“You must constantly ask yourself these questions:
Who am I around? What are they doing to me? What have they got me reading?
What have they got me saying? Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking?
And most important, what do they have me becoming?
Then ask yourself the big question: Is that okay?

- Jim Rohn

These are some powerful questions. I thought might want to see my answers

Who am I around? What are they doing to me?
Recently I had the opportunity to work with someone I have not worked with in a very long time. It was quite a revelation to sit in the same room and interact with this person again. You see I had almost completely forgotten how negative this person is.

This individual isn’t bad, evil, or stupid – just negative. It was an amazing thing to witness. You could almost see the aura of negativity that surrounded this person. Anyone who stayed within about eight feet of this individual for any length of time appeared to be influenced. A normally outgoing and upbeat gentleman sat beside this person and quickly became quiet, reserved and at some points almost sullen.

This reminded me why I started distancing myself from this individual years ago! Over the last few years, I have deliberately distanced myself from quite a few people because of the negative effect they have on me and my attitude. It didn’t take long to realize that time alone was better than time spent with people who are ‘unmotivating’ and depressing. I will admit that I have sacrificed a couple of friendships by avoiding these people. However, overall, I am a much happier and positive person as a result.

What have they got me reading?
I have a friend to simply devours a dozen different magazines and periodicals relating to the IT industry. If you want to have an intelligent conversation with him, you had better have done your homework! I have another friend who reads Popular Science and Popular Mechanics. A good friend of mine recently challenged me to keep up with him on reading all the books on the New York Times best seller list.

What have they got me saying?
In less than 24 hours I have had a couple of conversation about the power of simple, basic questions. I’ve learned some new questions to ask when faced with problems. Even better, I’ve learned a couple of questions to ask to help avoiding problems!

Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking?
Physically, I’m not going to many different places. Virtually, I’m going to all kinds of new and interesting places. As a result, I’m learning about Philo Farnsworth and wikis. (If you want to know, you’ll have to do your own homework!) As a result of all of this new information, I find myself thinking more about what is going on around me and the direction things are heading.

What do they have me becoming?

I think I’m becoming better at many things as a result of all of the information that is coming in. I’m reading a lot. I’m asking a lot of questions – which is a prerequisite for learning anything new. I’m learning about myself, other people, and my surroundings. I’m learning new ways to approach my work and to work more effectively and efficiently.

Is that okay?
Yes!

I dare you to honestly answer these questions.