Look Up, Not Down
June 24, 2026
I tell my team this often.
The easiest way to feel good about yourself is to find people who are less than you and stand next to them. Less skilled, less successful, less far along. Next to them, you look good. It’s a cheap, comforting trick, and most people fall for it at some point.
But it gets you nowhere.
Real growth comes from doing the opposite. Find people who are more than you. Sharper, more capable, further ahead. Put yourself in their company and then work to be worthy of it.
One path protects your ego. The other expands you.
Standing above people you have outgrown teaches you nothing. Standing among people you admire pulls you upward, whether you intend it or not.
So choose your company carefully.
Don’t look for rooms where you are the smartest person. Look for rooms where you have to rise to belong.
That is where you actually grow.
