MAKE GOOD CHOICES

Surround yourself with the right people.

This is so true especially when you are self-employed or launching a business. People who have never gone down this road have no idea about the amount of time, effort or self-motivation that is required to keep going.

You want to be around people who understand the struggle and can be supportive. I am not saying to dump all your current friends, but make sure that even in your personal life you spend time with people who get the journey. And, always remember where you choose to spend the majority of your time will impact your productivity, progression and growth.

I have all kinds of people that I hang out with and the one thing I noticed recently is that if something comes up and you can’t get together with a person their reaction can tell you a lot. If you pay close attention you can identify if they are truly being supportive of your dreams and goals.

If you have to cancel with a friend because you have a tight deadline or you had a technology challenge that ate up all of your time – because let’s be real those can sometimes take days to resolve and you don’t have an IT department to do it for you. 

People who are supportive will say:

• “No problem. Let’s reschedule.”
• “That’s a bummer but I totally get it.”

The people who are not so supportive will continue to push to try to get you to say yes. They might try to make you feel guilty, or that you will be missing out on something and some will even resort to begging.

Remember, this is something they want you to do. All they really just care about hearing you say that magic word “YES”.

They might say:

• “Oh come on, it’s only an hour.”
• “You can just come for a bit.”
• “You work too much. You need to take a break.”
• “I really need you to come with me.”
• “Don’t you remember when I helped you do “x” now it is your turn to help me”

Supportive people will help you grow and develop. People who are not supportive have not bought into your goals and dreams.  They are interested in what they want in the moment or they might just want you to stay where you are – available and at their beck and call.

You have a choice to make.

Ask yourself these questions.

• Do you want to accomplish your dreams?
• How should you be spending your time?
• Is this something you really want to do?
• What will you get out of saying yes?
• Will saying yes bring you joy?
• Does saying yes add value to your life?

If YOU want to accomplish YOUR dreams YOU need to be surrounded by the right people and YOU make good choices about where YOU are spending your time. Take note – this is really about YOU and the choices YOU are making.

YOU can’t do it all and YOU can’t be all things to all people.

Take Action – Are you surrounded by the right people?

Use this Worksheet to help you: Take Action – Surround Yourself With The Right People

1. Write down the top five people you spend most of your time with.

2. Answer the following questions for each person. Be honest.

• Are they supportive of your goals and dreams?
• Do you learn anything from them?
• Are they a positive influence in your life?
• After you spend time with them, do you feel energized and ready to go?
• After you spend time with them, do you feel exhausted or drained?

3. Review your responses for each person. If you put a check mark in the NO column you might need to reduce or eliminate the time you spend with this person.

4. Make a list of the five people you think you should be spending time with – the people that will help you accomplish your dreams.

5. Who are you going to add to your top five?

Let me know how this goes for you! I hope you are taking the right steps to accomplish your dreams!

Until next time!