The story of the self-made man who builds himself is a myth.

This article is taken from the book I am writing. If you want to follow the project, it's this way. //
About 15 years ago, Thomas Harrell, a professor of applied psychology at Stanford University, decided to study former MBA graduates who had passed through his school to try to analyse the path of those who had been most successful. Do they have anything in common that would explain their success?

The first thing he discovered was that there is no correlation between students' grades during their school years and their future career success.

He found them a single common trait. Those who have set up businesses and quickly climbed up the hierarchy are those who have the ability to create a conversation with anyone in any situation.

Conversely, in the bestseller "Never Eat Alone", Keith Ferrazzi explains that the inability to form interpersonal relationships is one of the characteristics of poverty.

"Poverty, I realized, wasn't only a lack of financial resources. It was isolation from the kind of people who could help you make more of yourself." - Keith Ferrazzi
There is no one who owes his success only to himself: the story of the self-made-man who builds himself is a myth.

However, the self-made-man did not crush and manipulate others to achieve his goals. He simply knew how to get help from the right people at the right time.

Others are indispensable to our own success. So how do we build an exceptional network and make the most of our relationships?

The importance of having a good environment
Without realizing it, we are influenced by our direct environment and everything around us. Our decisions, judgments and opinions are influenced by the street in which we live, the education we have received, the newspaper we read in the morning, the school we attended, etc., and so on.

We are much more driven by our emotions and subject to many mental biases than we might think.

In "Outliers", Malcolm Gladwell brilliantly demonstrates that a person's success is never of his own making. Success is always the result of a very particular context and environment.

One of the elements of our personal environment that has the greatest impact on us is the people around us. According to a famous saying, we are the average of the 5 people we spend most time with.

When one wants to differentiate oneself in the era of the digital economy, making art is essential... but also difficult.

We are subject to many doubts and our willingness to do things varies. It is important not to spend too much time with people who amplify our doubts and systematically question the direction we want to take.

It is not a question of locking oneself in a self-centered bubble, with people who see everything in the same way. But rather to spend as much time as possible with the people who pull us up. And with which we share common goals.

We are the very products of the people and networks to which we are connected. Who you know determines who you are, how you feel, how you act, and what you achieve."
 - Keith Ferrazzi

During the Renaissance, education was organized in such a way as to make the most of human relationships and the power of those around them. Within Botegas, students of different ages were mixed:

They spent 1/3 of their time with students who were better than them. They shared their experiences and gave them advice to help them progress. They pointed out the mistakes not to be made and advised them in their choices.
Warren Buffet has made it one of his strong life principles and is constantly trying to find mentors who have already accomplished what he dreams of doing:"I have learned that it is beneficial to spend time with better people than you, because they pull you up".

They spent 1/3 of their time with students of the same level as themselves. In this way, a competition was set up and each one pushed the other to surpass himself so as not to get caught.

They spent 1/3 of their time with students at a lower level. Being mentors themselves, they were forced to wonder about what they had learned, so that they could pass it on in turn.

The system was designed so that everyone could make the most of the group and others. The pupils were constantly in a logic of sharing and progression. Learning was maximum.

It is entirely possible to replicate such an ecosystem of learning today and create one's own mentoring system.