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What kind of people do I want in my life?

I want to be surrounded by intelligent talented people. People who hold themselves to a standard of excellence. Natural born talent polished by motivation. The kind of drive you see in another person that puts wind in your sails. I want the people in my life to be interesting, warm, and full of personality. People who genuinely care about each other. People with substance.

The type of people who make their distinction between that of person confident in themselves as an individual and that of a person overcompensating for their insecurity with an excessive search of approval. Not one who relies on the success of a group rather on individual merit. One who pulls forward for his/her personal fulfillment as opposed to one that gives way to lag time to check the progress of those around them.

The type of person I am describing is someone that is capable of sparking a genuine interest. A kind of platonic interest and care for the wellbeing and life direction of that person. 

My 7^th grader teacher pulled me aside one day to tell me that you are who you associate with. This was in a negative context because my friends back then probably had a high deadbeat potential and my teacher wanted to keep me out of trouble. This advice works on a two way street.