I've heard people say that they sometimes like to associate themselves with less talented people so that they seem smarter and more skilled in comparison. This is absolutely the wrong mentality.

The only way to push yourself further in your career is to compete and work with people that are at or above your level. I realize this more than ever since starting my new job around 3 weeks ago at Ply Interactive.

My co-workers all bring something new to me, and I assimilate myself with their knowledge base and become a better web developer in the end.

I agree, I find that I work best in groups where I make the assumption that everyone else knows more than I do. If you can convince yourself that everyone is as smart or smarter than you, you are more likely to learn and progress because your focus will be on gaining knowledge rather than comparing levels of intellect.

Yeah, a lot of great artists and designers in history have said that their closest competitors have only made them better and more ambitious.