On a recent day, I was having an extremely busy morning and was scheduled to meet a friend for lunch. Whatever craziness could have happened that morning before my lunch meeting, actually did. You know how it is; you’re juggling multiple things at once; you could really use a twin of you? Well that’s the kind of morning I had and it was an hour long drive to get to my lunch meeting. Under normal circumstances I might have thought about rescheduling. But this lunch was different. There was no way I was going to miss being with this friend. She is an absolutely high quality, inspirational person. Even though it’s a fairly new friendship, from the moment we connected, I knew she was a fantastic person. She makes me think, positively challenges me to be my best; she motivates me and makes me feel like I can take on the world! Do you have people in your life that make you feel the same way? 
It is often said that you are the average of the 5 people that surround you. Are you looking to grow in your professional life? If the answer is yes, who are you learning from and who are you networking with? For your personal relationships, do you have people that support you, love you for who you are, imperfections and all? Do you feel that they would be there for you through the good and challenging times, not just the high times?
My most recent lunch meeting made me think about the importance of having quality people in our life. Any day, I’d rather have a tight-knit, small inner circle of people in my life that positively lift me way up in life, over a bunch of people that just surround me, that don’t positively contribute to my life.
So take a look around you! With the closest 5 people that surround you, ask yourself if they do one or more of the following for you:
- Inspire you to be the best version of you.
- They are there for you through both the great times and challenging times in life.
- They are loyal and full of integrity and you have no worries where they stand with you.
- You learn something from them and they positively challenge you in life.
- They care for you and love you, just as you are, imperfections and all.
In order to be your best, you must surround yourself with the best! You deserve the best and nothing less!
What are your thoughts about having quality personal and professional relationships in your life? What quality of people surround you currently in life? I would love to hear from you!
This is so very true! I too surround myself with positive people who will challenge me and strive to be a better person every day. It truly is about the quality of friendship and not the quantity. I am lucky to have connected with a few people on social media. I am extremely blessed and fortunate to have connected with you! You provide such inspiration and kindness that makes people feel that they are capable of all things. So thank you for being in my inner circle. I appreciate all that you do and the person that you are!xo
Thank you SO much Linda for sharing your feedback and your very kind comments. I am SO grateful to be connected with you also. You are definitely top notch and a very high quality person!! I appreciate YOU!
Great inspiring post Cynthia!
You are clearly in a very inspired place right now and exuding lots of positivity. Perhaps as you say this is partly due to the quality of your relationships as rising stars cannot do it on their own.
However you are shining confidence and greatness and we are drawn to you!
I know I am and I look forward to co-creating with you!
Johann
Thank you Johann for taking the time to share your feedback and comments. You are a shining example of positivity. You lift people WAY up in life! I am SO grateful to be connected with you! Have an amazing day!
Cynthia, I remember that day the same way…:-) It’s important to surround ourselves with people who will build us up and help us reach our full potential. And you did something very important in the process: you listened to your gut about building that relationship!
Trusting our instincts is so important! When we’re drawn toward a person or community that creates new opportunities for us, we’re building a fabulous foundation for our future success. You, my friend, are on your way to achieving some amazing things…..
Thank you LaRae for your comments. My gut instincts have served me VERY well over the years and it continues to do so. I am SO glad we have connected and I look forward to being there for you ALL the way as you continue to achieve great things in life, both personally and professionally!
Hi Cynthia,
Excellent blog! You are one of the 5 greatest people that surrounds me. You inspire, motivate, and move people. That is why you are one of the 5 GREAT people in my professional life.
You are such a blessing to me and so many others.
I only love you more,
Brad
Brad, thank you SO much for your comments. I really appreciate YOU and all your support. You inspire SO much as well and I am SO glad that you are in my inner circle. Quality is key and you are top quality my friend. Thank you!!
What an inspirational post, Cynthia and it certainly rings true! I have learned over the years to spend my time with people who support me and are genuine. I have met “toxic” people and I no longer choose to have them in my life. When we surround ourselves with love and caring people who believe in us, we will soar. Thanks! Terri
How true that is Terri that when we surround ourselves with great people that believe in us, we will soar! I also love your point about spending time with people that are ‘genuine’. SO incredibly important. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. You are awesome. THANK YOU!
Thanks so much for this though-provoking post Cynthia. One of the reasons I love the social web so much is because it has enabled me to expand my virtual network with some many quality professional relationships. Happy that the list is much longer than just five, which is AWESOME for me.
On a personal/professional note, my business partner Amy Melendez is an amazing source of support and inspiration for me, day in and day out. I simply would not be here without her.
Keep on Rocking!
Thanks so much Al for sharing your thoughts! That is fantastic how your business partner is a huge support and source of inspiration for you! It makes life so much sweeter! I am grateful to be connected with you. Have an awesome day!
Good stuff here Cynthia. I very much agree its so important to surround yourself with people who love and support you. I think twitter and other social media has given us all a greater opportunity to uplift each other. Family is obviously the most important, but friends online is great way to find commonalities to exchange ideas.and grow to make another “family.”
Thank you Geoff for sharing your thoughts. Yes, I so much agree with you that social media has given us the opportunity to lift each other way up! We’ve got a great group of people that are positive and uplifting and just great people. You are absolutely top notch my friend and I am very grateful to have you in my inner circle.
Cynthia,
So, so true. The people you meet in life either enhance you or they drain you. You are like a bank account, the more that you are enhanced the better the balance. The more you are drained you eventually end up in debit.
I always advise people to only work, for the purposes of self development, with people that meet just two simple criteria. Firstly you would like to be more like them in some way, and secondly that you actually like being around. If you can find an aspirational friend you have ‘cracked it’.
Never underestimate the power this brings and you’ll find you move on and time flies when in their presence.
A great thought provoking post Cynthia. Love your style.
Marc
Marc! I absolutely LOVE what you said; “The people you meet in life either enhance you or they drain you. You are like a bank account, the more that you are enhanced the better the balance.” SO very true! I agree with you 100%! Perfectly said. I am honored to be now connected with you and I look forward to getting to know you much more and lifting each other WAY up!
Wow Cynthia! It’s important to surround yourself with positive people who will inspire, motivate and uplift. I believe we attract people most like ourselves. We are forever growing and evolving, sometimes we need to evaluate the people who our lives. Everyone isn’t intended to continue on life’s journey with you, but it’s okay.
Great blog as usual! Fantastic.
Thank you so much Terri for taking the time to share your feedback. You are definitely one of those highly positive peeps that inspire, motivate and uplift. I am grateful and appreciative of our connection. I wish you the very BEST day and thank you for always being so awesome!
I also see this as a challenge to BE the kind of friend that other people want to have – be inspiring, have integrity, offer support, care for others, etc. I’ve never been the prettiest, skinniest, most successful woman in the room – but I rarely lack for social interaction because I treat everyone the way I want to be treated, and I allow others to be themselves.
Thanks for another great blog Cynthia!
Thank you so much Tracy for your feedback. I knew right from the start when we started connecting that you are a high quality person, full of integrity. You deserve the best and nothing less! Thank you for being YOU Tracy!
So absolutely true!
Those that we surround ourselves with are vital to our personal development and our professional success. They should be truly positive people that inspire, teach, challenge, encourage and enable us to be our best selves. Social media is a wonderful conduit to find those incredible thought leaders and encouraging partners.
Of course a key element to the success of any relationship is giving back! Be sure to always respect your circle by providing the encouragement and guidance they may need as well. This will ensure that both parties will flourish!
You stated it best when you wrote, “They are loyal and full of integrity…they care for and love you”. Qualities of true friends. Thank you for being part of my inner circle Cynthia. I am grateful!
Steve, thank you so much for taking the time to provide your feedback. I totally agree about giving back; that is so important in any personal or professional relationship. I appreciate you giving back by sharing your wisdom. Thank you for being you!
Cynthia ~ I absolutely LOVE this one!! You made some great points here & I wholeheartedly agree with each one of them!! Quality over quantity is what counts when it comes to our relationships. I want YOU to know that you are one of my top 5 Cynthia!! You are a fantastic person who inspires, uplifts, & spurs on everyone around you!! I am so blessed & grateful to be apart of such a wonderful online community!! Thank you for enriching my life in so many ways!! :))
I very much appreciate everything you’ve shared here. I have become much more conscious of who I keep close to me. I need to help grow them as a person and vice versa. [That’s why you’re one of my closest Twitter friends!!!] Great stuff here – love it!
You absolutely Rock! Being surrounded by fabulous and wonderful people enrich, beautifies, and garnishes our lives in so many ways. Great points you have shared here Cynthia. I absolutely love being around the best. They help me get to where I want to be. It gives me the strength to push higher in achieving my goals in life. You are one of a kind! Thank you so much! With love. Eti.
Once again, well said Cynthia! You are definitely one of the 5 most inspiring people that I am surrounded by. Your blog posts, tweets, etc. always move me and inspire me. You are full of integrity and your positivity rubs off on others.
I have several others that I am in contact with daily and they each have their own way of lifting me up and making me a better person.
Thank you for being a blessing to me and so many others.