People are golden to me.
They can be unrefined, found in the deepest of mines. Some are greater in quality than others. In order to put a value to it though, a piece of gold must be refined by human hands.
I came to this realization earlier this year as I was going through a hard time. A mental breakdown, questioning my own purpose in life. No one had the answer to my question.
Calling a friend that night though, saved me.

He did not have answers, but he had common sense: no one should underestimate its power.
It occurred to me then that he was such a big part of my life, that I sought to find my answer:

My own purpose in life is to find it.

My dear friend, bless his soul, is who I consider being part of my Mastermind.
We may have heard of Masterminds before: it is a group of intellectual individuals whom you put into a room to discuss anything and everything. It could be a group of friends, helping each other out with their existential issues. It could be colleagues, professionals from different backgrounds, who provide such amazing insight. It could even be the lecturers that taught you, those that carry wisdom and are willing to share.
Whenever you take part in a deep and meaningful conversation with someone, there are lessons to be learned. Therefore, we cherish them. I take them with me as I live.

Why are they golden?

I see people as Golden Circles. Rings, perhaps.
Their story sets the size of their circle. Their passion, its brightness. Their network, the quality of their gold. Their relevance to your life, how much their circle intersects with yours. Social interaction in this world can be akin to an infinite Venn diagram consisting of unlimited Golden Circles.
They constantly change in size and shape. They intersect at times. They clash, work in parallel, maybe even overlap, but most of all they shine.
You just have to be there when the circles shine: the greatest lessons can be learned from putting these Circles together.
Why gold? Gold has value. You, have value. How much value is dependent on the effort you are willing to put into furthering yourself.
Which Circle should you pay attention to in life? Here are a few:

The Mentors

Old and wise, they have in them a treasure chest full of experiences. If you show your eagerness, you can learn many things just from their stories, if they have the will to share it.
They have already lived the majority of their lives in accomplishment, and with that come lessons. Pick your mentors wisely: some can reward you with the greatest of all, knowledge.
However, be careful who you take in as a mentor. You would not want to take in one vastly different from who you want to become later in life.
Case in point, career mentors. A filmmaker seeking mentorship from a scientist might not see that much value compared to a senior filmmaker/director/auteur. You have to justify that mentorship, and then initiate it.
Maybe, you want to create science fiction movies. So, you would confide in the knowledge of a scientist or researcher to up your filmmaking prowess. They then become your ‘indirect’ mentor: in a way, they aided in narrowing down what direction you wish to go for. That way, it is justified.
State the purpose of every mentor you take in. Is it for money? Business? Living life and achieving happiness? Whichever it is, that purpose must be clear and concise. Unsure mentorship can confuse you and lead you to the opposite of where you want to be.

The Equally Driven

Imagine a video game.
You wouldn’t be able to go through the entirety of the game without your allies: your friends, family and those that support you as you go through each level.
Allies then become the pillar of support we seek: equal in opportunity, equal in drive and willing to support you, as you are willing to support in return.
Without the Equally Driven, you stand imbalanced.
They can teach you drive and grit. They can provide you perseverance. They can show you how to never give up in the face of peril.
You can bounce ideas, discuss anything and find avenues to challenge your notion of truth.  Some of the Equal may argue with you, & put you into uncomfortable situations. You can grow from there.
You will find chances to deconstruct yourself: chances to rebuild, reset your character. You can learn ways to be what you want.
The Mentors tell you what you need to know. The Equal, show you the different ways to get to where you want to be.
Remember, no one has the answer you’re looking for. Only you do, and for everybody else, it’s the same.
So we help each other; that is how we become great.

Young and creative

Everything in life is an experiment for the most creative of minds. All are creative in their own manner.
In that case, being in the presence of the young and lively can give you a jolt of creativity once again.
Children will always be curious. They will always find ways to look at things from different angles. They know little of the difference between good and bad, right and wrong whilst growing up. They always seek for what is ‘true’ and what works. Everything is an experiment for these young, willing scientists.
Children are creative because they want answers, all of them.
The problem is that, as we age, our molds harden: We become fixated on our values, on what we came to be and our perspectives narrow down. It is a natural process. There wasn’t such a need anymore for all the answers as we start putting survival as a priority.
Hence, to be around children again. We must learn how to observe them, to re-learn, self-reflect and become creative. Creativity creates opportunity, and opportunity is the single greatest currency of our time.

We were children once. we don’t have to leave our curiosity behind.

What the universe can bring you.

This world is a plethora of Golden Circles:
The Mentors, who provide you direction.
The Young, who teach you creativity, and
The Equal, who walk together with you in life.
They are all around us.
Take a piece of paper, write down every name you know. Write down their stories, what they have gone through, their struggles.
Do they cross paths with you and your goals? Can you help them? Can they help you? They may just be part of your Golden Circle then.
Not everyone you know has a Circle that is relevant to you. Some that you know may be irrelevant to your goals. A few may even steer you away from achievement: for those bad apples, I leave that for you to decide.
But, know this: you and I, we see the world differently. With that, we see the world’s architecture differently. Opportunities can come in many forms, and some only visible to your eyes, not mine. In the end, it is for you to decide whether or not you want to shine as bright as possible.
You won’t be able to do it alone. Pick your allies wisely, your mentors carefully, and learn from the young. The possibilities are endless for you.
N.T.C.