The People Around You Matter, a quote from Steve Case (past AOL founder)

I could not say this any better.

“No matter what you do in life, your ability to succeed will be largely dependent on your ability to work with people. Indeed, it has often been said that what you do is less important then who you do it with – that the people you surround yourself with, whether a spouse, or friends, or co-workers, will ultimately be the principal determinant of the course your life will take. So don’t just focus on the job descriptions, or the brand name of the organization you’re going to join – also focus on who you’ll be working for, and with.”

I recently attended a funeral of, in my opinion, an extremely successful personality. His biggest success, was not measured by the size of his bank account. Really, you cannot take this with you. Most touchingly, it was the size of the friends and family that gathered for his memorial service and the stories of how he touched their lives that really demonstrated to me how rich he really was. He not only had a strong connected multi-generational family. He had an extensive business group of influential people, all of whom counted him as a friend, who supported each other. The ripples of his life continued well after he was gone.

Reflect on what is truly important to you. I do not mean to be preaching but sometimes, in life, we get caught up in the pursuit of the dream and do not pause to cherish the valuable human interactions that we enjoy today.

Learn, think, apply!