today as i was driving back from the snow for 5+ hours, i was captivated listening to the audio version of malcolm gladwell’s book outliers.  i was so hooked on the story that even though this was not the first time i had read the book, the driving breaks i took were very short as i wanted to keep listening to the story!

i had read it when the book first came out, and back then was struck by malcolm’s theories on what caused the success of athletes, students, gurus etc.  however this time, i was mulling over the importance of community, family and cultural upbringing and the huge difference they play in the wellbeing of people.

i’ve lived away from all my family since the age of 14.75 and i was pondering on how that impacted me, and how it’s made me the person of who i am today – for better or for worse!  having just come away from a week of hanging with some friends and various strangers in a big farm house, you could say that this was not an environment i was really familiar with… and i have come away a better person for the richness of experience and the diversity of people that i interacted with.

and for those of you who think i am an extrovert, if you had seen me over the last week, you would definitely not have thought that!  i would have to say that as an introvert – i have a limited amount of energy to hang with others and some people take much more energy than others.  i found myself getting some space at various moments to stay sane.  and the experience reminded me that who i spend time with plays such an important part in my wellbeing.  as jim rohn famously said, “you are the average of the top 5 people you spend most of your time with”.

are you happy with the top 5 people you spend most of your time with?  and if you agree with you, what does that tell you about your future?