Hey all,

Welcome to my first-ever weekly newsletter. I never really thought I'd be someone who'd write one of these, but I wanted to try it out as an experiment. Plus, I think it's nice to have a place to write once a week and have something to motivate me to learn new things. Most importantly, I'd love to create a community through these emails and see if making this content is helpful to you guys.

I want to talk to you this week about stealing from your friends. What I'm referring to is, unfortunately, not actual robbery but more like social osmosis: where information or skills are diffused from person to person through social groups and friendships. You probably already do this subconsciously. For example, you might take on the sense of humor of the funniest friend in your circle or feel more motivated to work hard because your study buddy has been working hard to create something they're passionate about.

I think most people know this. We're told that who we surround ourselves with heavily impacts how we grow and develop, and in turn, we are encouraged to try to surround ourselves with good people whose skills or attitudes may rub off on us.

But, here's the problem with this thinking, it frames your friends as tools that dictate your success. In this scenario, they either bring you up or push you down

One trick I like to use to gain the most from my community is by stealing skills from my friends.

Here are 3 steps that kind of sum it up:

#1: Track what you admire most about the people around you.

Writing down what you admire about people helps you practice gratitude and identify what makes you like them. The fun part about this is that these skills are probably also skills you'd like to have yourself, and since you're this person's friend, you're in an advantageous position to learn from them.

#2: Imitate your friends' skills and ask them to teach you how to be like them.

Here's where you take action to learn the skills you admire in others. Because you're so close to these people, you're uniquely qualified to understand why what they do is so effective, even if they may not realize it themself. By asking or imitating those you admire, you can adapt their skills to your own circumstances, and help those around you appreciate the skills they've developed.

#3: Try to give back to your friends and help them grow with you.

This may be the most important step. By giving back to your friends you help them grow and develop new skills - enabling you to learn from them again. I kind of look at it like this: if you can turn your circle into a learning, growing community you're always at an advantage because you'll always be better off learning as a unit of 10 people - all distilling information and sharing skills - rather than just learning alone. And as you build this community, your genuine care for others will help you become closer, have more fun, and make your life worth living.

(Still, things aren't always perfect, and if you have to, there is something to be said about cutting negative people out of your life. But, I always try my best to do this sparingly.)

Okay, that's all I've got to say about making the most of your friends. I hope you'll consider paying more attention to the potential teachers you have all around you, and let me know if you've learned anything life-changing from any of your friends!

Thanks for reading. See you next week!

PS: Do reply to this email if you've got anything to add, comments, or criticism. I'd love to become a better writer. So, if you found something useful, let me know, and if you've got any suggestions, tell me what could change. Thanks!