look at that. Remember, everything matters! Sure, some things matter more than others, but everything amounts to something. You've got to keep checking to find out whether your associations are tipping the scales toward the positive or toward the negative. Ignorance is never the best policy. Finding out is the best policy.
Perhaps you've heard the story of the little bird. He had his wing over his eye and he was crying. The owl said to the bird, "You are crying." "Yes," said the little bird, and he pulled his wing away from his eye. "Oh, I see," said the owl. "You're crying because the big bird pecked out your eye." And the little bird said, "No, I'm not crying because the big bird pecked out my eye. I'm crying because I let him."
It's easy to let influence shape our lives, to let associations determine our direction, to let pressures overwhelm us, and to let tides take us. The big question is, are we letting ourselves become what we wish to become?
Next week we'll take a look at the three forms of disassociating from negative influences. Until then,
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
Reproduced with permission from Jim Rohn's Weekly E-zine. Copyright 2005 Jim Rohn International. All rights reserved worldwide. To subscribe to Jim Rohn's Weekly E-zine, go to http://jim-rohn.inspiresyou.com
ohare limo service Grand Rapids ..It has been truly said, and history confirms, that the... Read More
Did you see or hear about 'The Masters' golf tournament... Read More
It is accepted that most people have felt shy at... Read More
Does the thought of failure send a cold shiver down... Read More
I confess, I love westerns. There is nothing like those... Read More
Successful people do not achieve success on their own, they... Read More
Two Immigrants Live The American DreamSome may call it a... Read More
Back in my early marketing days, finding the magic ticket... Read More
An unexamined life is not worth living ? SocratesAll too... Read More
Have a therapeutic meltdown It's crunch time: you're two days... Read More
Do you have what it takes to be really successful?Have... Read More
If you're so smart, why ain't you rich?Becoming a millionaire... Read More
We speak every day without fully recognizing the impact our... Read More
On a raw, cold day in the European Alps, Lance... Read More
However there is one success secret that costs nothing. And... Read More
Want to be successful in whatever it is you choose... Read More
Have you ever had this feeling? You're standing in front... Read More
Is it difficult to be professional?I think from my experience... Read More
Are you getting frustrated because the work you continue to... Read More
This summer (2005) huge crowds in England and Australia have... Read More
We all know as we are progressing towards our personal... Read More
What does "Lessons from My Garden" have to do with... Read More
Success starts in your mind. Positive Thinking creates the advantage.Success... Read More
Finding balance is deciding to notice what goes on in... Read More
Bank account bare? Bedroom barren? Body running on empty? Buddha... Read More
executive chauffeured services Barrington Hills ..My studies of the highly successful prove that they continually... Read More
I call the following seven belief lies of success, taking... Read More
If you've been walking this earth for any length of... Read More
You're enjoying a perfectly shallow conversation with a good friend... Read More
IF and WHEN were friends. Every week they met and... Read More
George Burns' career could have ended as early as 1958,... Read More
Absolutely no one can underestimate the power of the mind... Read More
Success is something that happens all by itself once you've... Read More
Frederick W. Smith attended Yale University and wrote a paper... Read More
Three key words to remember: weigh, count and measure. Now,... Read More
Why is it that most people still equate being successful... Read More
As a professional speaker, father and business owner I often... Read More
Mike, his feet dangling above the city, opened his lunch... Read More
Many different daily tasks require a strategic process to be... Read More
Critics can destroy or inspire you. Your own self critic... Read More
Here are 3 powerful steps you can take to free... Read More
Along with time and money, energy is one of your... Read More
'No man is an island' the saying goes. The implication... Read More
Here are 10 of 26 proven strategies gleaned from interviews... Read More
To achieve success it can be important to keep going... Read More
Visualize success, and what you'll do to reward yourself A... Read More
Failure is GreatYou are probably asking yourself what could be... Read More
Being busy has become a way of life for many... Read More
Knowing when to disconnect, shut it off, unplug, or walk... Read More
Make a game out of reaching your goals Go to... Read More
Success |