CHOICE
“Your choice of people to associate with, both personally and business-wise is one of the most important choices you make. If you associate with turkeys, you will never fly with the eagles.” Brian Tracy
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slow down and REFLECT
on the MEANING and the MESSAGE of today’s quotation
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IN YOUR OWN WORDS… what is the main idea or theme that is expressed in the above quote?
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” (Albert Einstein)
PERSONALIZE….
Do you have any personal experiences or observations that relate to the meaning of this quote? If so, describe a specific example.
“There are many truths of which the full meaning cannot be realized until personal experience has brought it home.” (John Stuart Mill)
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ai Assistant
Interested in seeing what artificial intelligence (ai) has to say about the meaning of today’s quotation? Compare it to your own interpretation. You may be fascinated, or even possibly humbled.
ai INTERPRETATION of TODAY’S QUOTE
“Your choice of people to associate with, both personally and business-wise is one of the most important choices you make. If you associate with turkeys, you will never fly with the eagles.” Brian Tracy
“Brian Tracy’s quote is about the influence of the people we choose to have around us.
What it means
“If you associate with turkeys, you will never fly with the eagles.”
The “turkeys” and “eagles” are metaphors:
- Turkeys represent people who may be negative, unmotivated, dishonest, or unwilling to grow.
- Eagles represent people who are ambitious, positive, responsible, courageous, and willing to reach for higher goals.
The message is that the people around us can influence our attitudes, habits, standards, and even our ambitions. If we spend most of our time with people who discourage growth or settle for less, it can become easier for us to do the same. Conversely, being around people who are thoughtful, hardworking, optimistic, and encouraging can inspire us to become better ourselves.
A simple example
Imagine someone wants to go back to school, start a business, or improve their life. If their friends constantly say, “That’s too difficult. Why bother?”, they may eventually lose confidence.
But if they associate with people who say, “Go for it. Work hard. I know you can do it,” they are more likely to persevere.
The deeper lesson
The quote isn’t saying that we should look down on people who are struggling or abandon friends simply because they are not successful. Rather, it encourages us to be intentional about our closest influences.
We can be compassionate toward everyone while still choosing our closest companions carefully.
In one sentence:
Choose people who encourage you to grow, because the company you keep can either limit your horizons or help you reach them.” (chatGPT, 09/29/2026)
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