Who are you modeling your future self after?

When I was a young basketball player striving to become a professional, I participated in a tournament. Over three days, we played five games each day, spending most of our time in the gym.

Between games, my teammates and I watched other teams compete. One day, our coach—a German basketball legend & prominent executive—stormed over and yelled at us for watching inferior teams.

“You’ll be what you see! Get the fck up and follow me” he screamed.

Without hesitation, he ordered us to leave and instead watch the favorites—teams with national prodigies. His frustration wasn’t about dismissing the value of studying failures. He understood that we were impressionable kids, absorbing everything around us like sponges. His real warning was against unconsciously adopting the habits, mannerisms, and beliefs of players who would never make it.

That lesson stayed with me. My coach, our leader, wanted us immersed in a winning culture—a world where excellence became the only standard and mediocrity felt foreign.

Quest:

And now, my dear friend, the challenge is yours. I’ve attached a tribe mapping exercise below—use that tool to audit your influences. Who do you observe, follow, or learn from daily? Are they A-players destined to win? Or default players you associate with out of habit or comfort?

Remember the words of Niccolò Machiavelli: *A ruler will be judged by who he surrounds himself with.*

Audit the players around you now, and afterwards, amputate everyone who doesn’t fit the standard necessary for you to achieve your grand and noble vision.

Remember, the word decision comes from the Latin decidere, meaning ‘to cut away.’ So be bold, endure the bleeding and have faith that cutting away parts of your tribe that dull your edge, will contribute to you creating a culture that will attract those who you need to fullfill your life´s work.

Until we meet again, my friend.

— Daniel M. Karim

Free Exercise: The Tribe Mapping Technique

The Tribe Mapping Technique will help you identify and evaluate the current quality of your social environment

Who you are comes also down to who you choose to surround yourself with, investing in this exercise will help you to build the tribe that you actually need around you so that success becomes inevitable for you.

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