Yesterday, I reviewed two books which looked at what made people successful from two different perspectives.  Today, I am going to try to bring some of the theories discussed down to practicalities.

Opportunities for success can be created by surrounding yourself with the right people.

I have been very blessed by being surrounded by a lot of people who know money- whether they do it for a living, have made it in the past or are making it which made it easier for me to focus in on fixing my portfolio. Being with the right people gives you a good springboard for success since you are  surrounded by knowledge and experience. The key though is to ask for help honestly and not to take the criticism personally.

Or, let me put this another way, hanging out with negative influences tends to also pull you down. In a Farmingham Heart Study cited in the September 2008 issue of Men’s Health, your chances of become obese increased by 57% if you had a friend who became obese. In other words, like attracts like.

How do you find the right people? You don’t exactly call up Warren Buffet and ask to hang out with him. But, look around you, there are people with many different talents, experience and skills who we over-look because we view them through some narrow paradigm of co-worker, neighbor or friend of a friend. You would be surprised how many people will help you if you are honest and true about your intentions and show appreciation for the time and effort they give you.

As a final note, there’s always some fear that by reaching up, you are not staying true to your old circle. However, remember that a true friend wants you to succeed and not to pull you down.

Brip Blap is a frequent writer on this topic of creating a mastermind group (a term popularized by Napoleon Hill) to push you to succeed. He always shares his useful tips.

Success comes with a price. Hard work.

As Geoff Colvin writes, people get successful through deliberate practice in things which they are not good at. It is not fun and its hard work to practice something you are not good at until you are.  But the key to success is really to push yourself one step further or to do what you hate doing.

So, if you hate looking at your financial statement, do it then ask yourself why it looks the way that it does without pointing fingers. If you want to pay down debt, save just that little bit more.

I once got a piece of advice from a senior lawyer. Do the file you hate most first thing in the morning so it will discipline you to tackle what you hate when you have the most energy and least distractions. So ask yourself what you hate doing and tackle it. Or, as the greeting card saying goes, do one thing that scares you every day.

Success is not a process that is done alone. Get someone to help you.

There are money coaches, advisors and just generally helpful people. The key is to be honest about what you want and how they can help you- whether that help is coaching, formal or informal mentoring or just having someone to talk it out.

Having a second set of eyes helps you since someone is removed from the situation and can give you honest advice as well as push you when you don’t feel like doing it. Going back to the first point, make sure that the person helping you has some success in life too. For example, it is no use getting someone who is completely out of shape to motivate you to go to the gym when they can’t themselves (and probably have more excuses not to go than you).

…there’s obviously many more ways to create opportunities but a good simple first step is to create the right environment to succeed with the right people,  work hard and make sure you have someone who keep you on track. With those building blocks, and with the passage of time, your efforts will be rewarded in any endeavor.

Good luck.