“Your personal philosophy is the greatest determining factor in how your life works out.” ~Jim Rohn 

Jim’s definition of philosophy is, “The sum total of all that you know and what you decide is valuable.” Your philosophy affects every area of your life. It effects how you view your past, how you view your current circumstances, how you view your future, who you’ll date, who you will marry, how much money you will make, how much confidence you have, how nice of a house you’ll live in, etc.

My question for you is: How is your personal philosophy working out for you so far? 

Do you like where you are in life? Do you have great relationships? Are you making enough money? Are you doing what you love? Are you growing? Are you headed somewhere worth going?

Look around at the people closest to you. Odds are you have similar life philosophies. Who are the people you look up to? All of these things impact the way our lives will play out.

Our personal philosophies have been shaped by everything that has influenced us in life. Teachers, family members, pastors, books, music, the culture, and anything that we have allowed ourselves to be influenced by.

Our philosophies are being shaped and developed daily. The big question is, who and what are you allowing to shape yours? If you would have asked me 9 years ago, what I was allowing to shape mine, I would have told you, music, my friends, and the entire drugs and alcohol culture. I was headed nowhere, I was depressed, and miserable.

Then I started recognizing the importance of building a personal philosophy that would lead me to a successful life. Today, I allow God’s Word, the Bible, to be the number one influence on my personal philosophy. Second, I am constantly reading books and listening to podcasts about God, success, business, and leadership to help develop my personal philosophy. The more I allow these things to develop me philosophy, the happier and more successful I find myself to be.

If you don’t like where you are in life or the direction your headed in life, it can turn around by simply changing your personal philosophy. Jim Rohnsaid, “Only human beings can reorder their lives any day they choose by refining their philosophy.”

What has and is currently shaping your view on: God, family, making money, your career, your friends, and your values? What influences do you need to cut off from your life? What influences do you need to start putting into your life?

Change your philosophy = Change The Outcome of Your Life Forever

The Hot Poker Principle is simple: put the poker by the fire and it stays hot. Take the poker out of the fire and it will cool down.

The same is true in our lives. The people who are the happiest in life are the people who are always growing. Growth equals happiness. So how do we ensure that we will always be growing? We’ve got to abide by the hot poker principle. We’ve got to put ourselves in situations that will allow us to always be growing. 

Here are 5 things you can do to stay “hot” every year:

Be Around Great People – I recently posted about surrounding yourself with great people. Take some time and make a list of people you admire and look up to. Ask them if you can grab coffee or breakfast with them. Get them on your calendar over the course of the next year. Nobody is off-limits. The worst that can happen is someone says no. Strive to spend time with great people.

Listen to Great Lessons – There is no excuse to not listen to great lessons. With podcasts, there is an endless supply of great teachers to listen to. Find the ones that speak to your soul, and listen to them as often as you can.If you don’t think you have time, listen to them in the car, you’d be surprised how many lessons you’ll listen to in a year’s time!

Visit Great Places – My friend, Natalie, who has traveled a lot, recently told me that she believes traveling is more about courage than it is about money. I believe that to be true. Visiting great places changes you. It gives you a broader view of the world and of people. Make a list of places you’d love to visit and develop a plan to make it happen. (i.e. I want to visit every presidential library, I want to visit and tour Israel, etc.)

Visit Great Events – Conferences, seminars, leadership roundtables, etc. While these can be pricey, the potential they have for changing your life is priceless. The best investment you can make is investing in yourself. Be willing to pay for great experiences, the return on the investment over the long haul will be much greater than your initial investment. 

Read Great Books – You have heard it a million times, leaders are readers. If you’re not reading on a consistent basis, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to grow. Mark Twain said, “The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.” Read books that will help you grow and develop! Be intentional about the ones you select.

So my questions for you are:

Who are the people you want to spend the most time with in 2012?

What lessons from leaders will you listen to?

What great places will you plan to go?

What great events will you go to?

What great books will you read?

Thoughts?

Yesterday, I focused on people you should run from. Today I want to focus on the people that you should surround yourself with!

In the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell has a law,The law of the Inner Circle, that states, “Those closest to you will determine the level of your success!

The older I get, the more I recognize how profound that is.

If you meet anyone that is successful, I guarantee you that they have surrounded themselves with great people. Few people are successful unless a lot of other people want them to be. It’s critical to know who to surround ourselves with in life. I thought I’d share some people I believe you need to surround yourself with:

Adders – Adders are people who you enjoy spending time with because they make you feel great. You don’t feel drained or upset after being with them. You don’t dread having to spend time with them, in fact you’re happy you get to spend time with them! Examples:

• Encouragers – Everyone needs encouragement. You want people in your inner circle that you know you can go to and come away encouraged.

• People that Can Pick Up where They Left Off With You – Some of the most refreshing people in life are those you can go years without seeing and yet, when you see them again, it’s like no time passed at all.

• People You can Be You With – Don’t you love people you can be with and just be yourself and at the same time, have a blast? We need these people in our lives!

Multipliers -You want as many of these as you can get! Often, they are mentors who can take us further, faster, in our journey. A few examples of multipliers are:

• People that can Tell You No and Challenge You – These people are crucial in helping us maintain our integrity. They help keep us from making stupid decisions. They inspire and challenge us to do more and go farther!

• People that Dream Bigger and Think Bigger than We Do – Aren’t there some people who you spend time with and afterward you’re dreaming bigger than you ever have and thinking bigger than you ever have?

• People Who Are Doing What we Would like to be Doing – These are people who are farther ahead in the journey than we are. You want to surround yourself with people who are successful in all of the areas you’d like to be successful in. People who are where you’d like to be in your walk with God, financially, relationally, in our careers, and in life.

Evaluate where you are in life right now. Now evaluate the people you surround yourself with. Where you are in life is a reflection of the people you’ve surrounded yourself.

Don’t like where you are or where you’re going? Perhaps it’s time to change your inner circle.

What other kind of people should we surround ourselves with?

Thoughts?