Fine-Tuning Your Circle of Influence for Success
The people around you influence you more than you would imagine. In fact, you are the average of the five people closest to you. This can be friends, family, coworkers, mentors, etc. Your circle of influence helps shape who you are and your behaviors. If you surround yourself with five people who have no money and no direction in life, you will eventually be the sixth. Yet, if you surround yourself with highly motivated individuals who strive to better themselves and their lives, you will eventually be the sixth.
You should constantly be fine-tuning your circle of influence. Some people are fine remaining the same, but if you want to grow, you will need to evolve and get with a new group of individuals who align with your goals. It might be hard, but you will lose some friends along the way when you are fine-tuning your circle of influence. I’ve lost many friends. It’s not because they were bad people or that I was a jerk — it was because I was ready to change and improve and they were comfortable where they were in life.
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What is a Circle of Influence?
Your circle of influence is the group of people, environments, and situations you have direct or indirect impact on — and that, in turn, influence you. It includes the family, friends, colleagues, mentors, clients, and even the content you consume daily. Whether you realize it or not, this circle plays a massive role in shaping your mindset, habits, decision-making, and ultimately, your success.
In business and fitness (two worlds that demand high performance) your circle can either be rocket fuel or dead weight. Surround yourself with action-takers, problem-solvers, and high standards, and you’ll likely elevate to match their energy. On the flip side, if you’re constantly around negativity, excuses, or people stuck in neutral, you risk getting pulled into that same stagnant space.
Your circle doesn’t have to be huge. In fact, tighter circles tend to have stronger influence. What matters is that the people in it support your vision, challenge your thinking, and hold you accountable — not just cheer you on, but push you when you’re slacking. That’s real influence.
What Are the 5 Circles of Influence?
When people talk about influence, they usually think of friends, family, or maybe a mentor or two. But real success comes from recognizing that your influence isn’t one-dimensional — it’s layered. Here’s how to break it down into five key circles:
1. Inner Circle (Core Influencers)
These are your ride-or-die people. The ones closest to you who impact your daily thoughts, emotions, decisions, and actions. Think business partners, training partners, your spouse, or that one mentor who challenges you to level up constantly. This circle has the strongest influence (good or bad) so choose carefully. If you’re the sharpest one in your inner circle, you’re in the wrong room.
2. Close Circle (Trusted Friends & Advisors)
Not quite in your inner circle, but still have consistent access to you. These could be supportive friends, respected colleagues, industry peers, or high-level clients. They offer insight, feedback, and support — but may not be involved in every decision. Still, their opinions matter, so they influence your mindset whether you realize it or not.
3. Professional Circle (Business & Career Network)
This includes people you interact with professionally — coworkers, managers, employees, collaborators, clients, or competitors. You might not have deep relationships here, but this circle influences your business brand, reputation, and growth. Want to rise in your industry? This is the circle where credibility is built or broken.
4. Social Circle (Community & Online Influence)
From your gym crew to your social media following, this is the more public-facing layer. You may not know everyone personally, but their energy and input still impact you — through feedback, trends, engagement, and visibility. This circle grows fast and can be noisy, but it’s also where opportunities and connections often originate.
5. Environmental Circle (Books, Media, Content, and Surroundings)
Your environment is always talking to you. What you read, listen to, and watch is shaping your mindset. If you’re feeding your brain garbage, don’t be surprised when your results follow. This is the most overlooked circle, yet one of the most powerful. If you’re not intentionally curating your content diet, it’s curating you.
How Do You Leverage Your Circle of Influence?
It’s not just about who is in your circle — it’s about how you use that circle to push further, grow faster, and stay locked in on your goals. Most people coast with their network. But if you’re intentional, you can turn your circle into a performance multiplier. Here’s how to do it:
1. Be the Value First
If you want high-level people in your circle, you need to bring value. Share knowledge, make introductions, support their goals, and show up consistently. When you become known as a go-to resource, people naturally reciprocate — and you attract winners instead of leeches.
2. Ask Better Questions
Leverage your circle by engaging with purpose. Don’t waste time with surface-level small talk. Ask for honest feedback. Pick their brain on specific challenges. Learn from their wins, and even more from their failures. People respect those who respect their time, so come prepared and direct.
3. Collaborate Strategically
Whether you’re in fitness or business, collaboration is currency. Partner on a project. Co-create content. Build something together that plays to both of your strengths. When done right, you both grow faster — and open new doors neither of you could’ve accessed alone.
4. Stay Accountable
Your circle should call you out when you’re off track. And if they don’t? Ask them to. Let them know your goals and give them permission to hold you to a higher standard. That external pressure, when coming from people you respect, can be the push that keeps you moving when motivation fades.
5. Audit and Evolve
Your goals will grow. Your mindset will shift. And sometimes, your circle needs to change with it. That doesn’t mean cutting everyone off, but it does mean constantly evaluating who’s still aligned with your vision. Some people belong in your past, not your future — and that’s okay.
Who’s in Your Circle of Influence?
Try to find a circle of influence that “keeps it real.” You don’t want to surround yourself with individuals who always tell you how great you are or how important you are. You want people who will tell it to your face that you messed up or that they don’t agree with you. People always say to surround yourself with positive people. That’s the last thing I want to do.
I don’t want a bunch of people around me to feed me BS and lie to my face because they are “positive people.” I want someone to tell me like it is. They can be nice people, but I don’t want things sugar-coated. I want to surround myself with influential people who will challenge and push me every single day. I don’t need a pat on the butt and an “atta boy” from my circle of influence. I need someone who can push me to my limits and grow. And you should too!
Strive to better not only your life, but the lives of those around you too. Help your circle of influence as much as you want them to help you. Add value to your circle of influence. Trade skill sets, assist with personal and professional growth and be the change that you want to see in all of your lives.
Stop settling for average. Average gets you nowhere in life. Average gets you overlooked for promotions and raises. Average gets you a lower salary. Average doesn’t help you create success. Average doesn’t allow you to stand out in a crowd. If you’re fine being average then good for you. But my site, my blog, my podcast, my content… isn’t for you.
Make the change by changing your circle of influence if they don’t align with your goals.
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