Where you will be in 5 years time?!
I received this image this morning. It came as an email attachment reading;
“I really don’t do this to make you feel bad or to make myself feel good, just to share the awesomeness with my best friends. Check out my view on the way to work this morning!”
The image is of a beach somewhere in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Garth, who took the photo, is one of my closest friends. The email was sent to me and Liam, another close mate, who is based in London. The 3 of us are on other ends of the world, yet continue to share our lives with each other. Thanks to technology we can remain ‘virtually’ connected which will never make up for physical connections, but none the less makes a big difference. It is not so much the image that is significant but rather the story behind how Garth ended up taking it (this would take hundreds of pages to explain) But I know it. Liam knows it. Garth knows it. Over a period of years we have laughed, lived, loved, cried, struggled, prayed, married our sweethearts, dived, fished, surfed & partied together. What I treasure most is that these friendships are based on a genuine desire to see what’s best for each other become a reality.
Why is this significant? I recently read a quote that said “Where you will be in 5 years time depends on two things: the books you read and the people you are in relationship with!”
Books I can understand. Relationships make even more sense. Since I read the quote I have begun to think about who I hang with. After some reflecting I realised how significant a role most of those people play in my life. Many of those relationships are edifying. My friends energise me rather than drain me, support me rather than disqualify me, give me feedback and speak the truth rather than let me continue with negative traits and habits and are encouraging rather than self seeking.
Here are 4 questions I would really like you to reflect on seriously:
What are some of the words you would use to describe the relationships you are in?
Which relationships influence you the most, be it positive or negative?
What do these relationships mean for your future?
Who could you spend more time with, whose qualities and successes you aspire toward?
If you realise that you need to make some changes then I encourage you to act on these changes soon. Know that change in this department is difficult. Some relationships (family, spouse etc) you cannot simply break away from. By increasing the time you give to more positive relationships, the ability for you to impact positively and breakthrough relationship challenges increases.
Sometime this year I will post the same image that I have posted today. Except I will be behind the camera in Tanzania building memories with mates who I am willing to pay good money and fly many miles to hang with again and again and again and …
__________
Travis Gale has spent the last 5 years running his own development business in South Africa’s corporate world and is currently involved in various long term partnerships with clients across a number of industries. Furthermore he has travelled to conferences internationally hunting down latest trends and insights. Having cycled around the world and survived a tsunami, his passion for crossing borders often lends itself to an interesting blend of stories and insight. He sees himself as a ‘change catalyst’ and displays strength in facilitating insight into the right spaces. Find out more at www.appletreelive.com