 Sometimes, ago, I used to have a friend with whom I met with every Sunday. We attended the same primary school and proceeded to attend the same high school. We practically knew each other well and it was fun being friends with him, yet I caught him up abruptly till date. I have no regrets that I did that. The reason is simple. As we grew older and I was almost preparing to leave the university, I observed that each time we met, all he talked about was girls, how he could get a girl, how he could nail a girl, how he could get laid and all sorts of things about girls. First, while I do not claim to be holier than he was, I wasn't brought up to disrespect girls. Second, I had too many dreams in front of me to pursue. So, I rejected his friendship and stopped talking to him or visiting him. His parents and siblings took it personally. They ignored me whenever they saw me. I didn't care. I wasn't going to let some wrong friend derail me from following the right path. You see, for most of us young people, we are in relationships that we think are great. But looking closely at them, they are unprofitable. You would have succeeded faster if only you didn't have the wrong friends in your life. Your dreams wouldn't have been derailed if only you didn't listen to yourself lying to yourself that butthole addict Joe will do me no harm. I do not mean that there are no good friends out there but if you want to succeed or keep on the path, to achieve in your dreams, here are the three kinds of people you should avoid like a plague. 1. People who don't talk about their dreams Once, I worked with a lady who was so easy to chat with. She was a wonderful lady and was always fun to be with. She was deeply religious and I appreciated her for it. Too often, she talked about having money and making money and owning lots of money. But in all my years of working with her, she never encouraged my dreams. If she had dreams or aspire to be anything, I don't know. You may say it's not my business to be concerned about her and not talking about her dreams but as Jim Ron said, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Meaning, if the people you associate with are complacent, passive about life and never having dreams, never pursuing any goal, you can be sure that you will soon be like them. You will be complacent, passive and never be moved to always take initiative. The ideology is simple. When a baby eagle flocks with chickens, she will never think she can fly. When a baby prince grows up with commoners, it will be hard to convince him he is a prince. When you move with people who are complacent, passive and who never talk about their dreams and seem to have no aspiration beyond having a days meal, you will soon become like them. Run for your life. 2. People who don't encourage your dreams. I told you how I studied a course I didn't like in the university. Well, back then, I had a friend. We were in the same department who were so close we read together for examinations. Till this day, this guy is still number one on the list of my best friends. The reason is simple. While at the university, he would encourage us to study together. When it was time for examination, he never allowed us to sit together. We always sat in the front row and never committed examination malpractice, not even when the paper was difficult. In my final year, when I gave up on studying for an exam because the course was challenging to study, he woke me up very early on the same day we were right in the course. Then he took his time to teach me for almost two hours. When we got into the exam hall, the exam questions were similar to what we had taught me. Fast forward years later, some months ago when I was planning my wedding, this friend was amongst the four friends who spent his time, lots of money and energy making sure the wedding was successful. When I was struggling financially in the first few months of my marriage, he always encouraged me and dared me not to give up. And each time we talked, he asked me what I was working on and how I was making progress. We don't just receive from each other, we give to each other. If your friends are not people like this, he will be willing to sacrifice for your dream and whose dreams you can also encourage. If they are friends who don't even care about your dreams but are only concerned about the next party, buying the most expensive cars and getting laid all the time, you should jump through the window and run for your life, if you're certain you really want to succeed in life. 3. People who don't even believe in dreams I told you how for years I had a wrong perspective about money. I lived amongst religious people who thought that money was evil. For a long time, just the mention of money made me shudder. If you recommended a book to me that was not religious, I concluded you were on your way to hell. I didn't know how this environment had seriously affected me until I grew from a rich business person to a poor, always broke, beggarly individual. In fact, my mindset was so messed up I was contended in being broke, begging people for food and money and never having to touch money. It took a miracle and epiphany to make me see that I was stupid. God isn't against you having lots of money. God is against you loving money so much you would even sell your soul to have it. God is against you running after it like you would die if you don't have it. Soon as I knew the truth, I got back my dream and got on with it. The reason for my initial failure was simple. I lived with people who didn't believe your shouldering. I had such a wrong perspective about it all. It almost destroyed me. It's the same as I said in point one. You're the average of five people you spend the most time with. If you move with people who don't believe in dreams, don't be surprised when you forget all your so-called dreams and you start to do the same thing they do. Your success isn't dependent on people. Yes, but whether we like it or not, our environment has a way of shaping us into the person we eventually become. Look at your life right now. What you have become or are on your way to becoming has been determined and will continue to be determined by the kind of people you have around you. Are they dreamers or loafers? Are they dream encouragers or dream killers? Do they have their own dreams or do they believe that someday they will get lucky? Jahanite, author of 39-day life-scape, become a better you. And I quote, your dreams and goals are bigger than small-minded people or the fears that they harbor. Don't let their ocean of fear trap you in their undertow. Only if the people in your circle are not better than you or at least as good as you, are you guaranteed to succeed greatly and tremendously. If this video inspired you, like this channel. We love you.