How Your Circle of Friends Influence Who You Become

 

Transcript

This is a rock and this is water. If you pour water on a rock, nothing happens. But if you pour water on a rock, time after time after time, the rock eventually changes. 

I can't believe I'm making this video but here is a confession. When I was a kid I loved eating meat and all my friends did, too, because meat was our favorite dish. And vegetarians, I hated, because life is too short not to enjoy meat. Until one day, something crazy happened.

I found a girl online and I liked her. I took her on a date and all of a sudden she says, "I'm vegetarian." I thought to myself, "Crap! I like this girl but eating out with her is going to be difficult." Day after day after day, we would go on dates and she would order avocado and I would order steak. And she would whisper, "It's better to be vegetarian." I disagreed. She ate her own and I ate mine. 

But, her small influence on my food was like water hitting my rock and after hundreds of meals and hundreds of waves, my rock started changing. And one day, I woke up and realized that I no longer eat meat. I was shocked! I don't know why I stopped because I love steak. But when all my friends, Alyne and my best friend Agon ordered vegetables day after day after day, I gave in and changed my diet. 

You might think this video is about food but it's really not. It's bigger than that. This video is about the people around you because they change and shape you in ways that you cannot control. If your group of friends drink alcohol, you will eventually drink alcohol. If your closest friends are athletic, you will become athletic. If your closest friends want to succeed in life, you will succeed in life. Even if you're a rock and your friends are water, sooner or later they will change you for better or for worse.

"It actually goes both ways. I learned a lot from spending time with Nas. I'm a lot more ambitious now and I use my time much more efficiently. I use every day to do something to work towards my goals."

I stopped eating meat because of my friends but the bigger picture here is that you should be careful who your closest friends are because sooner or later you will become them.