Thursday, July 26, 2007

What Else is Contagious?

There’s a great article in the New York Times warning that “obesity can spread from person to person, much like a virus.” Apparently, one explanation is that your perception of fatness changes depending on the size of the people with whom you are the closest—basically, if you have obese friends you’re likely to catch their “fatness.” As they put it in the article, “when a close friend becomes obese, obesity may not look so bad.”

I’m wondering if the same holds true for success?  If you surround yourself with successful people, can you catch their “successfulness”?  There seems to be a growing pop culture discussion about the ability to manage your life by merely altering your mind set (ala “The Secret").  I’m not sure there is a quick fix for becoming successful, but I think it would be hard to argue with the notion that your surroundings and world-view play tremendous roles in determining where you end up in life.