let your friends inspire you.

i used to think you were better off being inspired by those at the very top, right! aim up as possible then drag yourself up there: the celebrities, the billionaire ceos, or those at the very top. their stories are nice, the highlights are perfect but the more i paid attention to what works not just for myself but people around me, the more i realized they dont really help. everything feels too far away. you see their success, their big wins, their perfect routines, their doctored podcast, ted talks and books designed to sell, but you never see the full story. you don’t know exactly what worked or what doesn’t. after a while, the inspiration fades, and you’re left wondering if their path is even possible for you.

but when i started looking around me, i noticed something. the people that truly push me forward are not those far away, but those just one step ahead. friends, colleagues, or even people i casually know. their progress makes sense because i can see it clearly. their struggles are familiar because i’m probably going through the same thing. the things they use to move forward are within reach, its not some millionaire morning routine or some random person that has access to different infrastructure or some one making a product sold in a totally different society/clientele but its things i can actually apply, scenes i can recreate and same markets i can build for.

another reason this kind of inspiration works is because there’s a high chance of getting mentorship. big ceos don’t have your time, but your guy who just figured something out? he can show you the way, even if its just through conversation. sometimes, the person might not even know they’re mentoring you, but just by watching them, you learn. and when you are surrounded by people making progress, you naturally start moving forward too.

let people close to you inspire.