Tag: peer pressure

It’s not where you start that matters. It’s who you bump into.

Yesterday I played mini golf with my family. It was my son Magnus’s birthday, And it was a fun way to kick off his teenage years with more ball-rolling than eye-rolling. After we played 18 holes and returned our clubs we got to drop our golf balls into a Plinko game. If your ball landed in the right slot you would win free ice cream. If it didn’t you would save yourself 30 minutes of cardio.

Plinko is an interesting game of chance that was originally discovered by Bob Barker and a contestant who had come on down to the set of The Price is Right in the 1980s.

To play the game you drop a ball or chip over a grid of pegs. As the object falls it bounces off the pegs and is redirected several times until it finally lands in a slot at the bottom of the grid. What you quickly realize is that where the object starts at the top has very little to do with where it lands at the bottom. It is the collisions that keep redirecting the object and determining where you finish. Kinda like NASCAR.

Life works like a giant Plinko game. It is not where you start that matters. It is who and what you bump into along the way that matters. It is the pegs you encounter that have the greatest influence on your life.

Your pegs are:

  • People you spend time with.
  • Books you read.
  • Experiences you have.
  • Places you visit
  • The mom from Married With Children

Your pegs alter your course. They provide new influences and nudge you in new directions. Some are positive, and some are negative. Positive pegs tend to direct you towards even more positive influences. Although negative pegs can push us in positive directions too. Especially once you’ve encountered someone who turns negatives into positives.

Key Takeaway

Life is like a giant Plinko game. The people you collide with change the course of your life. So do the books you read, the places you visit, and the experiences you have. Seek out great pegs. They have the power to change your whole trajectory.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

Are you spending your time with the right people? 

Who are you spending your time with?

This is one of the most important questions you you can ask yourself. It is right up there with, Am I eating well? Am I exercising enough? And, Am I getting enough sleep? The question is important because whether you like it or not, you are becoming more like the people you spend your time with.

Take a moment to think about those people you spend your time with, either by choice, by default.

Pausing For thought…Playing that song from Jeopardy in my head…Which I always thought sounded like ‘I’m a little teacup.’…

The Human Conveyor Belts 

The people you spend your time with are like conveyor belts, taking you where they are going. That’s why it is critical that you carefully choose who you are spending your time with. Don’t settle for people who are simply nearby. Or convenient. Or who want to spend time with you. Make sure that they are people who will help carry you where you want to go.

My Journey (will always feature Steve Perry)

When I started my entrepreneurial journey I began spending a lot of time with other entrepreneurs. These were people who truly believed that they could make something out of nothing. Which made me believe I could alchemize my own success.

Their tolerance for risk made me more risk tolerant. Their boldness made me bolder. I quickly found myself thinking and acting like an entrepreneur. And before I knew it, I had established The Weaponry LLC. I had clients and revenue and employees and t-shirts. I also had other people wanting to know how I did it. And I have been sharing what I know ever since.

IMG_1018
Dan Nowak, Darren Fisher and Jordan Meyer are all great entrepreneurs who I spend a lot of time with. They try to teach me things,  like how real entrepreneurs pose for photos.

Heat Seeker

Seek out the people you want to be more like. The people who are headed where you want to go. People who are thinking and acting the way you want to think and act. Avoid the blamers and excuse makers. Ditch the complainers and the complacents. Attitudes are highly contagious. Make sure you are catching yours from the right people.

Key Takeaway

Become a better you by spending time with better people. Surround yourself with positive, can-do, will-do types. They will pull you forward. They will force you to grow to keep up. Then, as you grow, find more people who are even further ahead. Positive influence is a super fuel. Take all you can get. And share it with everyone you can.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.