Yahoo Finance I’m a Self-Made Millionaire: 3 Reasons You Need Higher-Earning Friends
We’ve all heard the classic saying: You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. While some people dismiss it as an oversimplified cliche, many of the world’s most successful self-made millionaires swear by the importance of surrounding yourself with friends, mentors and peers operating at a higher financial level.
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As Brie Schmidt, self-made millionaire and managing broker at Second City Real Estate, puts it: “‘Your network is your net worth’ is a common saying in the entrepreneurial world, and with good reason. The people you know don’t have to be high income earners, but it is important to have friends with similar life goals and beliefs … The friends who are going to keep you accountable and help you grow as a person are much more important than the size of their bank account.”
That said, according to a recent survey of over 200 self-made millionaires, 85% credited their rich “money circle” as a major driving force behind their ability to amass wealth. So what exactly are the key benefits of having friends who earn more than you? From expanding your mindset to opening doors to lucrative opportunities, we break down the self-made millionaires’ top three reasons below.
Exposure to Different Money Mindsets
One of the biggest roadblocks preventing most people from achieving higher levels of wealth is their underlying limiting beliefs and thought patterns around money. We unconsciously absorb much of our core money mindset and programming during childhood from our parents, family, and community.
However, self-made millionaires emphasize that having friends from more affluent backgrounds exposed them to completely different attitudes, behaviors and belief systems around wealth accumulation.
“My middle-class circle saw financial success as incredibly risky and had a scarcity mindset,” said computer network architect and self-made millionaire Emma Hathway. “My wealthy friends showed me that building real wealth was not only possible but an intelligent way of operating.”
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An Elevated ‘Success Blueprint’
Wealthy high-earners also open your eyes to proven “success blueprints” for achievements, careers, entrepreneurship and life architectures that facilitate wealth. From negotiating tactics to tax-optimization strategies, you gain an entirely new framework for playing a bigger money game.
“My wealthy friend circle became my own personal masterclass in the habits, processes, skills, and attitudes that allow you to join the ‘New Rich’,” explained Hathway. “I got to see up close the tangible steps and actions they were taking – things like living below their means, or constantly investing in acquiring new income-producing assets.”
Mindset and blueprint alone may not be enough though. Self-made millionaires emphasize that your high-earning friend group also provides two other critical wealth boosters:
Access to Valuable Connections
Your wealthy friends’ extended networks can open doors to career opportunities, business funding, or mutually beneficial partnerships that may have otherwise remained out of reach. Many self-made millionaires emphasize “relation-rich” connections as the ultimate shortcut for getting ahead.
Hathway credits her millionaire friends for winning a series of high-ticket clients that allowed her to rapidly scale her net worth.
Final Note: Don’t Make It Transactional
Of course, these relationships should be real ones.
“This isn’t just about money and social climbing, or whatever,” said Hathway. “The relationships have to be authentic, legitimate friendships built on wanting to see each other succeed.”
Also, as you grow more wealthy and perhaps, more worldly, your friend group might naturally change with you.
As Schmidt shared, “I used to be a normal person capable of making small talk about sports or who wore what to the latest award show. Since becoming an entrepreneur my friend circle shifted to include more people in my line of work and with similar goals as mine.”
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I’m a Self-Made Millionaire: 3 Reasons You Need Higher-Earning Friends
