“Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” This proverb has multiple applications for all people, but especially entrepreneurs. Upon your initial reading, you will probably understand that it is speaking to the importance of your associations with other people. Choosing the people with whom you spend time is extremely important, as they will have a considerable impact on you. Spend lots of time with pessimists and you will tend to be more pessimistic. Spend time with negative people who always think and talk about the reasons why something won’t work, and you will tend to think and talk about the reasons why things, including your great ideas, won’t work. However, spending time with optimistic and positive people will help you to be generally more positive and optimistic. Even more importantly, when you surround yourself with optimistic and positive people, they will be able to lift you up during low or tough times.
There is a second application to consider. In order to be sharpened, we need to be with other people. We cannot operate in silos or on islands by ourselves. There is no way one person can perform all of the functions necessary to build a business well enough to be effective. Entrepreneurs need to learn to build teams and lead them. You need to do what you do best and bring others aboard to do everything else. Build a team of great people who will support you and your business, and then let them do what they do best. Collectively, the individuals on your team will begin to sharpen one another and all will be better for it.
Whether you are working on building a team or working on yourself, it is important to surround yourself with the right people for you. It is important that you are not always the smartest person in the room. It is also important that you are not in over your head to the point where you cannot contribute. You need to be able to give as well as receive. Not only do you want to be sharpened, but you will want to help sharpen others as well.
Consider your current friends and associations. Are they helping you to grow, to become better? Do they challenge you? Do you feel better after spending time with them? Or are they shackles to your growth and development? Are they holding you back from pursuing your dreams? Do they grind you down and snuff out your optimism?
If your current circles are pulling you in the wrong direction, it’s time to make a change. You don’t need to stop spending time with them completely, but you will be better served to spend less time with them. Search out people who are already doing the things you want to be doing. Find a mentor. Consider joining a mastermind group. Do whatever is necessary to get around people who will help you, who will sharpen you. As Jim Rohn said, “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?” Soon enough, your new circles will have sharpened you. As that happens, you will have the opportunity to begin sharpening others around you as well.
Until next time, Fight On!
Black Alder 