A question for self-reflection is - “Who’s Walking With Us?” After a not-so-great encounter with law enforcement when I was a sophomore in High School, my father informed me of his concerns about my questionable talent recognition in friends and acquaintances. He used the expression, "You are measured by the company you keep." That incident changed my trajectory. I’d been running with the wrong crowd. Not because I was looking for trouble—but because I let it just happen. Because whether we realize it or not, we don’t walk through life alone—and the people we walk with quietly shape where we end up.

We need to “Choose Company That Nourishes.” The word company comes from the Latin companion “one who eats bread with you.” Not someone who just shares space—but someone who shares life. Most of us don’t intentionally choose bad company. We drift into it. We sit with whoever’s nearby. We walk with whoever’s available. We spend time with people because it’s convenient—not because it’s life-giving. Culture tells us friends are interchangeable. Social media calls everyone a “friend.” But the truth is, not everyone deserves access to our life.

All of us need to build a success circle— this is not networking, not collecting contacts, not adding contacts to our social media platforms - but keeping good company with: Mentors, Advisors, Confidants, Friends who sharpen us.

Don’t keep company with anyone who’s not going where you aspire to go. Never make someone a priority when you are only an option for them. Keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.

Some of the most powerful relationships in our lives are what Geoffrey Greif calls “rust friends”—people who’ve known us a long, long time. There’s something about being with people who know where we’ve been—not just where we are today. People who can look at our life and say, “I remember when…” Old friends are guardians of our story.

Back in the early 1970’s when Bruce Springsteen was about to rocket to stardom and national attention with the release of his third album, Born to Run, he asked the E-Street Band to commit to being all-in for all-of-it and with all-of-us. It would be easy to be all-in for being on-stage, for the fame and for the money. He needed them to be all-in for the grind of a road tour, the hours of practice, the set-ups and tear downs. He also needed them to be all-in for each other and not for just themselves.

This is also true in Families. Easy being a dad when your daughter scores 20 points in a basketball game, but you need to be there, all-in, when she slams a door in your face and screams “I hate you” for reasons you can’t figure out. Everyone is all-in on their wedding day, but how about when money is tight or a spouse gets a serious illness or when your Mother-in-law moves in. As well as business. Being successful means doing all-of-it; the mundane and drudgery work required to qualify opportunities, prepare quotations, review excel spreadsheets.

Ancient philosophers and contemporary scientists agree that one of the keys to happiness is strong relationships with other people. We need to be able to confide; to feel that we belong; to be able to get support, and just as important for happiness, to give support. Meaningful friendships bring joy and fulfillment. When we invest in others without any specific motive or the expectation of immediate returns, we experience the satisfaction of making a positive impact on someone else's life.

Let’s make wise decisions around the people with whom we invest our precious resource of time. Keep company with friends and family that support our dreams and nourish us along our journey. Who we are is an outcome of the company we keep.