07/28/25 - Wakie Wakie 4:44

Welcome to Your 444 Newsletter!

Where environment, execution, and the right voices in your corner collide.

Today’s topic?

Why your circle is either your rocket fuel or your anchor.

You can read all the books, attend all the webinars, and hustle harder than anyone you know.

But if your environment is weak, you will lose.

Period.

I’ve seen too many good entrepreneurs sink because they tried to fly with people scared of heights.

If everyone around you is scared of risk, allergic to work, and offended by ambition…

It’s only a matter of time before you start playing down to their level.

Here’s the truth:

Your circle isn’t neutral.
It’s either pushing you forward or pulling you under.

4 Thoughts to Reflect On

1. Energy is contagious.
   If you're always tired, unfocused, or doubting yourself — check who you're spending time with.

2. Small talk kills big goals.
   Conversations about gas prices, celebrity gossip, and who got a new boat won’t build your empire.

3. Not everyone is supposed to clap.
   Most people won’t support your success because it reminds them they gave up on their own.

4. The wrong circle makes winning feel wrong.
   If growth feels isolating, it’s not because you’re doing too much. It’s because you’re surrounded by people doing too little.

4 Lessons I’ve Learned

1. People will beg you to stay small.
   They’ll wrap it in love or jokes or passive-aggressive comments. But it’s still fear.

2. Comfortable people don’t build companies.
   Every entrepreneur I respect has walked through hard, ugly seasons most wouldn’t survive.

3. One conversation can change everything.
   When I started talking to winners, my business flipped. Not slowly. Instantly.

4. Environment is not optional.
   If you’re serious about growth, you need to be around people who are actually growing.

4 Challenges for You This Week

1. Audit your 5.
   Write down the 5 people you spend the most time with. Be honest. Are they lifting you up or dragging you down?

2. Track your conversations.
   Are you talking strategy, hiring, cash flow — or gossip, weather, and nonsense?

3. Make the hard phone call.
   Cut the draining call short. Step away from the lazy group chat. Choose progress over comfort.

4. Apply to the DM Alliance.
   If you're serious about scaling and need to get around people playing at a higher level, go here:

Stop shrinking to fit the room.
Step into one that stretches you instead.

Apply here and let’s talk.

Mark Evans DM