There’s this idea floating around that the five people you spend the most time with will determine how successful you are. I did a little digging and traced it down to a quote by Jim Rohn, an entrepreneur, and motivational speaker. His exact quote was “You’re the average of the five people you spend most of your time with.”

While I don’t think that the influence and math are quite that simple, there is something to this whole idea that the people you spend time with influence your level of success. The important conclusion to draw from this is that it’s important to pay attention to who you spend time with and surround yourself with successful people as much as possible.

You know the inverse is true. When a kid falls in with the “wrong” or “bad” crowd at school, grades drop, and behavior changes for the worse. The opposite is true too. If your child has friends who are working hard and doing well in school, he or she will be more likely also to do well. The same is true when it comes to our own lives and the areas we want to succeed in.

Let’s say your dream is to own a small restaurant on the main street and make a comfortable living cooking amazing locally sourced food for your community. Wouldn’t it make sense to make friends with other local business owners, chefs, and even boutique farmers in your area? How about having a group of friends across the country who are running the same type of restaurants?

When you surround yourself with other people who are already successful in what you want to do, you can tap into their vast experience and hopefully avoid making some of the mistakes they’ve made. Think of them as your mentors who will help you make progress faster. Something as simple as knowing who to talk to about your business license can save you days of time and aggravation.

The people you surround yourself with don’t even have to be very successful at what you want to do. There’s a lot of value in having people around you who are on the same journey. You can mastermind and exchange ideas. You can bounce ideas off each other, and most importantly, you can encourage each other to keep pushing through the tough times and celebrate the small successes.

Start by looking for like-minded people. Find a few who are either working towards the same goal or who have already accomplished them and can play the role of a mentor or guide. Building a network like that can become an invaluable asset on your road to success.