Who you hang around with matters!

There’s a phrase I learned from my mentor a few years ago, “Who you hang around with matters, A LOT!

Our lives are heavily influenced by the people we associate with – and as business owners it’s so important we choose wisely.

Our friends and family are amazing and well intentioned, but that doesn’t mean they always give us the right advise.

Our brains are conditioned to protect us, and those we love.

Our subconscious is a memory bank full of the things that have had an impact on our lives. So, if we’ve experienced failure or been hurt or disappointed in the past, it’s this memory that triggers the procrastination and self-doubt.

And the same with family and friends – when they see us doing something they’re not sure of, something they consider to be a risk or something they don’t fully understand, they can be negative, dismissive and often critical of what we are trying to achieve – because they don’t want to see us fail!

I learned a long time ago to just be respectful of their feelings and tell them that I would rather learn new lessons in life than regret having never tried and then surrounded myself with people who get it – and get me!

I was introduced to the Entrepreneurs Circle a few years ago (almost 13 years in fact). 

The EC exists to educate, motivate, help and inspire entrepreneurs to achieve more than they ever thought possible. And for me, it has done exactly what it says on the tin!

Last week, I travelled to Solihull (and back in one day) to attend a Garden Party at Nigel’s (the founder of EC) house, to celebrate everyone who had been a member for more than 10 years.

There we’re close on 200 people in his garden (yes, it really is huge), and as I looked around at everyone chatting away, enjoying the music, the good food and the sunshine - it reminded me how all of these ordinary people were doing extraordinary things because they had surrounded themselves with people who get it, and get them!

And that’s my hope for you – that you will surround yourself with people who support you, always have your back, and who get you but will also be honest with you when things aren’t quite so rosy.

And just for the record – if this has landed in your inbox and you’re not just reading it as a blog on my website in a few months’ time – I GET YOU!