Thread by @businessbarista

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with"

This old adage is wrong in two BIG ways.

Here's why👇

First, the number is wrong.

Five should be more like 50.

Today, far more than five things influence who you are and who you'll become.

That's thanks to the internet.

It has unlocked connection truly unbundling the human experience.

What was Town Square is now Twitter.

What was University is now YouTube.

What was the local bar is now Clubhouse.

Does that mean all of your connections will be strong, valuable, and impactful? No.

But if you only focus on your five closest connections, you risk being blind to dozens of others.

They may—in aggregate—have as big of an impact on you.

Second, "people" is the wrong word.

Yes, at the end of the day, everything comes back to people.

But if you only look at 1:1 connections, you ignore so many other inputs that influence you.

In fact, there are FOUR major inputs in your life.

1) Personal connections

Think family. (hi mom)
Think friends. (hey @SahilBloom)
Think co-founders. (h/t @austin_rief)
Think partners.
Think roommates.

2) Role models

- dead or alive
- you know or don't know
- embody one or several traits that you want to emulate and study

@JayShettyIW for Empathy
@KingJames for Discipline
@AmandaMGoetz for Self-Awareness

3) Communities

collections of people that have shared interest, shared experience, and shared language

i.e. startup twitter, Michigan, mindfulness

4) Content

information you put into your body that influences how you behave

By understanding what influences you, you can take an honest look at how you're influenced.

Because the inputs your surround yourself with shape who you will become.

In life & in work.

This is the first of a few threads about building your circle in line with your goals & values.

Follow me to check out future threads on the topic:

@businessbarista

And check out today's Founder's Journal if you want all of my thoughts on this topic:

bit.ly/3x2Z9T3