50 Cent once said that there is no school for life.

You just act based on the information you get.

There are no fixed lessons.

There are no chapters to follow.

You deal with what you see, hear, and feel.

And you act on it.

That’s how your life moves.

Whether you’re getting a loan, building a career, or facing a decision, you only have the information in front of you.

But even more than that, you process that information based on the kind of person you are.

So the question becomes how do you assert control in a world like this?

One answer is mindset.

You can shift how you think.

You can train yourself to see more, filter better, sort better and respond clearly.

I’ve spoken about this before and will keep speaking on it.

Because it matters.

But today, I want to focus on the other half

The information itself.

How do you make sure that the information you’re using to act is actually worth acting on?

50 Cent didn’t just stop at saying there’s no school.

He added something more.

He said the information comes from the people around you.

That’s where the structure of life hides.

If all your actions are shaped by the information you get,

and all your information comes from the people around you,

then the people around you are quietly controlling your life.

Not by force.

Just by influence.

So take a moment and think about your circle.

Think about who you speak to.

Think about what kind of stories they tell.

Because those are the stories you’re pulling from.

And those stories are forming your next decision.

Deep down, I believe we’re all designed to tell stories.

It’s how we make sense of the world.

It’s how we pass what we know to others.

Stories are the way we deliver information to each other.

But those stories don’t come out of nowhere.

They come from what we’ve seen.

From what we’ve read.

From who we’ve spent time with.

And from how we’ve processed all of it inside our own head.

So if someone tells you something, you need to ask:

Who have they been around?

What have they consumed?

And how do they think?

These three factors define the quality of their words.

And if you’re about to act based on what they said,

You need to know where their information came from.

There’s no shortcut to better outcomes.

But there is a system.

You surround yourself with people who sharpen your view.

People who bring stories backed by reflection.

People who carry useful knowledge, not just empty noise.

People whose thoughts make you think harder.

Better people means better stories.

Better stories mean better information.

And better information means better decisions.

That is the chain.

You cannot escape it.

But you can shape it.

If you want more control in your life,

Start with the information you allow in.

Start with the people who give it to you.

That also means you are a filter to someone else.

You’re also passing information forward through conversation, through advice, even through how you carry yourself.

So first is to be more careful with who you’re listening to.

Second thing is to be more responsible about what you pass on.

Because that determines who takes YOU seriously.

Because that determines what networks YOU get to be a part of.