You will be known by the social media company you keep. The love this Newfoundland saying… “You are who you be with”. The people you have around you will either help you rise higher or they will drag you down lower. You get to choose the company you keep. So what will it be?

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As it is off of the Internet, so it is online. Great people cause you to grow in your social media skills. If you want to take your social media to the next level, you are going to have to connect with great people who will challenge the living daylights right out of you. Even in business, to become a better business, you must hang around people in business who are better at business than you are. There’s no secret here. You need to be stretched to grow.

I have been fortunate to have connected with some really great people on social media who are not afraid to let me know when I am not performing at my best. These people are not “Yes Men” or “Yes Woman”. They challenge me to do better and not keep the status quo. We all need to be challenged if we want to do better and grow. So let me please ask you this question… “Who have you developed a connection with on social media that scares you?” Who is challenging you to go the extra mile and grow beyond your level of comfort?

I know a lot of people on social media. But there are a core group of people who inspire to become better than what I currently am. They let me know that they are watching and they challenge me to  produce great content. It’s one thing to share great content from others. It’s another to come to the party and contribute content that makes people better. There are consumers of social media content. But there must be creators of great content as well.

As I began delivering two social media programs in Halifax yesterday, it occurred to me that I have to bring these people up higher. I need to challenge them to develop a great social media goal and understand why they are embarking on using social media to market to the masses. This is well on the way to happening. Their homework, as they left, was to define what their social media goal was and to write out on a piece of paper why they want to use social media. To whom much is given, much is expected.

As a trainer, have you ever asked yourself who holds you accountable to get better at social media? Sometimes we can get so busy that we forget that we need to be constantly learning as well. So who hold s you accountable? Who inspires you to grow?

Here’s some tweets from some of my friends that make me do a gut check and make sure I think about my own personal growth as a trainer:

Lauren does not let me get away with anything. She continues to challenge me in what I say. It’s like iron sharpening iron. Lauren has great insight and she knows her social media.

Scott keeps me involved in community. I get to do some cool things for law enforcement, Crime Stoppers and community organizations. Scott helps me make sure that social media create success and safety in our communities.

William is a new friend. He’s the academia type of guy. I like his outlook on life long learning and learning in the workplace. He is committed to educating his students and helping them do better. He’s also a fan of one of my favorite pass times: coffee. Inspiring 🙂

https://twitter.com/SammBrown/status/347818697919975424

Samantha inspires me to push on despite obstacles. She’s a real smart cookie with so much potential. She has a great caring nature about her. Sam inspires me to be a better person.

Roy is my lobster throwing friend from across the Bay of Fundy. He also wrote the forward to my Twitter book. I enjoy his wit and his knowledge about customer service. Roy inspires me in business to make sure I am good to my customers.

Rob is my social media friend that keeps me learning. He’s always challenging me to recognize the latest trend in social media. I appreciate our conversations on Skype.

So who have you surrounded yourself with. After all, no man or woman is an island. We all need great people around us to become better. Are you surrounding yourself with great people? If you want to grow, you have to. Here’s to great growth for you and your business. I hope this inspires you today 🙂