Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do  that, but the really great ones make you feel that you, too, can become great. -  Mark Twain, writer and satirist

It is normal for children to made unwise choices when it comes to friends. It is  normal for them to have a friend one day and the next day completely hate them.  They are not wise enough to discern what is behind a true person.

Even teenagers have this problem. With peer pressure increasing by the day, there  is enourmous pressure to fit in somehow.

"Well, if you are going to be friends with Suzy, you can't be my friend!"
You just imagined a little girl didn't you!

"Now, you know how much I despise Susan, how can you invite me here knowing  she is giong to be here too? If she is going to be here, I'm going to have to  leave."

Same situation, different ages. Do we really grow up when we get older or do we  just continue to take along the bad habits with us?

Oh we can all be great when we get older, but in what way do you want to be  great? Do you want to be a great leader remembered for doing what was right,  regardless of the price and do what is right for the people, or do you want to do  what people want you to do so you can fit into a certain social class? What kind of  legacy do you wan to leave behind?

And the qualities that go with what to look for in a good friend are also the  qualities to look for in somebody who is great.

Qualities I look for in a friend include:
trustworthiness - how much can I trust this person?
respect - does this person respect my boundaries?
honesty - is this person honest with me?
non judgmental - can I be honest with this person without judgment?
equality - does this person consider me their equal?
humour - am I able to laugh with this person without ridicule?
patience - is this person patient or do they push a little too hard
interests - does this person have some of the same interests as myself?
differences - can I learn from this person things I don't know?
compatibility - can this person and I agree to disagree and still get along?
independence - does this person understand I have other friends and won't be  with them all the time?
temper - does this person have a bad temper or are they able to be  self-contrtolled?
reliability - can I rely on this person when things are tough?
uniqueness - does t his person set their own standards or are they followers?
education - is this person willing to learn or are they stuck in their ways?
focus - does this person have goals - do they know where they are going
gentleness - will this person be there when the rest of the world walks away?
comepplete equality - does this person believe in complete equality for all  humans?

The list could go on much longer, but I think you get the idea. And as the list is a  good one to use for finding friends that uplift us, encourage us, support us and  cause us to want to be a better person and better at what we do, so it can be  used to evaluate the relationships with regards to work and career. When you are  being interviewed or are interviewing people, this would be a good list to go by.

Anybody can become great, but it is how you become great. Do you want to be  remembered for your good qualities and smile or do you want to be remembered  as a grouchy, mean and ignorant person? Just remember that as you act:
 
There are ears that are listening...
 
There are mouths that are talking...
 
People that are watching...
 
And generations that will be following.
 
What legacy do you want to leave behind?