Social Synergy

The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.
- Epictetus

That's a serious challenge that came down the wire from Dr. Eric Cobb, the founder of Z-Health. John Du Cane posted it on the Dragon Door forum, and now I'm posting it here.

Cobb's assertion is that the quality of life you create by constantly keeping company with those who bring out the best in you is going to put you on a completely different tier than those who fight with the inner urge to smite those that they have to spend time with.

I couldn't agree more!

I had a long conversation with someone last night about occasionally doing "surgery" on your circle of friends. Every now & then, the group of people that you think of as friends needs a little pruning. While the idea of friendship is generally somewhat rose-tinted, the idea of your closest circle of friends working towards a shared goal or a common vision is always one that creates exponential enthusiasm, unparallelled support, and incredible brainstorming.

The same can and should be said of your clientele or your workplace as well!

If you find yourself dreading the office or your place of work simply because you hate dealing with the personalities that fill that place and you feel like the odd person out all the time, do something to change it.

And as Hwa Rang Do's Chiefmaster Taejoon Lee says, "It's far easier to change yourself than to change others."

So put your CV out there if you need a new job, or if you're in the selective customer service sector (e.g., a personal trainer) fire those clients who stress you out. While it sounds so unceremonious to "fire" them, you can do it in a way that makes you look good by "referring" them to other trainers that you feel are more socially or emotionally equipped to deal with them. That way, you send business to someone else and you rid yourself of an onus all in one fell swoop!

Life's best lived when you have the chance to create a positive synergy. That's a lesson I've seen played out time and time again with my mentor, Pavel Tsatsouline. And now Dr. Eric Cobb has challenged us to live that same way.

Let's do it!