When I lived in Salt Lake City, I was invited to train with a group of athletes at a facility called Gym Jones. It can be a bit of a polarizing place. Not just anyone can walk in off the street and join.

But the reasoning behind it’s exclusivity is fairly straight forward. The gym and it’s founder Mark Twight, are driven by a simple philosophy:

You become what you do. How and what you become depends on environmental influence so you become who you hang around. Raise the standard your peers must meet and you’ll raise your expectations of yourself. If your environment is not making you better, change it.

I think about my time within the walls of Gym Jones often. The caliber and commitment of the people there allowed me to do things I didn’t think I was capable of. 

The same is true in startups.

You become who you hang around. So choose what and with whom you spend your time on accordingly.