One of my top mentors said to me something I’d never forget. It made me evaluate every relationship in my life. “Who are the top 5 closest relationships in your life?” he asked. He said to not count spouse or family, but rather friends that I chose to allow closest to me.
Here’s a truth to hang on to: WHO you allow closest to you will determine HOW far your influence will go. Share on XI know it’s true for me. My life, my values, my vocabulary, my habits, my way of thinking…it’s all heavily influenced by my ‘close 5.’ If they are positive, get-it-done kind of people I become more positive, more get-it-done in my attitude. If they are negative, put-it-off-till-tomorrow kind of people, I become influenced by that. You are the same too. You’ve heard the phrase, ‘birds of a feather flock together.’ It’s so true.
I think we all know this about ourselves already, but…here’s what’s crazy.
Most people seem to be pretty random about who they are closest to. There’s no thought process or intentionality to who they allow to influence them deeply. This is a huge mistake you shouldn’t make.
What about you? Are you intentional or accidental in this area of your life? You are an influencer to young people, but WHO is influencing YOU? Because the people closest to you have tremendous power in your life.
Have you ever written down the characteristic you are striving for? Do your top 5 closest relationships in your life represent what you want your life to look like? Have you ever articulated what kind of people you want closest to you?
Listed below are the top 5 things I look for in who I want closest to me. Take a look at these and be inspired to make your own list. Then begin praying for God to draw you to people that you want to become influential in your life to be more like He wants you to be.
Here are my 5 characteristics, in order of importance to me:
FAITH-FILLED
I want people close to me who love God will all their mind, soul, and strength.
BOLD
I want to be around people who are risk-takers; they inspire me. Risk is what separates people who have good influence and those who have great influence.
OPTIMISTIC
I want positivity because I believe that’s what keeps my heart moving forward with hope.
FUN
I like to have fun!
ADVENTUROUS
I want to push the limits of life and see what is possible. I’m inspired to be around people who love adventure.
One more thing. Here’s a conversation connected to these thoughts. This podcast talks about how to build a winning culture in your ministry. I highly recommend it!
#1 WAY TO BUILD A WINNING CULTURE IN YOUR MINISTRY
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Jeff Eckart, CEO
Never The Same
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