Photo by Natalie Chapman
I joined a group on LinkedIn that has a finance topic. We were discussing whether or not you should teach kids about using credit cards. The argument was that credit is a reality of life and so they should be taught how to properly use them. Of course I was arguing against their use.
It really made me think though. To these people, credit is a reality of life. They cannot comprehend not using credit to survive in this day and age. I hang out with a different crowd I guess. I’ve seen first hand that you can survive without credit, and I know many other people, and have heard even more stories of people who are living debt free. Because of the people I surround myself with, my reality says that credit is not necessary. The people I surround myself with are striving for bigger and better things, not the status quo.
Who are you surrounding yourself with? Are you surrounding yourself with people who are holding you back and keeping you right where you are? Are you surrounding yourself with people in a lower position than yourself so that you can feel superior and not have to grow and change? Or are you surrounding yourself with people who are where you want to be so that you can learn from them and grow with them and achieve bigger and better things?
Now don’t get me wrong, I think you need a mix of those groups. You should be hanging out with people that are at the same phase in the process as you that you can remain accountable with and grow together. You should be associating with people who have not yet reached the level you are at and giving them a hand up. But too many people avoid the group that is already where they want to be because it makes them feel inferior. You need to get over that feeling and build a relationship with those that have already achieved the things you want to achieve. They can help you grow. They can help you understand that it CAN be done. Ignore the nay-sayers, and surround yourself with people that are positive and supportive. You can and will succeed.