I have wanted to write something like this for quite some time, but I have never put the pen to paper and made it happen.

Throughout our lives, we meet so many people. People that impact us, people that change us, people that support and love us, people that test us, people that have absolutely no effect on our lives that we simply meet in passing..... and the list goes on. A lot of these people are a big reason you became who you are.

Throughout our lives we encounter a different situation, problems, achievements, we conquer goals, and learn things the hard way! Every single one of these molds you into the person you've become or the person you're going to be.

The good news is that you are in control more than anyone you meet or any situation you encounter. You get the final say on who you become.

So is one of these things more important than the other? Does it matter if you are the CEO of a company if you ruined friendships and burnt bridges to get there? Does it matter that you got a college degree and have a husband and kids, if you are terrible to people around you and only put yourself and your success first?

The answer is yes. One of these things is much more important than the other.

Becoming successful rather than be owning your dream company, climbing the ladder at work, making a bunch of money, accomplishing the career you've worked so hard to have; none of that matters very much if no one around you has anything good to say about you and you cant get along with people because you only care about yourself.

Everyone (myself included) needs to remember that how I become successful or how I become what I want to become is so much more important. Being a listening ear for a co-worker, being a workout buddy to a friend, being a helping hand to someone in a tough spot, giving people a break when you help them because you can and maybe they could use the extra help.....

The list goes on but being that person, that person that smiles back, the person that is no better than anyone below them in their job, the person that picks up the phone when someone needs to talk.

I aspire to be that person. I aspire to be the person people want to be around, that people want to invite to do things because I encourage them, I make them laugh, and I help more than I hurt. As I continue to become who and what I want to become, I pray to focus more on how I become it.