In your pursuit of personal mastery and excellence you want to surround yourself as much as possible with people that are better than you are. You want to use this skill difference to be a driving force to make you better, to strive harder, and to reach higher. It is this sense of competition that forces you to grow and to grow faster than without these people around you.

For example, in running, world class runners often use pacers who run just a little bit faster than they do and who always seem to be just ahead of them. These pacers work psychologically and physically to drive one forward and faster than the runner would likely have done themselves which causes them to stretch and strive for even greater results. These examples are found all over in athletics and business. The key principle is to surround yourself with people who are better than you and this innate competition will cause you to work harder and strive to be better. Since we become the five people who we spend the most time with, make sure they are a good five and ones who will challenge you and raise your "game."

Bad company corrupts good character. Anonymous

Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who'll argue with you. JohnWooden

Surround yourself with people that push you to do and be better. No drama or negativity. Just higher goals and higher motivation. Good time and positive energy. No jealousy or hate. Simply bringing out the absolute best in each other. Warren Buffet