Harvard Business School professor David McClelland found that your reference group—the small circle you spend the most time with—heavily influences your motivation and achievement. Deliberately choosing high-performing, challenging people as partners and friends raises your own standards, while low-ambition people pull you down.
A big chunk of your success depends on this one thing. David McClelland, a professor at Harvard Business School who did some foundational research on motivation and achievement, discovered that much of our success hinges on what he calls our reference group, the small number of people you spend the most time with. By deliberately choosing that reference group, the people we learn from, the people we compare ourselves to, we significantly shape our own motivations and achievements. Some people set high standards for us. Being around them makes us better. Some people, well, they did the exact opposite. So choose wisely, your partner, your friends, your collaborators. Your success is shaped by others closest to you. Surround yourself with people who challenge and inspire you.
