Most of us hold the belief that having friends is of relatively great importance. While in our youth, they are the ones that we spend most of our time with. They are the ones that we revolt with against our parents. They are the ones that we share our secrets and our dreams with.

It is important having the right people surrounding you in your life. Although having friends in childhood is a key aspect of healthy psychological and social development, surrounding yourself with the right people during adulthood is the key to a prosperous life.

I came to a realization recently; whether someone fails or succeeds is a direct result of those he spends most of his time with. No one in this world is really a lone wolf. At some point or another, we all interact with other human beings and rely on them to either accept our ideas or reject them.

Our personalities are a mixing pot of bits and pieces that we pick up along the way from our interactions with other people; the more that you interact with certain people, the more of them you will inevitably throw into your cauldron.

If you surround yourself with people that are productive, kind, diligent, and driven, then chances are the energy they exuberate will become part of your life. It will intoxicate you and become part of you- you will become more driven and diligent yourself.

Unfortunately, the same goes when you surround yourself with people that are unproductive, static, lazy, and negative. The negativity will rub off on you and you will become just as static as they, doing the same thing year in and year out.

If you want progress, you need to delve into it; surround yourself with it and others that are progressing themselves. Progress is a force- if you wade into a river with even the slightest current, it’ll take you along with it until you are able to start swimming yourself.

It’s always easier to swim with a current behind you then in still waters. Even once your arms get tired and you need to slow down and take a breath, that river of progress will keep on flowing- and you with it.

We are all guilty of having friends that we really ought to distance ourselves from- myself included. They are the friends that are actually very good people, fun to party with, fun to talk shit with, fun to waste time with- just fun. That’s the problem.

Having fun is important, but if that’s all that they are good for you’ll only end up wasting your time instead of making your way towards the goals that you need to achieve. I have several friends that I truly consider to be close friends. They have been there for me for quite some time and will continue to be there for me.

I will likewise be there for them when they need me, but nevertheless I am distancing myself from them because they are only hindering my success. I love hanging out and grabbing a beer- but once that defines the entirety of your life, you are most definitely off track.

You need to surround yourself with people that are just as, if not more, motivated than you. You want to have a group of people that are always pushing themselves and their limits, showing you that it’s possible. You need to feed off of their success, and learn from their failures.

They will do the same from you and together you will have a team working towards success- even if you are working in completely different fields. You need to gain momentum. Momentum is the most difficult thing to achieve simply because it requires a force.

Yes, it is possible to start that initial push yourself, but if you are surrounded with people that are static and don’t want to be moved, you will fail. Those that you are surrounded with are part of you; you are not only pushing yourself, you are also pushing them. If they don’t want to be moved they are deadweight. Let them go.

You need friends that are hungry- that want change. That’s what you want, isn’t it? You want change; you want progress. You want a life that is different, better than the one you have now. If you want a life that is drastically different from the one that you are leading now, then you will need to make drastic changes, which require drastic and difficult decisions.

Achieving success is difficult enough as it is- don’t make it any more difficult. This is the main reason why people fail. Not because they are not working their hardest and trying their best- it’s because they aren’t removing the obstacles in their way, the things, especially the people, that are holding them back.

If you want to succeed, surround yourself with those that want to succeed and are willing to put in the work required. If you want change, then make changes. If you aren’t happy with your life, then create a different life. It is all in your grasp. It is all in the lifestyle choices that you make. Change isn’t instantaneous- it’s progressive.

“By changing nothing, nothing changes.” ~ Tony Robbins

Paul Hudson | Elite.

@MrPaulHudson