Seneca's advice cuts deeper than simple networking—he's identifying a paradox of self-improvement: we tend to befriend those we already resemble, creating comfortable echo chambers rather than paths forward. The real wisdom lies in recognizing that improvement requires a kind of productive discomfort; you must seek out people whose competence or character makes you feel slightly inadequate, not triumphant. Consider a writer who joins a workshop where three members have published novels: the initial sting of comparison becomes the very thing that tightens prose and clarifies ambition in ways a circle of equally unpublished friends never could. The difficult part isn't understanding this principle—it's having the humility to sit at tables where you're not the most accomplished person present.