Pod Insights The $100 MBA Show MBA2657 Q&A Wednesday: How Do I Deal With Negative Friends? About this episode This week, Alex sent in a question that hits close to home for a lot of us: how do you deal with negative friends when you’re trying to grow? In this Q&A Wednesday episode, Omar shares real, honest insight into what happens when your personal growth outpaces the people around you. He explains how your environment shapes your outcomes, why distancing yourself from toxic energy is part of the journey, and what to do when friends don’t align with your goals anymore. You’ll get simple, actionable ways to build a support system that actually lifts you up—from shifting your energy to finding new circles that reflect the future you’re working toward. Feeling like it’s time to protect your progress? Tap the play button at the top of this page and hear Omar’s thoughtful advice for handling negativity while staying focused on your personal and business growth. Watch the episodes on YouTube: https://lm.fm/GgRPPHiSUBSCRIBEYouTube | Apple Podcast | Spotify | Podcast Feed
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1:10 Speaker 00 You know what no one tells you when you're trying to change your life? That the hardest part isn't the work. It's not the long nights. It's not the failures. It's the people that you'll outgrow. Alex asks a great question for today's Q&A Wednesday. How do I deal with negative friends? And here's the hard truth. You don't deal with them. You replace them. You get new friends. That might sound harsh, but you're trying to become something new. You're trying to build something great. And if they're pulling you into the old pattern, the old ways, you've got to choose them or your future. I'm going to show you how. But real quick, if you have a question that you want to ask here on Q&A Wednesday, just go to 100mba.net/ q and you could submit your question to be answered right here on the podcast.
1:59 Speaker 00 Welcome back to the $100 MBA Show. I'm your host Omar Zenhome, where I deliver practical business lessons three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, to help you start, grow, and scale your business.
2:12 Speaker 00 The first thing we need to agree on is an equation. The equation I present to you is the friends you keep equals the life you keep. When I quit my teaching career and became a full-time entrepreneur about 13 years ago, I had to let go of almost all my friends, not because they were bad people or they were mean to me, but because they led me to the life I already had, and I wanted something different. I wanted something new. If you want a new destination, you can't keep driving the same route. Okay, you have to change. And Jim Rohn said it best, "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." That quote literally changed my life and everything for me
2:54 Speaker 00 because it taught me that if I want to become something new, I gotta be around different people. Your environment and the people in it will shape how you think, what you believe, how you behave, and how far you're willing to push for what you want. If the people around you are always complaining, doubting, playing it safe, not pushing themselves, it's not long before that becomes your default too. It's just how it is. Don't question it. Don't think that you're different. Don't think that that will happen to you. That's just the truth. Number two, most people want you to stay the same. This is tough to admit, but most people, especially if they're negative,
3:37 Speaker 00 don't want you to grow, not because that they're evil or they're horrible, but because your growth forces them to confront their own stagnation.
3:48 Speaker 00 This happens at a subconscious level. They're not conscious of it. It's just something that is almost like a knee jerk reaction. If you suddenly start a business, go to the gym, start transforming yourself, start investing in yourself. You're reminding them that they are not doing that. So what do they do? They try to pull you back down consciously or subconsciously. They say things like, that's risky, that's not realistic. You've changed. They start poking some fun, making some jokes. Does this sound familiar? That's not support. That's fear disguised as love or friendship. Number three, what are we going to do about it? I want to give you some practical steps. So what do you actually do about this situation? Step one, I want you to accept that you will outgrow people.
4:33 Speaker 00 That's just how life is. If you're growing, you will outgrow people that are around you. The only exception to this is if you are around people that are also growing as well. Right? It's not personal. It's natural. You don't need to make it dramatic or make some sort of like grand announcement. You don't need to confront them. Just gradually start shifting away from them. Shift your time and your energy away from those people. You're not cutting people off. You're not being dramatic about it or harsh or mean. You're just spending more time elsewhere. You're choosing to grow and not everyone's going to come with you. That's just how it is. You're going to a new destination. Not everybody wants to go there.
5:16 Speaker 00 Step two, make space for the right people. I always say this, I believe this in my core. If you want to win in business, hang out with people who win in business. It's actually that simple. And you can replace the word business with anything you like. If you want to win in health and wellness, then hang out with people who are winning in health and wellness. You want to be a better writer? Be around great writers. You want to build a business? Be around builders, people that are building things. You want to think bigger? Be around people who make you feel like your goals aren't big enough, that you're not actually thinking big enough. You're not shooting for larger goals. One of my life hacks is to go on holiday, go on vacation, even a short week.
5:57 Speaker 00 With somebody that's doing something great, that's doing things that you want to do, that are doing things that are inspiring, that are stretching themselves, that are pushing you to think bigger. Recently, I went to Japan. I spent a few days with my buddy Ramit Sethi and his wife Cass Sethi. Ramit has two New York Times bestsellers. He's got a Netflix show. He's done really big things and it made me think bigger about what I want to do in my career. The holidays are the season business owners get pulled in six directions. More calls, more requests, more chances for things to slip through the cracks. Hoping you catch it all isn't a plan. That's why today's episode is brought to you by QUO, spelt Q-U-O, the business phone built
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7:56 Speaker 00 Step 3: Schedule Connection. Be intentional. What do I mean by that? Well, you need to make new friends, right? And this is not going to happen by accident. Making new friends as an adult takes work, okay? It's not just going to happen with you sitting on the couch. So, set one night a week to go to meet new people. Go to a meetup, go to a conference, go to an event that attracts the kind of people that you want in your circle, that you want to influence you in a certain way. For example, right now, I want to be more creative with my work, with what I do with the podcast, with what I do with the $100 B program, with what I do when I speak on stage. So, how do I become more creative? Well, I gotta be around creatives. So, I'm gonna go to an event at the Art Gallery of New South Wales tomorrow night. Why?
8:41 Speaker 00 Again, to be around art I've never been exposed to, to be around people I don't usually hang out with, to expand, to push myself to another place that I normally don't go to. That's how it works. One room at a time, one scheduled event in your calendar at a time. It's not gonna happen by accident. You gotta seek out these opportunities. Nicole, my wife and partner, suggested, "Hey, I'm going to this event in the art gallery. I'm a member. Wanna come with me?" My default answer would be, "No, I'd rather do something else." But then I thought, "You know what? I should go. I think this is gonna be a good chance for me to expand myself, to push myself. It's not what I normally would do, and it would allow me to be more creative and be around people I normally wouldn't be around."
9:26 Speaker 00 Step 4: What's gonna happen next will actually shock you in a lot of ways. You're gonna start hearing new ideas. You're gonna start feeling inspired again. You're gonna realize how small your thinking had become before, right? And most of all, you're gonna start feeling seen. You're gonna start feeling like yourself, and you're growing into a new self. When you start surrounding yourself with people that are doing great things, who get it, you stop feeling crazy. You stop feeling like, you know, you're weird. You stop second guessing every decision that you have. You start feeling some momentum, finally. Lastly, I want to touch on this concept that a lot of people ask, "What if the people that are negative around me are family?" Same principle applies, but be more gentle because your family is your family.
10:11 Speaker 00 You don't need to cut anyone off, just limit access to your energy. Still go to the dinners, still take the calls. But when you go, here's my advice. Don't bring your biggest dreams to people who aren't qualified to handle them. Okay. Don't bring the big things you want to do to people that just don't know how to react. And often they react in a negative way that bring you down. Don't allow that to happen by not bringing it up, right? Don't talk about that. Just have a pleasant time. If they ask you how you're doing, I'm doing great. You don't need to share things that will invite negative feedback. Look, this isn't easy. Letting go of people is one of the hardest parts of leveling up your life and your business. But it's also one of the most necessary. It's one of the most impactful.
10:56 Speaker 00 So Alex, thank you for your question because I know there's a lot of people listening who needed to hear what I shared today. Your future is waiting for you, but it needs you to step into new rooms. And you need to find new voices, new people that can influence you in the right way. And you have to be brave enough to leave old patterns behind and people that don't serve you anymore. Choose your circle wisely. It just might be the thing that changes everything. Thanks so much for listening to this podcast. If you found today's episode helpful and you want more practical business lessons to help you start, grow and scale your business, the best thing you could do is subscribe to this podcast. Hit subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast app, the one that you're using right
11:41 Speaker 00 now, whether it's Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. By hitting subscribe, you get our next episode automatically and it's the best way to support the show. It's absolutely free and it's a way for you to commit to growing your business. And now that you've subscribed, I'll check you in the next episode.
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