Show me who your friends are..

03:12

Take a moment to analyse the company you keep. What are their thoughts on money? How do they spend their money? How do you spend your time with them?

You know what they say about a man’s friends, so its time for you to take a close look at yours.

Outside your family, the people you relate with include those you work with or friends with whom you share a history.

This doesn’t mean that you stop associating with your good old friends. What you need is to expand your network and use the same energy you dispense while dealing with mundane issues towards creating wealth. Remember, there is always room to make a fresh start once you appreciate the urgency to do so.

If you talk to entrepreneurs, you will learn that outside family time, every meeting they set up is strategic. It involves creating alliances with people or companies that bring in more business that will eventually fuel the growth of their net worth. These are the kind of people you need to hang around with. They not only value their time but are willing to share nuggets of wisdom.

It will initially be a challenge to move from the familiar comfort zone to try and seek out strangers who have excelled at multiplying their money.

This could be compounded with the fact that your attitude towards money is deep seated and has been perpetuated over time. Your attitude influences your way of thinking regarding how money should be earned, managed and spent.

While we all have different views about money, they shouldn’t be cast in stone, especially if they don’t improve our current net worth.

The good news is that everyone can do something about it. You can start by making some inquiries and compiling a list of the people you need to meet to achieve your goals. Some people don’t need to make new acquaintances because some of their family members are candidates for mentors.

Prior to setting up such meetings, you need know what you want, otherwise no busy entrepreneur wants to waste time with an unfocused person.

If you hang around people who do not think about improving their financial wellbeing, broach the subject and gauge their reaction. If they resist and laugh at your ideas, do not be surprised by their attitude. Changing from the familiar doesn’t happen overnight and is often met with resistance.

In all you do, it’s advisable not to leave out your family members. Set aside time to draw up your family’s goals and talk about your dreams. Talk about issues such as the level of satisfaction with your current income as an employee or entrepreneur.

Discuss whether you are satisfied with the current degree of wealth, and if not, what you want to do about it. Talk about the level of debt and how you intend to reduce it. If you want to take on more debt, assess its impact on your household income.The discussion should also consider income prospects over the long-term and whether some drastic steps need to be considered to improve income.

Talk about the items you would like to spend more or less money on and the future plans that are influenced by how much you would want to save and invest.

Once you have consensus in your household, it will be easy to make the decision regarding how much time you want to spend with which caliber of networks.