There’s a common saying originally coined by Jim Rohm, “You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

Essentially, the people we most regularly interact with set the norms for our behavior and impact the way we spend our lives. If we spend more time around fit and healthy people, we tend to be fit and healthy. If we spend time with happy people, we tend to be happy. Etc.

So the obvious next step is to reflect on how we spend our time, and think about how we can spend more time with the people who push us to be the type of people we want to be and less time with the people who drag us down.

But why stop there?

Face-to-face, two-way relationships are obviously the gold standard in these interactions, but we can actually supplement these effects and take it to another level.

For example, I don’t “spend time” with my favorite authors, but they undoubtedly have an impact on my life. Although I’ve never talked with them face-to-face, I’m constantly learning from role models and subject matter expects who, over time, help to guide my world views and paint my vision of what is “normal.”

Authors are a good option, but really any admirable figure with tangible content (through books, podcasts, movies, speeches, social media, or whatever) can fit the bill.

So when I think about the impact that influences have on my life, I tend to think in two paths: (1) who am I regularly spending time with and (2) what content am I consuming that is impacting me?

Generally the goal is to make sure both of these dials are pointed in a positive direction.

-Brandon