The people in your network determine your net worth. But most people surround themselves with broke, limited thinkers who reinforce poverty mindsets and discourage wealth-building behaviors.
Your biggest obstacle to wealth might not be lack of opportunity. It might be the people who influence your daily thinking about money and success.
While everyone talks about the importance of networking, most people are building networks that actively sabotage their financial success by normalizing mediocrity and discouraging risk-taking.
Your Income Follows Your Network
Studies show your income tends to average out to within 20% of your five closest friends. This isn’t coincidence—it’s how networks work.
Wealthy people understand that financial success is largely a network effect. They know the right people who provide opportunities, insights, and connections that create wealth.
Poor people’s networks consist primarily of other poor people who share the same financial limitations, mindsets, and lack of wealth-building knowledge. The opportunities and investment knowledge flow through networks, meaning poor networks provide poor information.
The Echo Chamber Effect
Poor networks create echo chambers that reinforce limiting beliefs: “Money is the root of all evil.” “Rich people are greedy.” “You need money to make money.” “Success requires luck.”
When everyone in your network shares these beliefs, they become normalized through constant repetition. Your network discourages wealth-building behaviors like investing and entrepreneurship by labeling them as “greedy” or “unrealistic.”
There’s also crab bucket mentality—when someone tries to improve financially, others pull them back down through criticism and discouragement.
Spending Instead of Building
Poor networks normalize consumption over investment. Social pressure encourages spending on status symbols and entertainment rather than assets that build wealth.
The social activities are expensive: dining out, entertainment, shopping, luxury experiences. These drain financial resources rather than building them.
Your network celebrates new cars and expensive vacations while ignoring wealth-building milestones. The financial peer pressure makes it socially difficult to live below your means or invest instead of consuming.
Bad Information Everywhere
Most people’s networks consist of employees who share employee mindsets about money and job security. They spread financial misinformation like “investing is gambling” or “real estate is too risky.”
Meanwhile, the investment opportunities and business deals that create wealth are shared within wealthy networks and rarely reach poor ones. Financial education comes from other financially unsuccessful people rather than those who have actually built wealth.
Opportunity Hoarding
Wealthy networks hoard the best opportunities among themselves. High-paying jobs, investment opportunities, and business partnerships are shared through wealthy networks before they become public.
Poor networks share information about job openings and small opportunities that don’t create significant wealth. They operate on scarcity thinking, competing for limited opportunities rather than creating wealth-building prospects.
Playing It Too Safe
Poor networks reinforce risk aversion that prevents wealth-building actions. Common advice: “Get a secure job.” “Don’t quit your job.” “Investing is too risky.” “Play it safe.”
Wealthy networks encourage calculated risk-taking because they understand that wealth requires taking intelligent risks. Poor networks punish risk-taking through criticism and “I told you so” responses.
Thinking Small
Poor networks normalize small-scale thinking about money and business. Conversations focus on bills and expenses rather than wealth-building strategies.
They discourage big financial goals with comments like “Be realistic” or “That’s not for people like us.” The financial role models are people who are slightly less poor rather than people who have achieved significant wealth.
How Wealthy Networks Work Differently
Wealthy networks share investment opportunities and business deals that aren’t available to the general public. Conversations focus on wealth building and financial strategy rather than consumption.
The social pressure encourages smart investing and business creation. They operate on abundance thinking, looking for ways to create and share wealth rather than competing for limited resources.
Upgrading Your Network
Escaping poverty requires strategically upgrading your network to include people who think bigger and actively build wealth.
Seek environments where successful people gather: investment groups, entrepreneurship events, business conferences. But here’s the key—you need to provide value rather than trying to extract it.
Distance yourself from people who consistently discourage your wealth-building goals. Join groups focused on investing and entrepreneurship rather than consumption and entertainment.
The Hard Part
Upgrading from a poor network to a wealthy one creates social friction. Old networks often resist your financial growth through criticism and jealousy.
Wealthy networks require higher levels of knowledge and value contribution. The transition involves social isolation as you outgrow old relationships but haven’t established new ones yet.
Most people return to poor networks because the social comfort feels better than the growth discomfort. But this is the price of financial success that most people are unwilling to pay.
Becoming Valuable
Wealthy people network with others who can help them make more money or solve problems—not with people who need help or want handouts.
Develop expertise in areas valuable to wealthy people: investment analysis, business operations, marketing, technology. Create value through introductions, opportunities, or specialized knowledge.
Wealthy networks are merit-based. Your access depends on your ability to contribute rather than your need for help.
The Bottom Line
Your network determines your net worth because the people around you shape your thinking, provide opportunities, and influence your financial behaviors.
Most people stay poor because they surround themselves with other poor people who reinforce limiting beliefs and discourage wealth-building behaviors. Wealthy people focus on relationships with other successful, ambitious people.
Your financial future depends more on who you spend time with than on your current income or education.
Which type of network do you have? What changes do you need to make in your relationships to support your financial goals?
The discomfort of upgrading your network might be exactly what’s standing between you and the wealth you want to build.