GarthBox

I’ve been a long time believer in the adage that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

There’s definitely a bit of truth to it, but the adage neglects one important factor: what you aim to get out of each relationship.

If the goal of any solid relationship is for it to be a win-win (and it should), then the mindset you have about it matters more than the person with whom you have the relationship.

My daughter is 1.5 years old. I spend a lot of time with her. If you factor her into that equation of me being the average of the five people I spend the most time with, then she’s definitely dragging me down. She can’t even use a fork properly.

Of course, how to use utensils isn’t what I aim to get out of our relationship. I want to feel fulfilled with a hug at the end of the day or the satisfaction of learning to be a better teacher or how to grow my own skill of curiosity. In that regard, she elevates my life.

So, yes. We’re the average of the five people we spend the most time with, but the way we view the relationship carries a lot of the weight in regard to their impact on us.

Perhaps you have a coworker that you currently can’t stand, but you spend a great deal of time with them. By the adage, they’re dragging your average down. Unless, of course, you change your perspective and what you want out of the relationship with them.

“I’m going to learn what not to do from this person,” is a whole lot more impactful than “I can’t stand that person.”

When you can choose who is in your circle, choose wisely. When you have little say in the matter, your next best choice is determining what you can get out of the relationship.

Stay Positive & You Choose To Win

Photo credit

There’s a solid correlation between how much a person feels they have skin in the game and how much effort, energy, care, and attention they put into the work at hand.

Then, as a leader, is it your responsibility to simply tell people what needs to be done, perhaps with a detailed job description and checklist? Or is a leader’s responsibility to make someone feel like they’re part of something?

Two totally different leadership models.

Sometimes they might even get the same results, depending on the goal.

But one is pretty damn obviously more fulfilling for those being led.

Stay Positive & What Leader Will You Be Today?

Photo credit

There’s really no other relationship worth getting into other than a win-win.

The best leaders, marketers, and friends are the ones to evaluate if they’re in a win-win situation the fastest. If they’re not, they move on. No point forcing it and no point in waiting around to see if they’ll ever get their win.

Stay Positive & The Way To The Top Is Together (With The Right People)

Photo credit

Ah, the next thing is so damn shiny. I get it.

But what if you took a little extra time to try to make this thing more fun?

How about more remarkable?

How about tweaking it to make it for someone else you didn’t originally attend?

There’s so much that we can do with what’s in front of us.

Hell, it might just be something better than the new thing we wanted to jump to.

Stay Positive & Better Is Better, After All

Photo credit

Maybe you don’t see that light at the end of the tunnel.

That’s no reason not to keep moving forward.

Maybe you don’t see the destination on the map yet.

Maybe you’re just not sold on that final transaction.

In an effort to stay safe and comfortable, we often convince ourselves that we might as well stay where we’re at since we can’t see that end spot that we want to be.

The same goes for waiting for the right answer or the perfect person to help or that winning lottery ticket.

There are a few hundred or so reasons to stay put and hold off.

Acknowledge them, sure, then keep going on.

Stay Positive & Forward Is The Goal

Photo credit

It’s pretty hard to justify this statement when it’s put up to scrutiny.

Jumping on a forum thread might not be worth your time, but if it converted one sale and that sale was $1,000 – was that still not worth your time?

It’s a very fine statement to make when we’ve done the emotional and mental labor of truly evaluating the ask, the work and the potential results (and then being okay with those results).

It’s a very terrible statement to make when we do it to hide, mitigate our workload or shrug off a potential customer/audience.

More often than not, if you spend an extra minute thinking about it, it’s worth your time after all.

Realizing that worth also makes the doing part easier, too.

Stay Positive & Worth Taking A Moment Before Disregarding The Action

Photo credit

You’ll never be the target you’re after.

No matter how closely you identify with them, you’re not them.

You can be an intermediary for them, though.

You can listen to the words they use and share them back.

You can listen to the narratives each one is telling themselves about your product or service and adjust it accordingly.

You can listen to the emotion behind the words they use when they talk about your brand.

You can listen and, with empathy, direct them on the path that leads to a win-win for you both.

Doing any marketing without listening, though? Ha.

Stay Positive & Meet Them Where They Are

Photo credit