There’s an economic theory out there that if you take the incomes of your five closest friends and average them, the resulting number will be pretty close to your own income. I think the same thing is true of idea incomes. You’re only going to be as good as the stuff you surround yourself with.
Austin Kleon (2012). “Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative”, p.13, Workman Publishing