GOOD KNOWLEDGE, GOOD ASSOCIATIONS.
“You are the same that you are going to be in five years from now except for two things: the people with whom you associate and the books you read”
-Charlie “tremendous” Jones
The most important decisions you would ever make in life are the associations or friends you keep and the books you read. If I were to ask a number of people, including you, what has been the most important decision(s) they’ve made, myriad may not remember, and those that remember may not want to be honest, but if you would be truthful, one of the most important decisions you’ve made are your closest associations and the information you allowed inside of you; and that why the number one excuse people give is always “because of someone else”, but the truth is that you are where you are today because of the choices you’ve made, be it friends, books, or anything, but for the purpose of this chapter let consider how our associations influence our life.
---consider who you spent the most of your time with (may be more than one)
---the information you shared together
---decisions you made together
---mistakes you made together
It is of great value to know that the information you shared together has a lot do with who you are today. And where are information gotten from? Mostly books, so in the end books help shape and influence the decisions you make in your life. Jim Rohn said “you are the average of the five people you spend the most of your time with”.
When we were growing up, our parents always told us not to hang out with some specific people, not because they hated the idea of socializing, but because they knew that we have the propensity to turn out the same way the other people we are associating with turned out to become. That’s why it is of essence to spend quality time with the people you want to become like, if you want to be successful, you’ve got to associate yourself with successful people, you want to be rich, associate with rich people and read books to help you develop a rich mentality.
I have the privilege to be blessed with good families and friends who constantly help me refocus and my life, even since I’ve been young, always giving me advices like “choose good friends”, “know whose child you are”, “you can’t be moving with those kids”……….., and I really appreciate the values they’ve added to my life. It was at this tender age of fourteen that I made those crucial decisions to transform my life as a success; I got involved with books of values ranging from spirituality to entrepreneurship, and since then I’ve read more than hundreds of books that were authored by successful people, got myself friends with high esteems and value, many who I am accountable to. I’m not trying to appraise myself or trying to be proud, but I want you to know the value of good associations, you need to avoid toxic people, and start surrounding yourself with successful people. You must be selective in choosing your friend. Someone said friendship is by choice not by force.
Most of us only read the biographies of successful people and fail to perpetuate their strategies into our life. If you want to be successful, adopt the successful people’s strategies into your actions; reading what they read, thinking the way they think, and most importantly doing what they do.
“I just do not hang around anybody that I do not want to be with, period. For me, that’s a blessing, and I can stay positive. I hang around people who are happy, who are growing, who want to learn, who don’t mind saying sorry or thank you….and are having a fun time”
--John Assaraf
“Do not be deceived, evil company corrupts good habit”
--1 Corinthians 15:33
“He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed” --Proverbs 13:20
