An email from a friend came across my desk a few weeks ago, and I filed it for comment at a later date.
This week, as I sit here in Paris half way around the world in both directions from my wonderful friends in dentistry, I believe these important words are ringing just as true today and every day as they did when they were written.
My friend wasn’t sure whether these words were attributed to Colin Powell, or to someone else.
But they are wise words, nonetheless.
The Company You Keep
It Is Better To Be Alone, Than In The Wrong Company.
Tell me who your best friends are, and I will tell you who you are.
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.
“A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.”
The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you closely associate – for the good and the bad.
The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve.
Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity.
An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people.
As you grow, your associates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on.
They will want you to stay where they are.
Friends that don’t help you climb will want you to crawl.
Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream.
Those that don’t increase you will eventually decrease you.
Consider this:
- Never receive counsel from unproductive people.
- Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never succeed themselves are always the first to tell you how.
- Not everyone has a right to speak into your life. You are certain to get the worst of the bargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person.
- Don’t follow anyone who’s not going anywhere. With some people you spend an evening: with others you invest it.
- Be careful where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life.
- Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships.
Every dentist knows they need to associate with the right people.
They need to associate with those who are creating success for others.
And who have created success for themselves.
Yet these dentists come up with so many weak reasons why they don’t want to engage with success, and why they want to keep embracing mediocrity.
“Oh my staff will never let me do that”
And when these dentists say this, they’re immediately allowing their staff to dictate the kind of income they earn, dictate the kind of house they live in, dictate where their children go to school, dictate when the dentist is able to vacation and and ultimately dictate when the dentist is able to retire.
“I spoke with my wife/spouse/friend and they didn’t think it was a good idea”
Same thing here.
There’s a reason successful people are successful.
And that’s because they recognise success, and copy success.
And don’t listen to those who have not enjoyed success.
Yet so many people take advice from those who have never tasted success.
There are people out there who feel it is their role in life to save others from success.
Avoid those people.
Frankly, opinions are like navels. Everybody has one.
Track records? Now those tell stories.
“There are no new fundamentals.” – Jim Rohn
Jim Rohn said it:
“There are no new fundamentals. You’ve got to be a little suspicious of someone who says, ‘I’ve got a new fundamental.’ ”
All the information you need to be successful is already out there.
You just need to find it, learn it, and implement it.
For that purpose, you need to surround yourself with those who have the knowledges and talents that you need to achieve what you want in life.
Find the right financial advisor.
Find the right legal advice.
Find he right accountant.
Find the right business coach.
Find the right marketing advice.
But heck. Don’t ask unqualified people to give advice in these five areas.
What will next year be like for you?
Have you made a commitment to improve yourself for next year?
December 31 is always a good time to start planning for a bigger, better, brighter New Year.
But why start your improvement on January 1?
Why not start now?
Make a commitment to tidy up, and get up!
Get on with what needs to be done…
I’ll leave you with these famous words from Scottish mountaineer William Hutchinson Murray:
“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”
The Ultimate Patient Experience is a simple to build complete Customer Service system in itself that I developed that allowed me to create an extraordinary dental office in an ordinary Sydney suburb. If you’d like to know more, ask me about my free special report.
Email me at david@theupe.com
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