Life is About People
As I get older, I’m more convinced life is ultimately about spending time with amazing people.
This was not so obvious to me growing up and is still unnatural for me as someone who loves spending time alone.
But being around amazing people who make you better makes life better. Life is more likely to be average or mediocre if you’re around average or mediocre people, but we can increase the likelihood of our lives being amazing if we’re around amazing people.
Humanity is about connection, building memories, and triumphing against worthwhile challenges. You can only do that by being around great people and being a great person to be around with.
As the saying goes: “If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
If the quality of our lives depend on who we spend time with, it makes perfect sense that we should aim to have a high standard for people (family, friends, colleagues, partners, etc.) we surround ourselves with. We absolutely need to be selfish about it, and should expect others to do the same.
It’s only right that we should seek the absolute best people we can spend our time with, given that life is finite and because our lives get exponentially better the more amazing people we surround ourselves with. It is truly one of those things where the returns increase with more inputs and compound on each other on a long time horizon.
But what is “great” or “amazing”? That depends on what purpose that other person serves in your life (and make no mistake that you too serve a purpose in other people’s lives, thus being high value is imperative if we want to be surrounded with high value people).
If it’s your friends, do they truly support you in your endeavors? Do they raise your ambition? Do they make you want to be better? Do they keep it real with you and tell you things straight? Do they have your back when you’re down? Do they make you feel you belong? Do you have them for life?
If it’s your colleagues, do they challenge your thinking? Do they help you grow in your career? Do they make you want to bring your A-game? Do you trust their judgment? Do they truly want what’s best for the team and company? Do they want to win as bad as you do?
If it’s your partner, do they inspire you? Do they make you feel you’re fortunate? Do they make you want to be a better person? Do they make life sweeter and more meaningful? Do they seem like they would be great parents? Do they seem like good role models? Do they exemplify traits you wish your children would have? Do they make life worth living?
Life is meant to be lived in the company of amazing people.
If you can’t find any, ask yourself why, or go find them.
This is one of those challenges worth a lifetime to get right.