You are Who you Associate with

“You are the same today as you will be in five years except for two things.”
“What two things?” the young man asked.
“The people you meet and the books you read. Think about it. We are the sum total of the knowledge we have and those we associate with. If you read nothing but tabloids, that is what you will know and absorb. If you read biographies about great people and inspirational books, then that too is what you will know and absorb.”
The young man said, “I got that and ‘the people we meet’ part is true too, I suppose.”
“You got that right. ‘Hang around thinkers, and you’ll be a better thinker. Hang around winners, and you’ll be a better winner. Hang around a bunch of complaining, griping boneheads, and you’ll become a better complaining, griping bonehead,'”

This quote is taken from the book “Three Feet From Gold” and how true it is. I have read articles written by military men that build me up and give me pride in our Country. They leave me filled with hope and the promise of a better tomorrow. I see the difference in my own attitude when I walk away from reading that as to listening to media or the whining of fools. Do we want to be the person filled with promise that can now offer hope to others or do we want to be the whining fool complaining about politics, how hard our lives are or why we haven’t been given a chance in life?

I believe we are where we choose to be. It’s up to me to change my circumstances. I will not rely on government or a millionaire to knock on my door. To tell you the truth I wouldn’t even want that. I don’t believe a person can fully appreciate or grow if something is handed to them without any effort in getting it. Those life experiences are what build a person’s character.

Think about other countries versus the United States. People from other countries dream of living in United States so they could have just one chance and opportunity to become great and successful.  Yet our own citizens march in the streets protesting the protection of our nation and asking for handouts because there is no appreciation for their freedom. They were given freedom at the cost of many, but since they themselves did not earn it or give up anything, they do not appreciate it. Do you think what they watch and read has anything to do with this? I would say it has everything to do with it. Laziness of mind has become a crutch and unless we associate with people who reach for a higher level other than the top shelf of a refrigerator we can not honestly expect to change our lives or anyone else’s. “Stop looking for a short cut. Find your discipline.”

“When your mind isn’t working the rest of your body can never be in shape.” If we won’t change who we associate with or what we’re putting into the most important part of our body then we will not move from the exact same place we are standing at right now.  Sure your feet will move but your station in life and your outlook won’t.

It’s like someone who writes a letter and then the next day writes the same one again.  After years of writing the same letter that person wonders why the recipient no longer writes back.  The answer is the recipient has made the chose to move on, they no longer wish to receive or write the same letter back.  They wish to grow and therefore instead of writing another letter they asked for new council and write a book.  After that they did not stop and lavish in the glory, they kept working hard until yet another book was published and another.  The pages in those books changed and inspired thousands of people who are going to inspire their thousands.  The man still writing the same letter however has touched no one because of his unwillingness to change and grow.

What are you reading and who are your friends?  Are the books you read ones that promote growth and inspire you to be the best possible person you can be?  Do they have tools and plans to help you?  Are they gossip magazines, fake news and stories about how the Kardashians are faring?  Are your friends ones that challenge you to grow and think big, or are they friends that drink themselves into a stupor?  Even if they don’t drink, are they whiners, complainers and people who make you feel depressed or worse than before?  These are questions you need to ask yourself if you ever want to meet your bright and full potential.  It’s hard to think about cutting off a friend, but if you think about the outcome the task doesn’t seem so hard.  You may think this is cold and heartless, but so is their attitude toward life.  Life was meant to be lived and enjoyed to the fullest.  We don’t have time to waste on what ifs or hows, on people who don’t have vigor or care about where life might lead them.

Your time is the moment you see your dream and it becomes more to you then a passing image.  Your life changes when you change the people around it and in it.  Who you associate with and what you put into the brain God gave you will determine where you go and who you ultimately become.

Life is not like a box of chocolates where you don’t know what you’re going to get.  Life is you putting the chocolates you want into the bag.  You can’t control death or taxes, but you can control where, what, when, whom and what you do in life.

“In Prosperity Our Friends Know Us. In Adversity We Know Our friends.”

“Never make someone a priority when you are only an option for them.”
“If you are going to achieve excellence in big things,you develop the habit in little matters.
Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude..”..” ― Colin Powell

“You are who you associate with” does matter and in the end will determine what kind of person you will be.

-Heather Earles