How to Achieve Your Goals By Surrounding Yourself with Like Minded People
February 11, 2008
What’s one of the fastest ways not to achieve your goals? Spend all your time with people that have goals opposite than yours. On the other hand, hanging around people who have your same aspirations will make you more likely to actually achieve some of the things that you’re striving for.
Mindset of Success
There are many reasons why this association factor is true. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule but in general, if you want to be successful then surround yourself with successful people. Why else do you think your parents were always so concerned with you hanging out with “the wrong crowd” when you were growing up : )
So what do you do if the people you’re around all the time aren’t interested in your goals? It’s not exactly easy to switch jobs, find new friends, or adopt a new family just because those groups of people don’t have your same interests. Don’t despair, modern technology has made it possible to extend your social network so that you can start virtually spending time with like minded people.
Personal Finance Goals
Let’s look at an example. It might surprise you a little, but I’m going to pick financial goals as the topic : ) Let’s say you’ve never really been into managing your money but you recently heard Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman, or David Bach on TV or the radio and they inspired you to take control of your finances. The problem you run into after reading Total Money Makeover, Nine Steps to Financial Freedom, and Smart Couples Finish Rich is that none of your friends or family want to hear about Debt Snowballs, Money Cycles, or Latte Factors.
So how do you stay motivated to be financially responsible and learn more about money matters? If you’re reading this site, chances are you already know the answer. Simply tap into the enormous money community that’s open 24/7 and accessible most places in world, the personal finance blogosphere. You can spend hours reading about investing in a down economy, improving your credit history, or investing in ETF’s.
People are willing to share different options for your IRA and kindly give reminders to open or fund your IRA. What better way to get a jumpstart on your finances than getting free financial software, you could win a copy of TurboTax or get free tax software.
Whether you’re looking for information on saving money on prescriptions, living within your means, or strategies to reduce your health insurance costs you can find it all online.
If you’re relatively new to money matters you can find out about simple budget plans or maybe how a little reverse budgeting might work better for you. Learn how you could use a credit card for debt reduction and how you shouldn’t use credit as your emergency fund.
Not only can you read about all these personal finance tips, you can join the money conversation by leaving comments and asking questions. For an even more interactive experience you can visit financial forums and ask any burning money question you have. If you have the itch to join the community as a publisher and not just a reader, you can leverage the experience of others. After you’ve hung out for a while you’ll start to recognize some of the same people and might eventually even want to start your own money network with some of them.
Finding Like Minded People
Although you may not be physically around other like minded people, you can spend enough time with them virtually that their experience and enthusiasm can rub off and seep into your real life. While this example was aimed at personal finance goals, the Internet is a big place and whatever your interests are I can almost guarantee you’ll be able to find other people online who share your hopes and interests.
If you’re unsure of how to find these people, the good news is the searching has already been done for you! It’s as simple as going to Google.com, describing your goals in three or four words, and clicking “Google Search”. Good luck!
All posts by Ben Edwards
I completely agree. It’s amazing what can be achieved by people with the same goals.
This is great advice and applies to just about every part of life. But since money is often a taboo topic in “real life,” I am especially appreciative of the online friends I’ve made, because they are often more “like-minded” than my “real life” friends.