The one type of person rich people avoid

Researcher claims self-made millionaires are very particular about who they associate with

The people who you associate with have a greater impact on you than you may think. Surprisingly, your friends may also affect your financial standing.

After researching the daily habits of wealthy people for five years, author Thomas C Corley found wealthy people have one common trait – they avoid pessimists at all costs. “Self-made millionaires are very particular about who they associate with,” Corley writes in his book “Change Your Habits, Change Your Life.”



“You are only as successful as those you frequently associate with. The rich are always on the lookout for individuals who are goal-oriented, optimistic, enthusiastic, and who have an overall positive mental outlook,” he maintains.

Corley went on to claim that around 86 per cent of wealthy people in his research made a habit of associating with other success-minded individuals. On the flip side, “they also make a point to limit their exposure to toxic, negative people,” he explains.

The author upholds that positivity was the hallmark of rich people he studied as they substituted negative friends and acquaintances for positive individuals. “Long-term success is only possible when you have a positive mental outlook,” Corley states.



Corley is not the only one to suggest that negativity derails success or that your relationships could affect your financial success.

Nearly a century ago, journalist Napoleon Hill drew similar conclusions after researching over 500 self-made millionaires. “Men take on the nature and the habits and the power of thought of those with who they associate,” he wrote in his 1937 bestseller, “Think and Grow Rich,” and “there is no hope of success for the person who repels people through a negative personality.”

This article originally appeared on Business Insider.