One Bad Apple...

One bad apple can ruin the bunch.  I'm sure you've heard this time and time again.  The saying explains how when one bad apple is with fresh ones, it will ruin the other apples as well.  The saying is absolutely true, but as I get older, I wonder to what exact degree.

As I look back on my childhood, I'm so thankful that I had parents who were stern enough to steer me away from things and people they knew would take me down a negative path.  Whether it be through fixing my incorrect vernacular or curving my newly learned, slightly absurd ideals, what angered me for being taken away, was ultimately for my good.  I look at myself now and see that if they would have allowed me to get comfortable in a bad place, I'd be in an even worse one.  You have to do that with children though.  Adults can follow those same rules, but children, especially, need that guidance and structure.  

I fasted forward to my adulthood and am now beginning to rethink the whole "bad apple" concept.  The adult version of this saying, that you'll most likely hear in the business world is "the top 5 people in your circle, determine how far you go."  Well, when you're not hanging out with mega business minds like Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki or well established moguls like Oprah or Jay-Z, what does that mean for you?  I kept thinking about that in terms of myself.   A lot of my friends are at the place that I'm in...grinding it out and burning many midnight oils.  Reaching for the place where we want to be, the things we want to achieve.  Already pondering the following moves and new goals that come with acquiring the success that we're still in route toward.  When I initially heard this quote, I started thinking that my top level friends, as much as I love them, weren't top level at all, not in the terms of the success that I wanted.  When that is the case, you have to become one of the top people in your circle and begin to adopt that mentality. 

I like to think that in an environment that tries to consistently stifle you or turn you into the next bad apple, you can be the one that rises out of the bunch and produces delicious fruit and bear seeds that produce more greatness. 

As you go through your days, and work toward your goals, continue to fight through the negativity and rise above your circumstances and surroundings.  Be the GOOD apple and commit to providing seeds for not only yourself, but for others too.

Until next time...keep the forward movement...