“Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.”
– George Washington
When asked the question, “How would you define a friend,” what do you think the most common answer is? Someone I can talk to about anything? Someone who loves you unconditionally? Someone who is there for you when you need them? No, the most common answer is, someone who accepts me just as I am. Of all the answers given above, that is the wrong one.
PEOPLE WHO DO NOT CARE
People who accept you “just the way you are” are not friends, they are called strangers. The kid at the party store, the person in the fast food drive thru window, the clerk in the post office, they all accept you just the way you are. They don’t care about you. You are just one of many faces that pass their way every day. Success-Minded People know that a true friend always wants to make you better than what you are. As Henry Ford said, “My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.”
FRIENDS
As a Success-Minded Person you work to better yourself and face the many changes that requires. Of all those changes the toughest one to make will be in the area of friends. Here is the hard cold fact: there may be friends that you need to leave behind if you plan to move forward. That seems very hard I know, but there are those who will drag you down and work against your success. Some will just want to hold on to you and not lose you as a friend and some will deliberately destroy your success.
TIME TO COME APART
Success-Minded People must not allow those who would kill their dreams; drain their energy and pull them down to have a place in their life. You are not rejecting your old friends; you are just not allowing them to destroy you. Think that is extreme? Look around and see how many would be successful people have failed due to the negative influences in their life. As author John Stott said, “Sin and the child of God are incompatible. They may occasionally meet, but they cannot live together in harmony.”
LOYAL BUT NOT A SLAVE
Remember that you can and should be a loyal friend to all; you do not however have to hand your life over to them. Be the example by doing what is right and leaving all else behind. I know it is hard but it is the best move you will make. The example you set by being a Success-Minded Person will be the light that others will follow out of darkness. True friends will always bring others up never down. Set the standard and help those you care about be their best, but run from those who would pull you back – even in the name of friendship.
© 2011 John Patrick Hickey
