Some people are around you to give you encouragement and hope; others only want to bring you down so that you will not rise above them. Choose your friends wisely, and study them carefully whenever you share your tribulations with them.

This week, I’d like ask you-who holds your hand? asked FLORENCE KITHINJI kenyan and a prolific writer, whose words of wisdom have changed my life and my relationship with life. Have you found favour with those in a position to elevate you to the top? Your success depends to a great extent on the person holding your hand. The person holding your hand can open doors of opportunity.

• It pays to find favour in the eyes of others. Joseph found favour with the Pharaoh and was made second in the land of Egypt. Esther found favour with the King and was elevated to the status of queen.
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• Your success will also depend on how far away from your comfort zone you are prepared to venture. If the Arab boy had not ventured to London, he would not have found such luck 
  All it takes is a moment of favour to transform your life forever. It only takes one person to elevate you to the next level. Elisha woke up a son of a farmer, but by the end of the evening, he was a mighty prophet because he found favour with Prophet Elijah.
  
  
• Favour opens doors that would otherwise be difficult to open. There is a story of a young Arab boy who found his way to London and began working as a waiter in a restaurant. One day, a rich Arabic man came to London looking for houses to buy. He had walked all day but could find nobody who spoke his language. Hungry and frustrated, he went to the restaurant where the boy worked for refreshment.

  
  
  As he sat there cursing in Arabic, the boy came over and greeted him in his mother-tongue. The man was overjoyed. Here was someone who could speak both Arabic and English. He hired the boy on the spot as his interpreter and paid him several times more than he had earned in his life.

  
  
  Your success will also depend on how far away from your comfort zone you are prepared to venture. If the Arab boy had not ventured to London, he would not have found such luck.
  In addition, be careful about the company you keep. It is better to be alone than in bad company. 

  
  

  
  
  Do the relationships you are in help you through your moments of turbulence? Remember that strong relationships are like two trees growing together and buffering one another against the wind rather than a parasitic relationship in which one plant clings to the other and stifles it. If it doesn’t make you grow, it’s time to let go.

  
  
  Finally, I challenge you to become a giver and not a taker. Givers elevate others as they interact with them and make them feel better about themselves while takers do the exact opposite.
  If someone accused you of being a good mentor, would there be enough evidence to convict you?