008: Why Your Friends & Family Won’t Support Your Personal Growth

You love your friends and family. And you know they love you as well. So, why won't they give you the support you want and need from them? Why do some friends and family actually sabotage your efforts to break outside the norm of your circle of influence? And, I have a little story for you about an old man, a young man and a few starfish.

[spp-tweet tweet="Most simply do not care about self-improvement"]

Get in on the conversation on Facebook at Men of Abundance Community

Today's question is from Jon:

Here is something that's been on my mind for a while, and I will ask it here today.

What are some ways to deal with people in your immediate sphere of influence who aren't as, let's say, "success-oriented" or ambitious as you are? As much as I appreciate the friends I have made over the years, I have determined that many of our core values simply don't align anymore. Most simply do not care about self-improvement or entrepreneurship or becoming the best that you can be and actually kind of smirk at the idea or worse see it as silly/lame. Perhaps you know the type. They self-righteously think that people who make money and drive nice cars are "rich assholes". They would rather just work a "job" and fill their free time with entertainment, etc. Thing is, these are people whom I still feel rather close to but deep down know that they are antithetical to where I want to be in life. Heck I even try to subtly suggest that there's nothing wrong with wanting more and improving oneself but, despite their intelligence, it hardly computes. In theory I should remain friends with these people whom I've known for so long, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't increasingly ask myself why. Anyone else experience this?

The Starfish Story...

Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work. Early one morning, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions.

Off in the distance, the old man noticed a small boy approaching. As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that he was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea.  The boy came closer still and the man called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.”

The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”

The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!”

adapted from The Star Thrower, by Loren Eiseley (1907 – 1977)

 

SponsorsShakeology, Dense nutrition shake. Shakeology makes nutrition simple. And with 70+ ingredients and superfoods, it is the Healthiest

You love your friends and family. And you know they love you as well. So, why won't they give you the support you want and need from them? Why do some friends and family actually sabotage your efforts to break outside the norm of your circle of influence? And, I have a little story for you about an old man, a young man and a few starfish.

[spp-tweet tweet="Most simply do not care about self-improvement"]

Get in on the conversation on Facebook at Men of Abundance Community

Today's question is from Jon:

Here is something that's been on my mind for a while, and I will ask it here today.

What are some ways to deal with people in your immediate sphere of influence who aren't as, let's say, "success-oriented" or ambitious as you are? As much as I appreciate the friends I have made over the years, I have determined that many of our core values simply don't align anymore. Most simply do not care about self-improvement or entrepreneurship or becoming the best that you can be and actually kind of smirk at the idea or worse see it as silly/lame. Perhaps you know the type. They self-righteously think that people who make money and drive nice cars are "rich assholes". They would rather just work a "job" and fill their free time with entertainment, etc. Thing is, these are people whom I still feel rather close to but deep down know that they are antithetical to where I want to be in life. Heck I even try to subtly suggest that there's nothing wrong with wanting more and improving oneself but, despite their intelligence, it hardly computes. In theory I should remain friends with these people whom I've known for so long, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't increasingly ask myself why. Anyone else experience this?

The Starfish Story...

Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work. Early one morning, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions.

Off in the distance, the old man noticed a small boy approaching. As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that he was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea.  The boy came closer still and the man called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.”

The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”

The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!”

adapted from The Star Thrower, by Loren Eiseley (1907 – 1977)

 

SponsorsShakeology, Dense nutrition shake. Shakeology makes nutrition simple. And with 70+ ingredients and superfoods, it is the Healthiest Meal of the Day. "My family and I have been drinking Shakeology daily for the last 5 years. Even my six year old has been drinking it since he was two." ~ Wally