The 4 Types of People to Surround Yourself With for Success - Gerard Adams

The 4 Types of People to Surround Yourself With for Success


Gerard Adams
Entrepreneur, angel investor, self-made millionaire at 24

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Success doesn’t occur in a vacuum. In reality, there are a number of factors that lead to the success of an entrepreneur. Hard work and drive are always necessary for entrepreneurial success, but your personal improvement leading up to your success can be greatly driven by other people.

The people we choose to surround ourselves with impacts the way we think, act and feel on a day-to-day basis. In many ways, entrepreneurial success is determined much like success in any other aspect of life. A young football player is going to succeed if he surrounds himself with people who push him to become better, not people who distract him from his potential.

As entrepreneurs, we are responsible for ourselves. Surrounding yourself with the right type of people can help success come more naturally to you than being around those who might hold you back. Here are some people you should keep close throughout your pursuits.


Relentless workers.
You probably know somebody who is a relentless worker, or perhaps you are one yourself. These types of workers push us to work harder each and every day. While measuring personal success against the success of another is like comparing apples and oranges, we can measure our drive with the drive of other relentless workers. True passion and commitment will breed a successful business.


Positive attitudes.
People tend to be better at what they’re doing if they’re happy. Negative attitudes can drag down work ethic and they don’t offer any inspiration for success or innovation. Surrounding yourself with negative people can bog down your creativity and drive and it could ultimately be the downfall of your business. People with positive attitudes can actually have the opposite effect, facilitating your leap towards success more effectively. Bringing happiness inside the workplace will keep morale high and will keep people looking forward.




People who ask questions.
Albert Einstein once said “the important thing is to not stop questioning.” As entrepreneurs, we should constantly be asking questions about ourselves and our business. However, no single person will think of every important question. People who ask questions may provide a different angle on an issue or an idea, and these questions could ultimately lead to an important breakthrough for you or your business. Perspective is everything.

Dreamers.
Some non-entrepreneurial types will consider all entrepreneurs “dreamers.” However, we understand that setting goals and working hard will help us achieve what many consider to be unachievable. To keep this drive going, we should always be surrounding ourselves with people who have similar goals in mind. These dreamers don’t even need to be involved in the same industry as you or your business; the important thing is that you keep close people with big plans for themselves. Seeing other people’s drive will keep you hungry to reach your goals.


You are the sum of who you spend your time with. Make sure that you are directly involved with people who lift you, inspire you, and motivate you to do and be more. As you grow and your business grows, this might mean changing friends and colleagues, and that’s part of life. Just trust that hard work, positivity, and keeping your sights high are things you can’t risk deviating from if you want the life you dream of.