Your Advisory Council

Heads of State have them, CEOs have them, and religious leaders have them. Do you have one? An advisory council? While it doesn't have to be as official as a high-powered group of political advisers to assist in your every decision, having a council of people available to help you can be very beneficial. Here are some people you may want to have on speed dial:

• An accountant. These people can keep you out of trouble with the IRS and hopefully, financially solvent.
• A lawyer. The law is a game and unless you have enough time to study and practice the game, you will find yourself on the losing side of said game. A better idea--have a very good lawyer that you can rely on to have your back.
• A business advisor. If you have a business, having a business advisor or two who can guide you or at least act as a sounding board can be very useful (and lucrative).
• A doctor. Without your health, everything else is just not that important. A wise doctor can help keep you healthy (and/or give you a verbal smack upside the head if you aren't).
• A politician. The more powerful the better. There are some situations that just work out better when you have someone with political clout on your side. Their advice on how to use the political system to your greatest advantage can also be quite helpful.
• A "no" man. Which is the opposite of a "yes" man. When you get to a certain point in your life/career/income earning ability, you may find yourself surrounded by people who agree with everything you say. This can lead you down the wrong path. You need someone in your inner circle to pull you back to reality, tell you "no" if a "no" is warranted, and keep you on the straight and narrow.
• A specialty advisor, or two, or three. In my line of work, I often need specialty information so among my collection of "experts on speed dial" are a firearms expert, a couple of high ranking military officers, a PR expert, a technology wizard, an assortment of medical experts, and a couple of people who are just old and wise and worth their weight in gold.

I hear the phrase "you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with" and I can't agree more. If you want to be successful, healthy, wise, creative, et al. you need to surround yourself with people who are where you want to be, people who can help you, people who can provide good, useful advice and information, and people who will help move you forward in life.