There is an interesting phenomenon: many successful people emphasize one thing—leverage.

It's not physical leverage from physics, but mental leverage. Simply put, you put in about the same effort as others, but the returns you get could be several times or even dozens of times greater. This sounds a bit counterintuitive—aren't we told that hard work equals rewards?

But reality is so magical. You and I wake up at 6 a.m. and work the same 12 hours, so why is there such a big difference in income? The reason lies in differences in mindset. Take Jack Ma as an example—he and an ordinary cleaner spend nearly the same amount of time, but the wealth gap is millions. It's not about effort level, but about the power of leverage.

Leverage thinking is actually everywhere, especially in finance and business. But many people don't realize that there are shadows of leverage all around in life.

**Networking might be the most easily overlooked leverage**

In recent years, a concept has become very popular—people who are good at utilizing and managing their networks are called "networkers." Since entering this era, the circles you belong to have become increasingly important.

The difference is huge. If you can enter a high-quality network circle, you will have a vast relationship web. The information, opportunities, and resources you gain will also improve accordingly. Conversely, if you stay on the fringes, it's easy to be eliminated by this era.

A research institute at Stanford University conducted a survey, and the results were quite shocking: only 12.5% of a person's lifetime earnings come from their own knowledge and skills, while the remaining 87.5% actually come from the people they know.

Numbers speak for themselves.