If you want to succeed in life, you absolutely must surround yourself with other successful people.
- Successful people are successful because they have expert knowledge and skills in very specific niches. Unsuccessful people lack expertise in any one niche.
- Successful people surround themselves with other success-minded people who are also experts in their field. They have developed strong relationships with those successful people, whom they can tap at a moments notice. Unsuccessful people have relationships with unsuccessful or average people who also lack expertise.
- Successful people know how to get things done in a cost-effective and expeditious way. Because they lack expertise or the ability to tap into other experts, unsuccessful people tend to complicate things, which ends up costing you time and money.
- Successful people immediately add value to your life or to your business through their expertise or contacts. Unsuccessful people immediately add complications and problems to your life or your business.
Stay away from unsuccessful people. They cannot help you become successful in life. How do you know when someone is unsuccessful without looking at their bank statement? Unsuccessful people are easy to find if you know what to look for:
- They have a glaring character flaw I call Bright Shiny Object Syndrome. This is the Poverty Habit of shifting gears from one obsession to another, year after year. They claim to be many things, having an expertise in multiple areas, which is virtually impossible for them because they never stick to one thing for very long. As a result of this lack of long-term commitment, this absence of persistence, they lack expertise in any one particular area.
- They are struggling financially because they don’t make enough money in their self-proclaimed field of expertise.
Seek out only successful people who have devoted themselves to unique niches for many years. Ten years or more, focused in one area or in one discipline, is a good benchmark. Never engage anyone for any initiative that is important to you without obtaining at least 5 references from individuals who used their services within the past twelve months. Make sure none of those references are family members. And make sure you ask the references specific questions whose responses will raise red flags, such as:
- How much more money did they help you make?
- How much more product or services did they help you sell?
- Did you get the sense that they were struggling financially with their business while you were working with them?
- Are you aware of any clients or customers who suddenly terminated their relationship with them?
Successful people will fast track your success, reduce costs, free up your valuable time and open doors to opportunities for you to make more money. They shorten the time you have to push that ball up the hill and make the effort less arduous. They help clear the brush away from your path towards success.
