Vanessa Van EdwardsScience of People, Science Of People · Behavioral Researcher, Founder, Author, Harvard Instructor

The Hidden Power of Who You Surround Yourself With

27 May 2026 · 1 min

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In this motivational segment, Vanessa Van Edwards highlights Jim Rohn’s famous quote that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. She urges viewers to write down the five individuals (or digital contacts) they actually interact with most—through email, text, phone, or social media—not just the people they wish to spend time with. She then prompts them to assess whether these five people boost their confidence, provide constructive feedback, and help them grow into positions of power that benefit both parties. The exercise is designed to make viewers consciously evaluate and potentially reshape their most influential relationships.

Chapters

You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. One of my favorite quotes is by Jim Rohn, and we often don't think about who we are really spending our time with. I want you to write down your 5 people. This is not necessarily the people you wish you were spending the most time with. This is the people you are actually spending the most time with. And it might be time over email, over text, over phone, over social media. Sometimes it's not always people we're spending in-person time with, people who we're interacting with a lot, even digitally. And then I want you to look at that list. And I want you to think, is that the list you want? When you think about those 5 people, are they the kinds of people who create these kinds of circles? Do the people on this list give you confidence, give you feedback, make you feel capable? Are they people who rise you up into positions of power that are actually good for both of you?