By Mark Hopkins
Whether we like it or not, we become more like the people we spend the most time with. It’s our human nature, helping us adapt to fit in with the social environment.
Who you choose to spend time with can affect your learning curve and, consequently, how prosperous you become. In order to learn everything you can to achieve your vision,
you need to surround yourself with people who are on fire, people who are well into the Prosperity Cycle. This is true of friends and even romantic relationships, but it’s especially true of colleagues or partners in any of your goals (like an exercise or study partner).
The goal is to accelerate learning while making it fun. Being with people you like who are also skilled and prosperous allows you to almost effortlessly develop the same skills that make them successful. The transformation happens through osmosis.
You should admire the people in your life for their determination, for the knowledge they’ve acquired, for the values they live by, and for their efforts to achieve their own personal vision of prosperity. To help you spot those people, look for these attributes:
- The proactive: Those who are designing their life with a plan in mind
- The goal-oriented: People who constantly give themselves something to work toward and a way to build a sense of accomplishment
- The passionate: People who exude energy and ideas, and follow them through to achieve great things
- The curious: Those who are constantly exploring and learning, who are multifaceted in their interests, and who enjoy sharing what they’ve learned with others
- The unconventional: Those who are innovators, who ignore the naysayers, who make their own paths
- The connected: People who may know other people whom you could turn to for career advice or help
Spending more time with these kinds of people will not only provide you with a shorter path to prosperity, but will also be a lot of fun. Try it!
[fancy_box]Mark Hopkins earned engineering degrees from Cornell and Stanford and then spent the next twenty-five years deciphering the factors that make some people prosperous, successful and happy. After building a leadership career with companies like Hewlett Packard and Emerson Electric, Hopkins founded Peak Industries, a medical device contract manufacturer, which he grew to $75 million and later sold to Delphi. He then founded Crescendo Capital Partners, a private equity firm, and Catalyst, a private foundation supporting Colorado-based nonprofits and microlending in the developing world. He is a member of the Chief Executives Organization, a partner in Social Venture Partners’ Boulder-chapter, and is on the board of governors for Opportunity International. He regularly leads YPO Global Leadership Workshops around the world.
Website: www.shortcuttoprosperity.com[/fancy_box]
