As we are entering the year 2016, Everything around you affects your future, especially other people. If sitting on a hard chair or putting on a white coat influences your behavior, imagine how much the people in your life influence your behavior. You can use this influence to your advantage by surrounding yourself with people who will improve your life and staying away from people who will destroy it.

Sometimes it’s hard figuring out who is good for you and who is bad for you.

You might think that surrounding yourself with people whoare just like you is a recipe for success, but it’s not.

Likewise, you might think that staying away from people who challenge you or make you angry sometimes is healthy, but it’s not. The smartest strategy is to surround yourself with people who have strengths that you lack while staying away from people who encourage you to take shortcuts. Here are 8 people you should surround yourself with and watch out for the 8 people you should avoid at all costs:

1. The firecracker.
Firecrackers are witty, charismatic, and always full of ideas. They have tons of energy and are always popping off at the mouth.

At first glance, you might mistakenly label a firecracker as arrogant or rude. But, in reality, these people are incredibly good-hearted and always want to bring out the best in others. Sure, they are feisty, bold, and quick to challenge you, but they do so in a fun and encouraging way.

Keep firecrackers close to you. These people will help you stay energized and present. They will make you think and will help you slowly chip away at all of your limiting beliefs.

In business, firecrackers add incredible value to any sales and marketing team. Don’t worry about these people ruining your professional reputation. They are exactly what you need to keep your products and services fresh and exciting.

2. The oracle.
Oracles are those rare, intelligent people who can see the end from the beginning. They are visionaries who live rich internal lives and who can look at everything from a bird’s eye view.

In ancient Greece, Dodona was the oldest and wisest oracle. She was commonly consulted by private citizens who had personal problems and was thought to speak through the rustling of oak leaves at a secluded site in Northwestern Greece. Ancient citizens would scratch their questions on lead tablets and receive a simple “yes” or “no” answer from three priestesses who represented the Dodona.

Modern day oracles, like Steve Jobs or Larry Page and Sergey Brin, are very similar to their ancient counterparts.
Very often, they are loners with introverted personalities who predict (or change) the course of humanity with their long-term mindsets.

If you have big goals for your life, make sure you surround yourself with as many oracles as possible and consult with them frequently.

3. The wizard.
If Steve Jobs was the oracle at Apple(see #2), then Steve Wozniak was the wizard.

Wizards are innovators. They are the scientists, engineers, and architects behind the world’s most amazing inventions.These people do the most difficult thing in the world: create something from nothing.

No matter what you’re trying to build, wizards will help you build it better and faster. Wizards make up the brilliant R&, programming, and design teams at the world’s top companies. Without wizards, all ideas would waste away.

4. The linguist.
Linguists are people who excel at wordplay. They are able to organize their thoughts into oral and written forms of communication to motivate, entertain, and teach other people.

Linguistics is the study of language form, meaning, and context. Pāṇiniwas the world’s first known linguist. He was a Sanskritgrammarian from ancient India whose earliest work dates back to 500 BCE. In particular, Pāṇini was responsible for formulating the 3,959 rules of Sanskrit, creating a type of grammar known as Ashtadhyayi.

Modern day linguists are authors, bloggers, public speakers, columnists, scientific writers, and communicators of all types.You might be tempted to take these people for granted, especially in today’s world where content has become a commodity. This is a mistake.

Whoever creates the stickiest content, controls the conversation.From memes to mission statements to memos, communication is what keeps ideas, product, services and actions on the top of people’s minds and at the tip of their tongues.

In business, the best communicators are always hired first. Interpersonal skills are more important than any other skill and can literally double your valueto any company. If you lack this skillset, surround yourself with people who have it and learn from them.

5. The connector.
Connectors are those people who have dipped into a vast array of diverse groups. Connectors know people from businesses or from parts of the world that you’ve never even heard of.

In college, one of my friends used to always tell me, “It’s better to have 100 friends than 100 dollars.” I thought he was an idiot. “Give me the 100 bucks!” I used to tell him. After all, I was a scientist and a wrestler — both of which relied heavily on self-reliance and individualism.

Eventually, I realized that connecting with others and working with them towards a shared goal is the only way to make really big things happen.I also learned that connecting with others can be a lot of fun.

When you get stuck in life, it’s the connector who will know the perfect person to help you get unstuck. Stay close to the connectors in your life. They make incredible managers. They also throw the best parties.

6. The battering ram.
Battering rams are entrepreneurs in the purest sense. They are gladiators who can get beat down again and again and again and keep coming back for more.

During the Iron Age, a battering ram was a siege engine designed to break open city walls and other fortifications during siege warfare. In ancient Middle Eastern and Mediterranean regions, battering rams consisted of large logs that were slung across giant wheeled frames and tied down by massive ropes or chains. The head of these rams were usually reinforced with metal heads or caps while vulnerable parts of each shaft were bound with metal bands.

In today’s world, a battering ram is a misfit who refuses to hesitate when faced with failure, insult, or isolation.

Two often misunderstood characteristics of these people are their intense energy levels and their confident, borderline arrogant, demeanor. Don’t misunderstand the battering rams in your life.Their intensity and overconfidence are simply the reinforcements they need to stay strong while they are bashing against the walls of new frontiers.

If you find yourself lacking initiative in any way, start surrounding yourself with as many battering rams as possible. These people know how to execute and will get a job done no matter how many walls are in their way.

7. The encyclopedia.
Encyclopedias are exceptionally structured and exquisitely detail oriented. These people excel in implementing and sustaining professional systems and processes.They are the oil that keeps all organizations running smoothly.

Growing up, I used to go with my Dad to the school he taught at after hours to play in the gym while he graded papers. After arriving, my Dad would circle the halls and have a 5-10 minute conversation with each and every custodian or secretary still left in the building. One time I asked him why he went out of this way to talk to all of these people.He said for two reasons; one, the custodians have all the keys, and two, the secretaries control all of the paperwork.I didn’t understand him then but I understand him now.

Encyclopedias are the easiest people to take for granted. They operate under the radar and take care of very tactical operations. But, they are still incredibly important. To understand just how important these people are, compare your worst customer service experience to your best customer service experience.

The difference between the two is nothing more than the operating procedures maintained by the encyclopedias at each respective company. Sure, management creates a vision for what the customer’s experience should be. But it’s the encyclopedias who will ensure that the vision is carried out correctly.

If details put you to sleep, then you need to get an encyclopedia in your life as soon as possible. Encyclopedias will keep you organized and help you hit the tactical benchmarks that you might be overlooking.

8. The hacker.
Hackers are half oracle (see #2) and half encyclopedia (see #. They are able to see both the overall vision for a business, as well as the processes that keep the vision in place.

Hackers are those people who can deconstruct these processes, test each piece individually, and then put the best components back together to create better vision for the future.

How did Twitter become so popular during the meteoric rise of Facebook? When it began, Twitter was simply a way to tell the people following you, in 140 characters, what you were doing.

But Facebook already had a status bar, right? Twitter’s success stems from the fact that it was able to hack out the best part of Facebook, improve it, and repackage it. As a result, they now dominate the status update market.

Hackers are scientists. They create paradigm shifts by testing different parts of a process over and over again until every piece is optimized. If you don’t have the time to test the various parts of your business or life, then start making friends with some hackers. The amount of time and energy these people can save you is incredible. If you’re not hacking, you’re slipping.

http://lazyreporta.com/8-types-of-people-to-surround-yourself-with-must-read/

nice and inspiring article. now I wonder were I belong

seedgreen:
nice and inspiring article. now I wonder were I belong

Which of the category do u belong??