Circle of Influence
"You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." It's a quote that I had heard a long time ago, but it wasn't until recently that I really started to think about it and consider its validity. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that as a baseball player, I really was probably the average of the five players I hung out with the most. There were guys who were a bit further along than me in terms of their career as well as those that were a bit further behind. Now I often wonder if the outcome of my career would have been changed had I only spent the majority of my time, say in the offseasons, with players that were way ahead of me. In other words, would my path have changed if I only worked out with established big leaguers?
While at this point it can really only be a fun thought exercise, I'm convinced that it could have only had a positive effect on me. Why? Without going into a huge baseball digression, I think I can sum it up into one main thought: big leaguers talk about and do big league things, and they have to if they want to keep being big leaguers. Therefore, the more time I spend with them, the more I start to talk, act, and eventually play like a big leaguer. To go to another extreme, if during my offseasons I only worked out with high school players, it's pretty safe to say I would have gotten worse.
As I've transitioned full-time into the real estate industry, I've found this to be especially true. I'd say the most difficult part of the transition is surrounding myself with people who are doing what I want to do. So while it may be too late to do it with baseball, it is probably my number one priority when it comes to business. I am doing everything I can to surround myself with extremely high-level, successful people who are WAY ahead of me and are doing what I want to be doing. While it is still very early in the process, I've learned more in the last 6 months by regularly talking with just a couple people who are in what I consider to be the "big leagues" of business.
Another point to note is that everything I've learned from these people is actually already out there on the internet for free, while spending time with and interacting with these people directly wasn't free. Can you spend hours reading and watching videos and find the same information without paying for it? Sure, but it would likely take you a lot longer and you're also not interacting with the material. I can't tell you how many times I've read something in a book and thought I understood it, only to find out that when I went to recall or explain it someone, it just didn't stick. It really is important to get your hands dirty talking through the concepts you're trying to learn to get to the point where you actually retain and have a deep understanding of it.
We all have different goals and desires. When you really stop and think about it, what better way is there than to surround yourself with people who already have the things you want and are doing the things you want to do? It's yet another testament to the fact that our most precious resource as individuals is time because once it's gone, we can't get it back.
