I worked in a bookstore during my early teen years. The store owner's son was my friend and he happened to be a very good artiste, yet to explore his potentials fully at that time. Whenever we were less busy he would spend time drawing random stuff and they turned out really good. One day I told him, "this can actually be your career. You need to put your work out there." He was reluctant at first but he gave it a try. I was amongst the first set of persons to buy his art-- at a very, very cheap rate. I'm glad to inform you that he was featured on CNN news earlier this year and he is doing well for himself.
Sometimes I wonder what would have become of his talent if he wasn't prompted by me and some of his friends. It wasn't as if he just developed the passion for drawing overnight , he had always known how to draw but he never thought it could be something he could do for a living. At that time he was chasing a degree in engineering, but it turned out it was not his destiny to be an engineer.
The people around you can hinder or support your progress. It's imperative that you are conscious of the people you let into your life. There is an old saying that you should choose your friends and not let your friends choose you. When you let random people come into your life, they deposit all sorts of things, good and bad. You become an open field that welcomes all manner of things and in the end you suffer. You're productive is marred, you cannot move further in life because the people around you are myopic and can't see past their noses.
Being in line with people who have similar goals can significantly boost your productivity. Here on steemit we have different people with different goals. Now, aligning with those who shared the same interest as you can boost your engagement. You can't be interested in art and tag along with the tech guys, you will just end you confused because you might not relate with some of the things they talk about. Also, you guys may not help each other grow because, apart from occasional upvotes, they cannot give the type of advice or constructive criticism that will help you improve on your craft. So it's imperative you surround yourself with people of like minds. Although it has it downsides, especially in terms of thinking outside the box, people alike hardly have different options, so a little diversity won't hurt. As much as it is important to stick with your kind, you should not limit your knowledge of the world to just the things your understand and know.
Sometimes you have to let old friends go. This is one of the hardest things because you're emotional attached. You've formed a bond that has taken time and letting go just like that is really difficult, even when the person you're holding on to is hindering your progress. I have a friend in school who I send a lot of time with because it happens that we live in the same block. She is an extreme time waster and indifferent about her academics. Every time I want to study or even spend time alone with my thoughts to reflect on my life she comes along with some irrelevant gist. Whenever I shun her she gets apprehensive and play the guilty card on me. She even goes as far has shifting her project and assignments to me when I have a ton of things to do and she is fully aware of this. I resolved recently to keeping my distance because I have realised that nothing fruitful can come out from this relationship. No one should trap you or make you feel guilty for wanting to be productive. Some friends even go as far as stopping you from meeting new people, and then get jealousy when you do, this is the type of energy you need to avoid. Everyone has his time and place, and when it's time to move ahead don't let people draw you back.
Relationships are not all about gains, sometimes you have to give and not necessarily receive anything in return, but this should not hurt your balance. It simply becomes a parasitic relationship when people are taking more than they such in termss of your time and space. The truth be told, once such person realise that they cannot gain anything from you any longer, they bail out on you. That's why it's also important that you're not the disposable one in any relationship, always have something to offer-- something of value the other person appreciates. People are natural narcissistic and they tend to know when they are not gaining from you, and it's only a matter of time they distant themselves from you completely.
Whether it be your family, friends or colleagues, you need to take stock of the people who are affecting your life positively or negatively and distant yourself from the latter.
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