What Your 5 Closest Friends Mean For Your Future

“Show me your friends and I'll show you your future.” ― Dan Pena

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “ we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.”

It’s a quote from motivational speaker Jim Rohn. Some people call BS. I call BS on their BS. Not only is the saying true, but it probably effects you more than you know.

I like to think I have a positive mindset. I have nobody to thank but my mother for instilling it in me. Like you, throughout my life — from High School, to College, to now — I’ve hung out with all types of people and personalities.

There were many highs and many lows. There were times were it didn’t seem like the high would ever end. There were times were I was improving at paces too rapid for me to even comprehend. I, foolishly never took note of the energy that was causing these times to be so good… nor did I pay attention to its source.

A few years later, the lesson would come to bite me in the ass. We’ll talk about that soon. But first:

Let’s talk about energy

We know energy is real in the literal sense, but what about in the metaphorical one?

Have you ever met someone that you just couldn’t help but feel good around? Ever been to a party where the vibes are on point and the people make you feel welcome? Or maybe you know a friend with a high-energy golden retriever that practically falls over itself to get you to pet him.

In these times; Did you find yourself smirking, even just a bit?

Energy is infectious. But it goes both ways. I’ve had friends that dug themselves deep holes by consuming negative content and hanging around the wrong crowds.

For example: Continuing to listen to sad music 6 months after a breakup and eating ice cream with a shovel as you binge depressing rom-coms on Netflix.

Sad + Sad = Sad. It seems like common sense. But I’ve also been there.

Shortly after I graduated, I felt like I was on top of the world. I had an extremely positive friend group that motivated me to do more on a daily basis.

The truth is fairly simple: Your circle will rub off on you. If you’re around people that talk about making money 24/7, chances are… you will start making money. If you’re around people that constantly complain about how shitty the world is, chances are, your worldview will become slightly jaded.

I moved to a new town with some roommates that I knew online for quite some time. I was close with them and couldn’t think of a better group of people to move in with. But I soon found myself in a messy situation.

Energy Vampires

Energy Vampires can be friends, co-workers, associates, acquaintances or total strangers. In old folklores, Energy Vampires were creaetures that literally fed off the life-force of their victims; leaving them exhausted — sometimes to the point of death.

It sounds dramatic, but they are real. I know because I’ve met them.

The roommates I lived with for 2 years were not bad people. They just seemed to have a dark cloud following them wherever they went and had no intention of helping themselves. Seeing this obviously made me want to help them — So I would give them advice, motivation, encouragement… you name it. But my honest efforts only seemed to temporarily aid their sorrow.

They fed off the positive energy I gave them, which only depleted over time. This severely impacted my mood, mental health and overall outlook on life. At my absolute lowest, a quote my mom used to share with me as a child would occasionally echo throughout my head.

“Show me your friends and I'll show you your future.”

I looked into the quote and was dumbfounded at how simple the lesson was — and realized how severely my friend group was impacting my future self.

I was no longer doing things that I enjoyed doing. I was always in sour moods, which would be completely foreign to my past self. Something was happening and I had to make a change… quick.

Protect your energy

So, what does this have to do with Crypto/Investing?

I think mindset has a LOT to do with our field of work. In case you haven’t noticed, a lot of people hate crypto for reasons they cannot explain.

I soon found myself surrounded with people that despised crypto, hated the fact that I was interested in finance and viewed money as evil; rather than a tool that can be used to buy freedom and improve the lives of people around you.

Web3 is the opposite. People here love to collaborate. We uplift eachother when we win. A lot of us just want to make the world a better place. I was stuck in the duality of these two realms.

I soon realized the people I mentioned earlier simply didn’t care about my perspective or exploring anything outside of their own. They barely gave a shit about me. It was at this point I discovered these people weren’t really my friends.

The best thing I ever did was remove myself from these groups.

So, I moved away.

I continued to seek out people that uplifted me and actually saw the good in the universe. By surrounding myself with like-minded, positive people... not only did my mindset miraculously shift for the better, I found myself doing things that I actually liked again (Thanks, Web3).

Protect your energy at all costs. Only give it to people that cherish it and can give you the same thing.

Being surrounded by negative people hindered my potential for far too long, but it wasn’t actually a bad thing. It’s a lesson that I had to learn. At some point, everyone falls into this trap. It’s up to you to decide if you make it out or not.

Hopefully you do. — Lite.