In the past, we’ve spoken a lot about the people around you and how they impact your ability to grow as a person and find success. What is also important to mention is your physical environment and what kind of toll that takes on you emotionally and physically. Where you live, the climate, the atmosphere, your circle of peers, and the spirit of the people around you can have a great impact on your life and perception of things. At first, this may not sound like a big deal to you, but when I begin to break it down it will make more sense.
A typical negative reinforcement environment
I went to college in Upstate New York, more specifically, SUNY Cortland. This is a town about 40 minutes south of Syracuse and a very typical northeast college town. Like most college towns, the majority of the time there students spend partying. Whether that be in bars or at frat parties, these events are almost every day and consist of people drinking, doing drugs, and other things. Not to mention, Cortland is freezing cold and cloudy almost every day which weighs heavily on your mood and motivation. All of these factors combined creates an environment that is the antithesis of mediocrity. There is every temptation in the world to live with reckless abandonment and without purpose. Under these types of circumstances, it can be very different to allow yourself to achieve great things. Being in an environment where you can put distractions aside and be around people who have similar goals and aspirations to you is life-changing. The saddest thing about these types of environments is that they are devoid of purpose. Each day is more empty and meaningless than the last. Does this type of setting seem like one that is conducive to success? I didn’t think so…
Mood and motivation
Being around the type of environment I’ve described above is the killer of motivation and drive. This is rather obvious and can be easily observed and understood. But what can be overlooked at times is the physical climate of the environment itself and the toll it takes (or doesn’t take) on your body and mind. Take for example Cortland, New York again. For most of the time I was there (say 80%), it was freezing cold, gray skied, and snowing. Rarely did I see much sunlight. Rarely did I spend much time outside or in nature. Rarely did I leave my house. This is not good for the body and mind as you crave sunlight and being outdoors. It affects everything, especially mood and motivation. At my home in Long Island, New York, my office is on the second floor of my house and my desk is right next to a large window and underneath a skylight. This allows the sun to shine on me all day while I’m working and I can feel a tangible difference in my motivation, mood, and even energy when I’m in an environment with a more unfavorable climate. These little things really matter, and we should talk about them as a society more than we do.
Shared values
Something that has come to the forefront in recent years is the values of the communities in which you live and how in line they are with your own. While diversity of thought is a blessing that we all need to be grateful for everyday, living in a place that continues to frustrate you to no end is extremely counterproductive in my opinion. Take for example, New York. New York is a place that believes in high taxes, big government, and many social policies that are bad for the community, in my humble opinion. As a capitalism-loving entrepreneur, New York is not a place that best represents my values and allows me the grace to conduct business as efficiently as possible. For example, New York is an attorney state for buying and selling real estate. In my experience, attorneys here in New York are difficult to get in touch with, expensive, and create more problems than they solve. On top of that, property taxes, and extremely harsh landlord rules make it difficult to conduct a profitable and fair business model in most cases in terms of real estate ventures of smaller scale. Instead of beating the same drum over and over again, moving to a place that shares similar values to you, in my case capitalism, is something that will play a large factor in the level of success you’re able to achieve.
The perfect environment
While everything mentioned above is important and will help you fine-tune your model for success in your life. it won’t make you successful on its own. You need to have your own drive and motivation and hunger to want to be as successful as you possibly can be. You need to challenge yourself and put in the time and effort it takes to try and conquer new things relentlessly. The aforementioned is the icing on the cake, the missing link so to speak. The intangibles must be present within you and the details will help you unlock it. The perfect environment is the culmination of it all working together.