How to Surround Yourself With Good People Throughout Your Life
Track and field star Joel Brown once said, “if you surround yourself with positive people who build you up, the sky is the limit.” Great truth lies within these words.
Life is a journey. Core to the human experience is community and fellowship. Humans excel and thrive in an environment where companionship is emphasized.
When you surround yourself with good people, the possibilities are endless. You can make meaningful connections, form lasting friendships, and even experience the joys of romance.
Continue reading to learn more about how to surround yourself with good people and the impact it can have in your personal and professional life.
The Human Psyche
Our species was designed to be social. We have a deep yearning to feel accepted.
Humans that do not feel loved, appreciated, and valued tend to fall into depression. In turn, one’s social life can have a significant effect on mental health.
Another critical element of the human psyche that cannot be ignored is the effect personal relationships can have on our behavior and thinking. Famous American entrepreneur, Jim Rohn once put it this way, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
The people you spend valuable time with can influence the way you view society, culture, politics, and the world in general.
Example 1: High School Student’s Desire to Fit In
Our first example revolves around a young high school freshman. He wants to feel like he belongs in his high school community. Within his first week, he meets a group of troubled students who take a liking to him.
They invite him to join their group and introduce him to negative behaviors such as property destruction. The young student changes his persona and becomes a troubled youth like his friends. His parents are vastly confused about what happened to their son.
Unfortunately, stories like this happen every day. Such a story is shared to demonstrate how influential peers and friends can be. This is a central reason why it is important to surround yourself with people who hold a strong ethical code.
How to Surround Yourself with Good People
The above two examples offer a glimpse into how a social environment impacts an individual. The great thing about socializing and networking is you get to choose who you spend your time with. The outcome of influence iis completely in your hands.
The outcome of influence iis completely in your hands.
Likewise, when you see things you are uncomfortable with, you have every right to end the relationship or leave a group of people. Surrounding yourself with people who lift you up takes patience. Never settle or compromise your values for belonging.
Clubs and Organizations
After reading the above examples, you might be asking yourself the question, “How can I find good people to connect with?’”Meeting people who have similar interests, hobbies, or careers is a great way to start. One way to find likeminded, successful people is to join a group.
Some people think clubs and organizations are most frequently designed for students, but that is not the case at all.Yes, many high schools and colleges have clubs. It’s part of their extra-circular commitment to the student body. However, there are plenty of options for working adults and retirees as well.
Finding Social Groups As An Adult
Apps like Meetup have made connecting with people far easier. Other ways to learn about clubs and organizations include viewing advertisements at your local library, searching the internet, or researching through social media.
In most cases, club organizers are beyond excited to find new members. They typically target a specific audience and choose appropriate advertising methods. If a club wants a business audience, most likely, the organizers will promote it on Facebook or LinkedIn.
Organizers want to meet people like you. Introduce yourself either online or in person, and the organizers will educate you more about the club.
Example 2: College Student Meets Young Entrepreneur
Above, you read an example of how negative people influence friends or peers. Now let’s demonstrate what a positive situation would look like. This example revolves around a college freshman who decided to attend a university out of state.
With the support of her parents, Julia applied to her dream school and was awarded acceptance. The university is thousands of miles from home. The young woman knows no one in her new state and is nervous about meeting friends.
During orientation, university representatives tell the freshman class about the clubs the school has to offer. One such club is dedicated to entrepreneurship.
Julia wants to learn more about the business world as she is majoring in marketing. The entrepreneur club sounds attractive to her, and she decides to attend the club’s first semester meeting.
To her delight, the people in the club are very friendly. They welcome her with open arms and introduce her to a bunch of members. Through the club, she ends up meeting a business coach, who happens to be a junior and an actual entrepreneur.
The two women get to know each other and become good friends. They decide to start a student business together and make a great impact in the community.
Stories like this happen often as well. The power of networking and finding good people to connect with reaps life-changing results.
Business Networking
Beyond joining industry organizations, business communities are another great avenue for positive socialization. From real estate to toy manufacturing, there is a group for most industries. For example, our ThoughtLeader’s Community is a mastermind group that helps individual entrepreneurs feel connected to each other globally.
Other than online groups, conventions and conferences provide an opportunity to meet peers and make helpful connections. A TEDx conference is one type of event that encourages local community engagement. Audiences eager to learn self-help practices often attend these conferences and establish long-lasting relationships.
You never know where a connection can take you. Someone you meet at a convention may be your next collaborator or partner. This person might be exactly who you need to help achieve your dreams.
Example 3: Medical Entrepreneur Meets Investor
As an example, you meet a wealthy businessman who is looking to invest in exciting new ventures. You want to develop a state-of-the-art medical technology that can help save lives.
At the convention, you discuss your passion project with the investor and impress him. In turn, he offers you a very generous investment that will cover your research and development. This is life-changing in many ways!
The Do’s and Don’ts of Networking
The best networking is done when you surround yourself with good people. Shaking hands and introducing yourself to others is not a difficult thing to do.
To make real connections, you have to spend the time to get to know someone.
Some businessmen and women are shady and put on a fake persona. They key to uncovering these people is holding your undivided trust until you get to know someone over time.
It is important to monitor their words and actions, and determine if they are a positive influence. Here are some questions you can ask yourself in the meantime:
- Is this person worthy of my time and attention?
- Do they seem to genuinely care about my endeavours?
- Will they be helpful for my business?
- Are they a good person?
Remember that someone could be an asset financially, but could be a negative influence or even corrupt. Is that worth it in the long run?
Example 4: Partnering with a Crooked Businessman
A young entrepreneur attends a real estate convention looking to meet investors for an exciting undertaking. He wants to build a resort in the Caribbean.
Many people stop by his booth, but he discovers that having conversations is difficult. None of the people who stopped by were interested in making that large of an investment.
The young man feels defeated and thinks attending the conference was a waste of time and resources.
On the last day, an older man comes up to the booth. He asks about the young man’s dreams. Finally, the entrepreneur has the opportunity to share his plans in detail with someone who seems interested.
The old man listens and does something unexpected. He offers the entrepreneur a large investment. Delighted, the young man accepts it without doing any further research about the investor and his dealings.
If it seems to good to be true, it probably is. Come to find out; the investor was a crooked businessman. He was using money that was not his. In fact, he was the organizer behind a massive Ponzi scheme.
During the middle of construction for the resort, the truth comes out about the investor. He is arrested and placed in federal prison. The entrepreneur now has to deal with handling legalities.
While situations like these are not common, they do happen. Numerous innocent businesspeople have had their careers ruined because they partnered with the wrong person and did not know it. This is why it is critical to do your research and ensure the people you surround yourself with are legitimate.
Be a Thought Leader and Make an Impact Today
In this article, we provided tips on how to surround yourself with good people and why this matters. Through multiple real-life examples, both good and bad, we hope to have conveyed just how influential people can be in your life.
Do you have a message you want to share with the world? Surrounding yourself with good people is one thing you can do to get your message out there.
If public speaking is something you would like to pursue, your words of wisdom can change lives. At Thought Leader, we want to help you achieve that dream.
To learn more about what we do and how we can help you in your journey, please reach out to our team today.
