Who Do You Spend Time With?

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great night! I also hope that you had a great week and you are ready for a wonderful weekend with you family and friends as we celebrate those who have served our country.

This week I want to share a few quick excerpts from John C. Maxwell's book, "The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential." The excerpts are taken from Chapter 6 which is titled, "The Law of Environment: Growth Thrives in Conducive Surroundings," and the section titled, "3. Change Who You Spend Your Time With."

• "According to research by social psychologist Dr. David McCleland of Harvard, the people with who you habitually associate are called your "reference group," and these people determine as much as 95 percent of your success or failure in life."
• "Enquist has espoused the 33 Percent Rule. She says you can divide people in school, on your team, at work, or anywhere else into the bottom, middle, and top thirds, and they always have the same characteristics: The bottom third suck the life out of you because nothing is ever good enough for them. They take energy and motivation out of an environment. The middle third are happy and positive when things are going well, but down in times of adversity. Circumstances dictate their attitude. The top third maintains a positive attitude even in tough times. They are leaders, influencers, and game-changers."

          According to Maxwell, Sue Enquist "has been called the John Wooden of women's
          softball. She played fro UCLA from 1975 to 1978, returned in 1980 as an assistant
          coach, and then served as head coach from 1989 to 2006. As player and coach, she
          helped win a total of eleven NCAA softball titles. She retired with a career coaching
          record of 887-175-1 - an .835 winning percentage that puts her among the top five
          NCAA coaches of all time."

• "What kinds of 'larger" people should we spend our time with? People with integrity. People who are positive. People who are ahead of us professionally. People who lift us up instead of knocking us down. People who take the high road, never the low. And above all, people who are growing. they should be like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau whose question for each other whenever they met was, 'What have you learned since we last met?'"
• "The most significant factor in any person's environment is the people. If you change nothing else in your life for the better than that, you will have increased your chances of success tenfold. So think long and hard about who you're spending the most time with, for wherever they are headed, so are you."

Some great thoughts to consider Friends. Please let me know if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always be willing to help you any way I can.

Have a great night, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your family and friends. And to those who have served our country, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Kev