Of Fellow Travelers and Chameleons

What is an entrepreneurial hero? It is someone who lives life as an adventure, as did Sir Lancelot or Harry Potter—or any other mythical childhood hero. It is one who digs deeply to find special talents and gifts, then uses them to bring joy, enrich life, and serve others. This isn’t an easy journey, which is why it is called heroic.

Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths.  It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it.

—M. Scott Peck

In learning about living life as an entrepreneurial hero, one of the ideas that stood out was the concept of choosing your fellow travelers well. 

I read somewhere that you are the aggregate of the five people you spend the most time with. I had to stop and think - am I spending time with people who lift me, make me better, share my goals and morals?

We are like chameleons; we take our hue and the color of our moral character, from those who are around us.

                                                                                                    --John Locke

According to Jeff Sandefer of the Action Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence, "Choosing your fellow travelers may not seem as exciting as slaying the dragons of competition, but it may well be the most important decision an entrepreneurial hero will make."

And – “No matter how talented the person is, life is too short to put up with jerks. And life is too long to associate with liars or cheats or gossips.”

Lesson Learned: Surround yourself with people you want to be like. Not jerks.

Reference:

Sandefer, Jeff. "Living Life as an Entrepreneurial Hero." n.d.