Surrounding yourself with people who are powerful is essential; and when I say powerful, I mean energetically, motivationally, and within themselves. Whether it’s friends, influencers, creatives, motivators -- if you want to continue to stay driven and excited about projects you’re working on, or should be working on, allow yourself to be inspired by how hardworking they are and take note of what they’re doing that you can adopt into your own habits.

I suppose it’s easier said than done to notice these types of people in certain places over others; some towns are slower moving, a little more relaxed, and less focused on go / do / now. But, being in Los Angeles, I feel like I’m spoiled having been engulfed completely in a sea of creative geniuses, self-starters, and entrepreneurs. Every time I catch up with a friend or comrade it seems they’ve started their own business and they’re hauling ass. People in this city do not sleep - it’s not for the lazy, it’s not for the weak. It really forces you to ask yourself what the fuck you’re doing and where your head’s at for those goals you set for yourself X amount of months ago.

I’ve recently taken on a project that I’ve been thinking, talking, and dreaming about creating for years. The motivation sort of just surfaced and exploded over the last couple of weeks, and now is snowballing into fruition. Each day I force myself to work on it, look at it from another angle, ask other people’s advice or opinions or edits, do my research, take notes, and digest everything, and I can’t remember the last time I really worked like this. I realized: maybe it’s coming on so strong because it’s a new year, new opportunity for greatness, and everyone around me is in that exact same mindset: ready and prepared to put thoughts into things, manifesting them all into action. That’s the most important part: to DO. Even if some days you just want to do fuck all and avoid anything productive.

Why put off till tomorrow what you could put into action today? Even baby steps are big steps. Perhaps I sound like a broken record at this point, but these are the realities if you want to move forward and get out of that stasis that keeps you paralyzed while everyone else excels in front of you. It’s a very simple concept, with very simple rules, but it’s much easier to talk about it than to put it into action, especially when everyone needs to find the routine that works best for them within those rules. Rather than focusing on the success from these inspired beings as something to make you feel shit, unequipped, or lost - ask yourself how many projects you’ve wanted to start that you could begin to put into motion? Oftentimes with the way social media works these days you see commentary from people who are trying to cut them down, or they post something in response talking about how okay it is to be lazy, to do nothing, that they enviously wish they could be that person or doing what they’re doing. The difference between that person and the person who is surrounding themselves by all of these amazing things is that go-getter attitude. They are living in that mindset. They have the balls to do it, and the drive, and they continue to push through the harder days where it’s near impossible to figure out what’s next and they press on and do it anyway instead of saying “screw it” and lounging around watching another season of some show on Netflix (which everyone wants to do most days, I’m realistic). Instead of wasting time and energy asking yourself why or how they’re better than you are at staying on that track and getting out of bed in the morning, think of something - anything, you could do to put you right out there with them. They’re not afraid of their potential, their greatness, or their creativity. They just do it, and that’s the biggest step. Each day is a new opportunity to have a great day.

It’s incredibly important to surround yourself with more of these people than the people who are happy to be lazy, negative, and sit in a shack behind their apartment getting stoned all day. What will ultimately progress you on your journey? Even if it’s not something you’re worried about right now, eventually, and I promise you this - you will look back and ask yourself why it took you so long to get off your ass and do something to change your lifestyle and you’d wish you hadn’t wasted so much time. These are the types of people who not only can, but are happy to propel you forward and help lift you up to be your best self and put forth your best work effort. Why wouldn’t they? They’re riding their success high, and they want to share it with you. They’re not more “blessed” than you, they’ve not got something exponential and secret that you can’t have - they’re just harnessing their power, their wants, their desires, and they’re putting them to action, and with that mindset, they’ve completely opened themselves up to receive more of that, abundantly.

There are going to be some people out there who are genuinely afraid of what your success will mean for them and the story they keep in their mind of you, and of your relationship. Sometimes, unfortunately, those people end up being some of your closest relationships. But that’s when you realize that sometimes you grow out and away from those relationships, and you follow separate paths and it’s totally okay and absolutely normal. Usually it comes from a subconscious level of them not knowing how to handle you being, perceptively, in their own eyes, more successful than they are, or “changing” from who they thought you were or want you to be. And usually that just means those people take a little longer to accept that we are always evolving and growing, and it’s not a bad thing. Cut them some slack and focus on you and yourself. The only person you should keep a competitive relationship with is yourself, keeping up to your own standards, and ignoring the rest if it does not serve to inspire you.