I have had a lot of mentors throughout my lifetime.
Some of them I have done work with in real life, others I have only learned from at a distance (whether because of their limited availability, or because they are no longer alive).
One of the greatest life hacks available to us is to surround ourselves with people (again, either physically working with them, or just by consuming their thoughts on a regular basis) that we love, respect, and admire. If we study the lives of people who we wish to become, and we take massive action inspired by their behaviours, then it is inevitable that our lives will begin to resemble the parts of their lives that we have been modelling sooner than later.
Today, I want to highlight five of the friends, mentors, and colleagues that I respect the most in the world.
Here they are, in no particular order.
1. Paul Simon
Who Is He?
Paul Simon is an American singer-songwriter originally rising to fame as one half of the duo Simon and Garfunkel.
The main reason I look up to Paul Simon is because he knew when to call it quits on his successful endeavour, in order to honour his heart’s yearning for something new and different.
He split from Garfunkel (at the height of the duos fame) and went on to start his solo career. Most notably, he released the South African inspired album Graceland and went on to sell over 14 million copies of it worldwide, upon release.
It took artistic balls of integrity to up and leave his established, successful duo and branch out to do his own thing… and I have enormous respect for that.
What Does He Stand For In The World?
In my eyes, Paul is a pillar of artistic integrity. He produced a large body of work across multiple genres, and is a multi-disciplinary, talented artist, through and through.
3 Songs Of His Songs That I Most Resonate With
– Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes
– Me And Julio Down By The School Yard
2. Dane Maxwell
Who Is He?
I first met Dane in 2014, and the beauty and brilliance of his heart was immediately apparent to me.
This man is a walking example of love in action. Every time we hop on a call I can immediately feel the depth of love that he has for humanity.
At the beginning of 2016, he left behind his 10+ years of experience in building scalable software as a service businesses, and committed himself to writing and playing music full time. Why? Because his heart told him to. Because he had to take the leap in order to feel durably fulfilled. He had helped thousands of people through his entrepreneurial ventures, but he knew that there was more deeply aligned work for him to do in the world.
What Does He Stand For In The World?
He stands for growth, exploration, integrity, and emotional wholeness. Above all else, he stands for expanding the consciousness and hearts of humans worldwide. So, understandably, he’s very much my kind of people.
3 Things That He Has Done That I Resonate With
– An amazing talk on the importance of alignment in our lives
– An AMA on Reddit where he spills endless wisdom about marketing, emotional processing, and just generally shares his heart with the Reddit community
– One of his songs, To Share All Of Me, on Youtube
3. Ben Greenfield
Who Is He?
Ben Greenfield could be described as a ‘fitness blogger’ in the same way that I could be described as a ‘coach.’ That is to say, no matter what singular label I give him, it will massively underserve who he actually shows up as in the world.
Ben has completed over ten Ironman competitions, countless Spartan races, has released hundreds (if not thousands) of blog posts and podcast episodes on his website BenGreenfieldLife.com, and is an amazing, emotionally engaged father and husband.
Ben has been a good friend for several years, and he has always been generous with his time, energy, and wisdom since the day that I first met him. Anyone who knows him is better off for it.
What Does He Stand For In The World?
Through all that he does, Ben stands for hard work, resilience, endurance, optimal health, and cultivating durable fulfillment in life. He is one of the most well-rounded men that I know, and I’m happy to call him a friend.
3 Things That He Has Done That I Resonate With
– Ben’s New York Times best-selling book Beyond Training: Mastering Endurance, Health & Life
– Boosting Testosterone Naturally with Ben Greenfield (video interview)
4. Mark Manson
Who Is He?
Mark is an author and blogger over at MarkManson.net.
He’s been writing online for nearly a decade and has written such poignant pieces as Screw Finding Your Passion and Fuck Yes Or No.
Mark was one of the original, key inspirations for me starting my website at all.
I mean, here was this guy, seemingly only a few years older than me, who was doing something similar to what I wanted to do in the world, and he was making it work. I thought to myself, “He’s a human, I’m a human… and if he can do it, then so can I.”
In 2016, three years after first launching my website, I got to sit down with Mark in person (on my birthday no less) for a drink while living in New York. He was just as humble, humorous, and intelligent as his writing would have you believe.
What Does He Stand For In The World?
Not giving a fuck. Having a healthy amount of skepticism regarding your own mind. Living a life dedicated to solving problems. Struggle and suffering are inevitable.
3 Things That He Has Done That I Resonate With
– The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach To Living a Good Life
– Models: Attract Women Through Honesty
5. Ryan Holiday
Who Is He?
Ryan is an author, marketer, and overall life boss.
He is the former Director of Marketing for American Apparel, has released five books (more to come), and has worked with Tim Ferriss, Tony Robbins, Robert Greene, Tucker Max, and many more.
In my opinion, Ryan is solely responsible for the modern resurgence of the philosophy of stoicism.
What Does He Stand For In The World?
Ryan is a prolific bad ass, and I respect his work ethic, output, and the way that his mind works.
While too many millennials are lazing about and getting wasted, Ryan releases multiple books in a year and writes articles about killing your ego, letting go of your obsession with following your passion, putting in the work for work’s sake, and generally being a contrarian (all of which I resonate with).
3 Things That He Has Done That I Resonate With
– The Obstacle Is The Way: The Timeless Art Of Turning Trials Into Triumphs
– Trust Me, I’m Lying: Confessions Of A Media Manipulator
Who Do You Respect The Most In The World, And Why?
Who do you look up to the most?
Got it? Great.
Now think about why, specifically, it is that you look up to these people.
Whatever your answers are… take a moment to acknowledge that whoever you admire in the world, your admiration is pure projection. That is to say, you admire the character traits that you do in people because you have those same traits in yourself.
I admire Paul Simon’s prolific nature because I have also produced large bodies of work across multiple genres.
I admire Dane Maxwell’s beautiful heart and giving nature because I have those same things inside of me.
I admire Ben Greenfield’s world-class sense of endurance with everything that he does because I also enjoy playing the long-game in life.
I admire Mark Manson’s humorous little jabs in his writing because I also don’t take life too seriously.
And I admire Ryan Holiday’s contrarian nature and workaholic tendencies hard-working side because I also operate much the same way in the world.
Contextually speaking, I tend to admire people who are artists, hard workers, seers, and people with a seemingly endless well of compassion because I have and am all of those things.
So who do you look up to, why do you look up to those particular people, and how can you further acknowledge the gifts that you already have, inherently, inside of yourself?
Dedicated to your success,
Jordan
Ps. If you enjoyed this post, then you all likely also love reading:
– 7 Daily Habits That Have Contributed To My Success
