There really isn’t much you can do while you are suspended over 60 feet up in the air, with your snowboard dangling on one foot, traversing the side of a snow-covered mountain.

On the Lift Going Up Up Up!

You admire the majestic mountain in all its glory; you notice the skiers and snowboarders looking like bugs from your perspective move beneath you; you hold your body tighter to preserve warmth as the occasional wind-chill tries to break though; and you make small talk with others on the same lift as you.

Most of the small talk are just that… to break the silence and to make trivial comments on how nice of a day it is, what a great run that was, how much we hate moguls, etc.

But one particular conversation stuck with me.

Whom Can/Do You Trust?

It happened on the third and last day of our annual Hwa Rang Do snowboarding trip, where Master Lee takes some of his students and hits the Mammoth snowy slopes.  I was on a three man lift with Master Lee and Joseph O’Day.

Mr. O'Day Showing How It's Done

Joe, after two full days of snowboarding for the first time, which of course involved a LOT of falling, and two late nights in a row of partying with the rest of us and not getting much sleep, was definitely feeling a bit under the weather as we hit the slopes on that third day.

While we were on the lift, I asked him if he was okay to make the 5 hour drive home later that day.  Then I asked him if his passengers could help him drive in case he needed to nap.

He said, “Of course.”

Then I half-jokingly asked if there were anybody he’d “trust” to drive his car.

He looked at me and said, “More so than anybody else.“  His point being, the group of Hwa Rang Do students that Master Lee has gathered for this annual snowboarding trip is among the most disciplined, accountable, and trusty group he’s ever had the pleasure of associating and interacting with…  (So of course he’d trust any of them to drive his car.)

I can relate to that.

Then he proceeded to comment on how it’s almost annoying now to hang out with others who are far less accountable and dependable than this group.

I can totally relate to that as well.

Elevate Yourself

Back at the Cabin

This conversation kept playing in my head over and over again.  As we gathered at the cabin we were staying at, all 27 of us, for the last time before we made the trek home, I looked around at those surrounding me.

You cannot ask for a better group of people to spend 3 days with, and to share the joys of snowboarding along with the pain of falling on your ass… over and over again.  You will not find a group who moves in unison and operates like family – in a truly selfless manner.

And in the presence of such a powerful group, you can’t help yourself but elevate your own being and become a stronger and better person.

This is how you know you’ve found the “right” group of folks to associate with.  This is how you know you are being positively influenced by the “Power of Association“.

And in case you aren’t sure what power of association is, it is simply the concept that if you are the average of those whom you spend the most time with – the average of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

You are What You Ea… Whom You Hang Out With

If you spend your time being surrounded by folks of mediocrity, then that’s all you’ll be, mediocre.

If you are surrounded by those who are “lesser” than you, with no ambition to move forward, you’ll find yourself comfortable where you are and lacking the desire to advance in life.

Master Lee Helping Me Elevate My Game... My "Being"

However, if you surround yourself by folks who challenge you and are constantly looking to become better versions of themselves, you can’t help but elevate your game and become the better version of yourself.

You are whom you choose to surround yourself with.

At the end of the day, you only have so much quality time to spend with folks, I choose to spend it with those who can make me a better person.  I hope you do too.

I found those folks in that special group of warriors that I had the pleasure, honor, and privilege to spend 3 days snowboarding and bonding with.

This is TGT.  This is Hwa Rang Do.  This is family.

Proud to be Hwarang,

Raymond Fong

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