Tony Robbins shares the most important thing he's learned from coaching billionaires

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Tony Robbins has coached some of the wealthiest people in the world, working with clients ranging from tennis legend Andre Agassi to President Bill Clinton.

Along the way, he's mastered his own money — the premiere performance coach and author of "MONEY: Master The Game" went from a cash-strapped upbringing to an estimated net worth of $440 million.

In a recent episode of Lewis Howes' podcast, "The School of Greatness," Robbins shared a fundamental lesson he's learned from coaching the wealthiest of the wealthy: "Who you spend time with is who you become," he told Howes.

There's a reason the wealthiest, most successful people tend to hang out with other wealthy, successful people.

As T. Harv Eker explains in his book, "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind," "Successful people look at other successful people as a means to motivate themselves. They see other successful people as models to learn from. They say to themselves, 'If they can do it, I can do it.'"

Associating with ambitious and driven individuals is also the key to staying hungry, even in the face of success, Robbins told Howes: "When I started coaching all these billionaires, there was a part of me that said, 'I'm as smart in certain areas as they are. I've got to step my game up ... Get around where it's better and things will hit you."

After interviewing more than 1,200 of the world's wealthiest people and becoming a self-made millionaire himself, author Steve Siebold came to a similar conclusion as Robbins: "Exposure to people who are more successful than you are has the potential to expand your thinking and catapult your income ... The reality is, millionaires think differently from the middle class about money, and there's much to be gained by being in their presence."

While often overlooked — or dismissed as elitist — your friendships could have a major impact on your financial success, and befriending wealthy people could even help you get rich. That's not to say you should ditch your average-income friends or screen new acquaintances by net worth, but you might want to take into consideration what you can learn from the friends you have and the friends you make.

As Siebold explains, "In most cases, your net worth mirrors the level of your closest friends ... We become like the people we associate with, and that's why winners are attracted to winners."

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