3 Types of People You Need In Your Circle To Be Successful

Discover the three types of people you need to help you achieve your goals and dreams.

You have all heard the myth of the self-made man.

I call it a myth because we all know NO ONE makes it alone.

When we achieve success or accomplish our goals, we do so through the support of or assistance from others.

I learned this early, having had to memorize these lyrics (at my father’s request) from a well-known song, “No man is an island. No man stands alone.”

Without a doubt, I need support; you need support – we all need support.

Like many of you, as I grew through my childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and in my season years, this belief that we must rely on each other has been further solidified by my own life experiences.  

As you fulfill your dreams and achieve success, you will have a circle of support from friends, family, and acquaintances.

But each of your supporters will have different talents, skills, interests, and abilities to contribute to your quest to accomplish the goals you have in mind.

Sometimes, supporters will have ideas and advice that may cause conflict. As a result, you often have to choose whose input you use or whose contribution you accept. You simply can’t keep everyone in your circle. 

Making that choice of who we keep as mentors, advisors, and supporters take a great deal of consideration and analysis.

When I pondered this myself, I found myriad combinations of personality types, skill offerings, and areas of expertise that could be considered beneficial.

But, if I had to make a recommendation, here are the top three types of people I think you need in your circle to be successful.

The Types of People You Need To Be Successful

1. The Connections Expert

You need someone like the Connections Expert, who knows how to market your skills, build a broad network, and simply sell what you have to offer to your target customers.

To be successful in any arena, you must have facts, figures, and projected information on how things operate in that field, as well as details covering the needs, gaps, and areas of saturation. 

Acquiring these particulars is a significant part of what most market researchers do.

With this knowledge in hand, you then need to go about the business of promoting, advertising, and selling your products, services, or yourself.

The skill and ability to define and carry out these marketing functions in some manner (regardless of the field you are in) are critical to achieving success.

Marketers understand the link and need for networking to promote, advertise, and sell.  

As you share information and form relationships, you build a pact with different types of people who have complementary or supplementary goals.

This allows you to call on each other for support and reference or act as the source to get assistance from others, build your client base, and take your career to its summit.

Relationships are the source of many opportunities.

Interacting increases clients or customers who will buy your products or call on you for services.

The need for and significance of connections and networking truly buries the myth of the self-made man.

2. The Contingency Specialist

Life is never smooth sailing.

Goal-setting and achieving are never without obstacles and surprises.

So you always need what I call a Contingency Specialist on your side.

A person with this skill set never panics.

They thrive in dealing with unexpected circumstances.

An expert in risk management they anticipate disasters and catastrophes that can come along to derail you.

They plan ahead and stand ready not just to cover and comfort you, but to show you how to overcome and accomplish what you set out to – via a different route. 

Contingency Specialists love the challenge of fixing mistakes, getting past impediments, getting things back on track, and moving positively.

Your Contingency Specialist has no fear.

They never say “never” and believe wholeheartedly that they can bounce back from any situation, no matter how disastrous it appears.

They live to “turn things around.”

Among the types of people in your circle, the Contingency Specialist lives by faith and soars with confidence.

When you hit a dead-end, they are there to lead you towards a detour that will take you to safety.

When you get stuck in a maze, they find you and lead you on a path to the nearest exit. 

As it is unlikely that the road to your success will be clear and straight, you need this personality in your inner circle to motivate you and pull out that backup plan, guiding you back on track.

A qualified Contingency Specialist will stand with you (in your circle), ensuring you are prepared to respond to any emergency, without fear of failing.

3. The Do-Anything Professional

As we strive for success, there is always more work to be done.

Tasks never seem to subside, and deadlines are always imminent.

There are big jobs and small jobs.

There are flashy projects and grungy projects.

Regardless, every task, every deadline, every job, and every project plays its part in getting you to your desired end.

No matter how prestigious or insignificant the assignment is, it must be completed accurately and timely.

One of the best ways to ensure this occurs is to have a workhorse in your circle.

Your workhorse or Do-Anything Professional is a dependable, stable, flexible, focused, persistent, and loyal worker who will do anything.  

They will work long and hard.

The duties they are assigned could be quite boring, manual, lacking in prominence, or even strenuous; still, they will persevere and see it through with excellent results because they are committed.

They will work vigorously on every task to get the result you desire, displaying their loyalty and willingness to support your dreams and goals.

Your Do-Anything Professional doubles as your confidant, looking out for your best interest, steering you away from detractors, and covering for you when others question your determination, ability, or drive.

Among the types of people you need, this is the person in your circle who is an exceptional listener, someone slow to judge, and available at a moment’s notice.

They are NOT intimidated by your achievements as they possess private confidence.

Usually, they have already quietly accomplished more than they let others on. 

The things you need done but don’t want to do – or don’t have the time to do – your Do-Anything Professional will gladly carry out, leaving you to concede that you indeed need a helping hand.

Cementing Your Circle of Success 

Your success is not achieved from one dimension.

You accomplish your goals by working with and through others.

Much like the shape of a circle, the relationships you depend on to aid you to go round and round continuously with no break.

To get to the top, you must link, connect, interact, and depend on different types of people with varying personalities, skills, interests, and knowledge.

The key is recognizing that you make it together – not alone.