It’s said that you are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with. I know I’ve experienced this first hand, especially with the people I work with. They have influenced me and I have influenced them, hopefully for the better. We can’t always pick who we work with but we can choose who we spend our time with. So, why not make sure the people you associate with on a regular basis are interesting, talented and successful, because the chances are you will be too. If they’re not, chances are you won’t be either. So be sure to seek out great minds in the field of your passion. You want to find people who demand excellence of themselves and each other. People who will challenge your mind, stimulate good conversation, and get you thinking in realms you don’t normally think in. This will help you rise to the occasion and do the best work you are possible of doing. It might be hard but I recommend finding people that are more knowledgeable and talented than yourself. Many of us struggle in this area because it can be satisfying to hear praise from people and tend to avoid healthy conflict with people that might actually know more than we do. Exceptional people are not threatened by other strong people; they surround themselves with the best and most talented people they can find. If we don’t ask for advice from those who know more we will never learn from from one another, which is a shame.