Once upon a time there was a race between frogs. The goal was to reach the top of a high tower. The race began. In reality, the people probably didn’t believe that it was possible that the frogs could reach the top of the tower. Many folks said, “What pain! They will never make it!” The frogs began to resign, except for one who kept on climbing. Folks continued: “What pain! They’ll never make it!” And the frogs admitted defeat, except for the frog that continued to insist. At the end, all the frogs quit, except the one who, alone and with enormous effort, reached the top of the tower. The others wanted to know, how did he do it? One of them approached him and asked how he succeeded in finishing the race despite the innumerable criticisms. To the utmost surprise of everyone, they discovered that he was deaf!
Never listen to people who have the bad habit of being negative, because they steal the best aspirations of your heart! Always be deaf to someone who tells you that you can’t and won’t achieve your goals or make your dreams come true.
One of the greatest factors that determine your success in life is who you associate with. There are toxic relationships as well as quality relationships. Successful people maintain a quality relationship. The quality and quantity of your relationships with other people will determine your success as much or more than any other factor. Charlie Jones said, “You are the same today 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.” One of the most important decisions that you will make in life is your choice of the people with whom you habitually associate. Spend time around successful people, and move away from negative people. Associating with people who complain and criticize all the time will only make you feel discouraged and demotivated. Make no useless acquaintances. Be perfectly selfish about the people with whom you choose to work, socialize and study.
Dr. David McClellan’s research into achievement at Harvard University concluded after 25 years that the members of your “reference group” would have more of an impact on your success and happiness than any other choices you make in life. Your reference group is composed of people you associate with most of the time. John Mason said, “If you run with wolves you will learn how to howl. But, if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights.” The people you associate with have a great influence on your personality, your views, your attitudes, your values and every other thing you accomplish in life. To be successful you need to build more and better relationships as well as carefully select the kind of people you associate with. Associate with people smarter than you. It is better to be alone than to be in the wrong company.
There are folks who will say the glass is half-empty rather than say the glass is half-full. Dr. Mike Murdock said, there are four kinds of people in everyone’s life: those who add, subtract, divide and multiply. Those who do not increase you inevitably will decrease you. Sometimes, a single conversation with the right person can be more valuable than many years of study.
The right kind of friends are those with whom you dare to be yourself, people you can dream in front of aloud. Your best friends should be those who understand your past, believe in your future and accept you today just the way you are.
In life, you simply become like those with whom you closely associate, either for good or for bad. Think about it: The less you associate with some folks, the more your life improves. If a loafer isn’t a nuisance to you, it’s a sign that you are somewhat of a loafer yourself!
There are three kinds of people in the world: those who make things happen, those who are watching what is happening and those who are wondering what is happening. The choice of which category you belong to is absolutely yours. You are the master of your fate.
