“If you want to get to the next level, you must hang out with people at the next level.” –Eric Thomas
To be an outstanding athlete, businessman or woman, doctor or student, you must play and surround yourself with people who are where you want to be. Two years ago, a good friend of mine told me that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Are you spending your time with people on your level? Or with people above, or below, the level of success you aspire to achieve? As soon as I heard her say this, I took a close look at where I was spending a lot of my time. Pretty quickly I found that I was spending time with groups that were not furthering my personal or business development. Now, I’m not suggesting that you lose any friendships with people in your life, it’s always important to maintain friendships. I am suggesting taking a look at the people at a level of success that you wish to be, and surround yourself with these people more than anyone else. By surrounding yourself with people who have achieved what you want to achieve, you will be privy to the success tips that will further your own potential.
While watching your greatness expand, as you surround yourself with a new group, do not be afraid to express your full potential. As I look back to my high school, college and even a few years post college, I will tell you that there were many times that I did not express my full potential. Some of you may call me crazy for doing what I did, and others may not relate to this at all because you DO play full out at all times. Even though you may not be in the same shoes I was in, I can suggest that you may know or may be playing with people who aren’t playing full out. For you, I suggest living out your greatness even more, and using it to motivate people to play up to your level. I would not be surprised if there are a few people out there who are holding back, the same way I did. For me, it was a combination of guilt and being afraid of what people would think if I played full out and failed. There was a period of time where I would feel guilty if I beat someone, or played harder than my teammates during practice. Along with this, I was afraid of looking really bad if would give my all and come up short. For anyone in the shoes I was in, I am going to tell you this is brain damage and the best thing to do is play your heart out at anything in life, 100% of the time. By committing to playing full out, and surrounding myself with people at a level of success I want to get to, I have been able to let go of the guilt and the fear and I have discovered my own success that continues to expand.
Wherever you are, it is perfect. If you are ready to take it up a notch, take it to the next level and soar with people above you! If you are looking back at your games and your practices and thinking it may be time to play up, go for it! The person who shows up cannot be beat. If you show up, give it your all and play up, all of the time… you WILL succeed!
Thank you for letting me share some of my story…are you ready to play up?
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