owtorans How Rich People Choose Their Friends - Business Insider
BUSINESS
INSIDER
Here's How Rich People Choose
Their Friends
STEVE SIEBOLD, CONTRIBUTOR
DEC. 12, 2014, 12:17 PM
Ifyou're struggling to
make ends meet or just
not where you want to be
financially, open your
eyes and look around.
In most cases, your net
worth mirrors the level
of your closest friends. Is
it time to start looking
for some new friends?
I've asked that question
hundreds of times on
stage all over the world,
and it never fails to get Like attracts like.
people fired up and even
angry.
Miles Willis Stringer / Getty Images
I'm not suggesting you go and unfriend all your friends just because they don't have a
lot of money. And i'm not suggesting that you choose your friends based on how much
money they have.
However, as Einstein said, consciousness is contagious.
Ifyou want more money, you should consider spending time with and befriending
people with more money.
Exposure to people who are more successful than you are has the potential to expand
your thinking and catapult your income. We become like the people we associate with,
tpitwwu.usinessinsider.comirich-peope-choose-iends-20%4-1271R=T 18owtorans How Rich People Choose Their Friends - Business Insider
and that's why winners are attracted to winners. In other segments of society, this is
accepted, but the rich have always been lambasted for their predisposition to engage
the company of people with similar financial success.
The reality is, millionaires think differently from the middle class about money, and
there's much to be gained by being in their presence. Perhaps even more surprising:
Many millionaires are surprisingly humble and don't view themselves as having
“arrived.” Many of them believe millionaires are simply people who don't know how to
become billionaires.
After all, why would someone settle for millions if they possessed the awareness to.
carn billions? That's why millionaires are always attempting to gain entry into that
exclusive group of people who are among the wealthiest in the world.
‘The average person wants to meet a millionaire to tell their friends they met a
millionaire. Millionaires, on the other hand, want to associate with billionaires to
learn how they think. One group is watching the game; the other is playing the game.
They only question that matters: Which one are you?
Where will your friends take you?
Honestly ask yourself: How many rich people are in your inner circle of associates and
advisors? Set a goal in the New Year to double the amount of time you spend
associating with people who are richer than you are. Doing so just might make you
rich
The correlation between your friends and your level of wealth is one that is taught
improperly from the start.
Most parents never teach their kids about the importance of making contacts. They
hope their kids are popular and make friends so they enjoy their days in school.
Wealthy parents have a different approach. Sure, they want their children to enjoy
their years growing up. But they also know that building contacts, even as early as
biiptwww.usinessinsider.comirich-peope-choose-ionds-204-1271R=Touto201s How Rich People Choose Thi Friends - Business insider
high school, can make the difference between a life of average success and one filled
with uncommon opportunity. While most parents are hoping their kid becomes the
quarterback of the football team or the most popular cheerleader, the rich are
concerned about building the child's social infrastructure for the future.
‘The message of associating with the wealthy often sounds elitist or discriminatory
against the middle class. But it's not. It's nice to say everyone, regardless of financial
status, has access to all the good things in life. It’s also naive and untrue. Right or
wrong, wealth offers privileges, and one of the most fundamental ways to start the
wealth-generating process is to get around rich people and watch how they think. It's
an eye-opening experience.
The bottom line: Like attracts like. People with high-level formal education like to
associate with the academic clite. Physically fit people enjoy spending time with
others who are fit. Religious people like to have fellowship with people of faith. And
rich people like to associate with others who are rich
‘As Will Rogers said, "A man only learns in two ways: one by reading, and the other by
association with smarter people.”
Steve Siebold is the author of "How Rich People Think" and a self-made multi-
millionaire who has interviewed 1,200 of the world's wealthiest people during the
past 30 years.
More: Friends Relationships Psychology Of Money Wealth
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