Why will my circle of friends influence my success?

I was at a seminar in 2005 when the audience was asked to write down the names of the five people closest to us.

We were then asked to write down what we believed their approximate income was.

After that we were asked to add the income figures together, then divide by 5.

I was very surprised to see that the average incomes of those closest to me was almost exactly what my income was at the time! Woah!

The point of this exercise was to point out that we are the product of our environment – we are whom we associate with. So if your 5 closest friends are all unemployed and not going very well in life at all, then chances are, you’re not much (if at all) better off.

I look back on that day and who my closest friends were at the time, then look at my situation now, and realise that I’ve taken several huge steps up. So has my income!

It was by chance that I was able to introduce myself to a very successful entrepreneur who later become a good friend, at an event in 2006 that began a trail of events and interactions that were to shape who I am now, and the goals I have set for myself.

Only a couple of months ago, I was sitting in a maxi taxi in Singapore with several very successful businessmen (including my friend from 2006!), heading out for a night on the town! This is a FAR cry from where I was in 2005 – there’s NO WAY I could have predicted that I’d be rubbing shoulders with people of such a high calibre, let alone socialising with them!

So while I’m not receiving specific “perks” by hanging out with this new crowd, I AM feeling inspired by them. These people have achieved success and I’m learning by associating with them, how the way these people think is somewhat different to the average 9-5 worker.

I am also learning that while my job is secure for now, there are no guarantees. Plus I’m learning that I can succeed at whatever I put my mind to, because my friend didn’t have a special kind of background. He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. In fact, he was probably worse off than I was as a child. And here he is now, a multimillionaire.

Ok, so what if you don’t know anybody who has achieved great success? What can you do to get around them and learn from them?

There are a number of ways:

1. Many successful people have written books about their success. Buy them. Devour them. Learn from them.
2. Work on yourself. Personal development is important if you want to succeed.
3. Attend events where these people are presenting.
4. Look outside the box. If you think that working for somebody else for the rest of your life is going to help you to achieve great success, you obviously haven’t had a good look at your current circle of friends.
5. If you’re smarter than, or are more successful than all of your friends, get some more, smarter and more successful friends!

So… what are you doing to expand your circle of influence? 😉