Company You Keep and Company I Keep
Read this if you are interested in hearing what type of people I’d like to meet.
I have been privileged. Because of my previous liaison work and passion to learning, I have had the chance to meet some of the most influential people in the world.
Eric Schmidt of Google
Dr. Muhammad Yunus of the Grameen Bank
Michael Milken of the Milken Institute
Al Gore
TEDsters
Award winning actors.
Technology Tycoons
Legendary VCs
Diplomats
Nobel Laureates
All that good stuff. Yes they are very interesting people. Yes they have accomplished a lot in their life time. Yes I get caught up in my exhilaration every time I meet these celebrities.
Don’t mistake my exhilaration to obsession. I don’t really care about the gossips about their every move. But I am appreciative of what value they stand for and the discipline they have to accomplish what they have.
And do I hope their accomplishments rub off on me? Ahh yes!
But, don’t mistake my appreciation to these accomplished people to snobbery.
I believe that it is within the ability of all of us to accomplish similar feats. All talent and IQ aside. It is through shear will and determination to gauge one’s success in life.
If you want something, go for it. How many rags to riches story have you heard? The only person who can stop you is you.
Therefore, I believe that I can learn something from everyone and everything. As a matter of fact a few of my biggest lessons were taught to me during my volunteering days in NYC homeless shelter.
But I digress.
Here is a quote I came across that best describe how I feel about this.
The Invitation
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for,
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed
from the fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own,
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic,
to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself;
if you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul;
if you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy
I want to know if you can see Beauty even when it is not pretty, every day.
And if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure,
yours and mine,
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
‘yes.’
It doesn’t interest me to know
where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair,
weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you,
from the inside, and when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.
By Oriah Mountain Dreamer
If we are truly defined by the company we keep, what kind of company are you keeping in your life? Do an inventory check on the 5 closest friends you have. The average of their characters, drama, conversations, networth, and family is you.
What will you change about the company you keep now?
