The Types Of People Every Entrepreneur Should Avoid

About 10 years ago I learned a concept from one of my mentors and that is that everybody in our lives fall under two different categories. They are either assets or liabilities.

 In this post I’ll cover what makes a person an asset or a liability, and the types of people that every entrepreneur should avoid.

Liabilities for Entrepreneurs

First, let’s talk about liabilities. A liability could be a cousin or friend of yours. After spending 45 minutes with them, by the time you leave, you feel like the world is coming to an end. They are certain that terrible times are here, and they convince you of the same. After spending time with them, after going home, you may even get into an argument with your spouse. People that bring negativity and drama into your life are liabilities.

Assets for Entrepreneurs

Now let’s talk about assets. Assets are people that, after spending time with, you walk way feeling good about life. They challenge you to get better. They encourage you to go out there and learn information and get better in life. Those types of people are assets.

What to Do About Assets and Liabilities

The question is, can we fully get rid of all of the liabilities in our lives? The answer is no. In the same way that we have day-to-day expenses such as paying the department of water and power, paying our cell phone bill and taxes, you can never completely get rid of people who are liabilities. For instance, you may have some family members who are liabilities, and you still need to spend time with them.

But I will tell you that for the most part, there are many ways to minimize your liabilities, including the time you spend with people who are liabilities.

Before you go further, I want you to make a list of the people you spend the most time with and consider which ones are assets and which ones are liabilities. Take steps to eliminate or reduce the amount of time you spend with people who are liabilities.

You Don’t Have to Have All the Answers

In addition to moving away from time with people who are liabilities, it’s also important to increase the amount of time you spend with people who are assets.

When I was a teenager, I thought I had all the answers. Then, when I hit rock bottom at the age of 24, I learned something very quickly; I don’t have all the answers. I also learned that it’s okay that I don’t have all the answers. In fact, it’s very liberating to know that you don’t have all the answers. The key thing is to find people who can help you with the answers. This is where mentors come into play.

You can have mentors in different areas of your life, such as faith, family, health, business, and finances.

But the question becomes, “How do I choose the right mentors?”

This is the list I follow:

#1: A mentor must care about you.

#2: A mentor must encourage you.

#3: A mentor must be willing to challenge you

#4: A mentor must have a vision of where they’re going

#5: A mentor must be a good example in their lives. For example, they should have a good marriage, be good with finances, etc. 

#6: A mentor must be willing to give you tough love.

Sometimes people want mentors until they realize that a mentor gives them tough love, and then they don’t like the mentor any more. If you’re struggling with a mentor giving you tough love, it’s important to remember that mentors don’t struggle with finding mentees. Mentors never lack mentees. Mentees lack mentors. So value what you receive from your mentor, including their tough love. 

This article was originally published on PatrickBetDavid.com.