A while back, I was meeting with a client who was seeking venture capital investments to bring his product to market. I arranged to have Patrick Bultema, the Director of Innovation at Colorado College, to join us at one of our meetings. The reason why I invited Patrick to our meeting was that he had gone through the process of getting venture capitalinvestors for his companies several times. After some discussion, Patrick thought it was unlikely my client would attract the kind of venture capital he was seeking. Patrick said to my client, “You are not a venture capital CEO.” In response to this criticism, my client asked, “How do I become a venture capital CEO?” Patrick replied, “Become the 2nd in command to a venture capital CEO to learn the ropes.”
This was a pretty profound exchange and captures the notion that the best way to become what you want to become is to hang around people that are already doing it. Consciousness is contagious.
We often talk about how to leverage money, but leveraging beliefs and philosophies are less known strategies for personal development. Since our beliefs dictate our behaviors, hanging out with people with beliefs and skills you aspire to have helped to transfer knowledge.
What is your plan to leverage your personal development by connecting with people you aspire to be more like?
