Who You Know

It’s a great mystery; who you become is inextricably linked to who you know. How your life unfolds is greatly influenced by the people you are connected with. Some of these relationships, like your parents and your siblings, are given. Others, like your spouse and your friends, are created.

Confucius said, “Never contract friendship with a man that is not better than thyself.” The quality of the relationships we create can mean the difference between a mediocre and a great life. If we take the advice of Confucius, we’d do well to cultivate our relationships with care, deliberately seeking out our betters in the areas in which we want grow. 

“Who’s the most intimidating person you can think of who could give you feedback on your Latin lesson?” This is the question my former coach, Joseph Thompson, asked me years ago when I was working toward becoming a master teacher of Latin. I immediately thought of Daniel Petterssson, the founder of Latinitium.com and the author of the Legentibus app. Daniel is the closest thing I’ve seen to a Latin Youtube star, and he is truly a master teacher of Latin. Although it was intimidating, I reached out to him to receive feedback on a recording I had made of one of my lessons. 

This initial email led to my becoming friends with Daniel, and to this day, he is my teacher. If I were not challenged by Joe to reach out to someone who was my better, this meaningful unfolding of my life would not have emerged. 

This week, I invite you to ask: 

How well do the relationships in my life reflect what matters most to me? If there were a person who could dramatically improve the unfolding of my life, who would that be? What might change if I connected with this person? When will I reach out? 

God bless,
Dan

P.S.- Use the promo code TAC23 to get a discount on the Legentibus app.