Are You Becoming the Company You Keep?

Remember as a child when your mother cautioned you about choosing friends?  By hanging around the wrong “crowd,” you would be guilty by association.

As you grew older and ventured out to create a life of your own, you realized the wisdom of her words. In business associations, friendships, and raising your own children, you found the company you kept made a world of difference.

Relationships mold our lives. These important choices will either stifle your growth, jeopardize your ethics, or propel you to experience new adventures and continue your personal growth. Which path will you take? For yourself. For your loved ones.

Consider the following.

Just since the beginning of the year we have been shocked by the following:

• Watchdog New York Attorney General, Elliot Spitzer resigns in disgrace,
• Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is involved in what the Washington Post calls “The Scandal That Ate Detroit,”
• In what the Dow Jones newswire calls an “unprecedented intervention that may fundamentally change the government’s
  relationship with Wall Street,” Bear Stearns was bailed out by the Fed to the tune of $29 BILLION due to imminent bankruptcy. Like the Enron and Tyco of years past, the  paper wealth of the employees and investors vanished overnight. 7,000 people are expected to lose their jobs. Share price went from $160 share to $2.
• Barack Obama has tried to disassociate himself from the words of his spiritual leader and mentor the Rev. Wright, without distancing himself from the man or the church he attended for 20 years.
• Hillary Clinton “misspoke” about being under fire in Bosnia.

Your beliefs must be reflected in your actions. Where are the ethics? The honesty? Where are the good business practices?

Ghandi said “Become the change you wish to see.” If we want corporations and the people we associate with to change, it must begin with us. We must embrace and live our values and let ethics truly guide our lives.

Pretend for a moment that your life is under a spotlight. And no, I’m not talking about your past. I’m talking about today and the tomorow’s of your life… the time you now have control of. Would you feel comfortable if the newspaper headlines shout your actions to the world? Are your actions something you are proud enough for your grandmother to hear about?  If God visited your home, would you be embarrassed by the magazines, the movies, the talk heard from your lips, or how you run your business?

You are the company you keep. Not just in the people you associate with, but what you allow to enter your mind.  The books you read, the music you listen to, and the self-talk you create are your daily company.

Perhaps I’m on a rant because of the people I’ve lost in the last few months or the realization of how quickly an illness can change lives. Life is so short. Live strong. Live good. Live.

I love to listen to words of wisdom. Want some uplifting books to listen to? Check out the audio book selections posted at Digital Books 24-7. These special offers are discounted downloadable audiobooks written by such authors as Joel Olstein, Joyce Meyer, Wayne Dyer, and USA Today’s columnist, Cal Thomas. I’m confident you’ll love them. Apply the principles and you can change your life.

Prefer reading to listening? Check out our recommended hard cover books below.

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