SURROUNDINGS

I enjoy cooking. I wouldn’t say its a favourite past time of mine, but I do enjoy it. A few weeks ago, while making something in the oven, I stupidly grabbed the handle of the dish without any gloves. The result? My hand was burnt, in three spots. The remedy? Three hours under fridged, cold running, water…and 2 painkillers.

Three hours is a long time to stand in one place with your hand under water. I thought…a lot lol. I thought about the elderly customer at McDonald’s who received 3rd degree burns after spilling a cup of coffee on her lap.

I thought how lucky I am to be young and healthy, and that I would easily recover from this even though the pain at the time was like nothing I’ve ever felt. I thought how easy it is to take your health for granted, especially with the advancements in medicine we are healthier now then at any other time. Our bodies regularly fight off a bombardment of diseases and bacteria, however, it wasn’t so long ago that large populations of people would die because of a virus that, today, we receive immunizations for as infants.

In the 12th century, Europe succumb to one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, The Black Death (aka The Plague). The Plague killed anywhere between 75 – 200 million people; in all, between 30% – 60% of Europe`s population was wiped out. Thought to have originated in the plains of Central Asia, the disease traveled along the Silk Road trade route using rats as vectors.

During the time of the plague, cities and towns maintained poor upkeep and hygienic standards of their streets and citizenry. Streets were filthy and unkept providing as ideal areas for disease to grow. The regard we have for hygiene and cleanliness today, is a direct result of the lessons learned from the Black Death. It wasn’t until the 19th century that the importance of hygiene was understood, and effective measures were taken to prevent future outbreaks.

Today, the advancements in medicine and educating the public have saved millions of lives from disease. That said, we can still be susceptible to other forms of diseases and viruses, especially diseases which affect our will. After all, many of our choices are influenced, and determined, by our environment and those we surround ourselves with.

Like the conditions which allowed the Black Plague to flourish, if we live in a contaminated environment in which the people around us are not looking to advance themselves, are not inviting and aspiring for more knowledge, are not committing themselves to tasks and following through, then we commit ourselves to their fate. The environment we are surrounded by directly affects our decisions.

A key and beneficial way to improve your motivation and keep yourself accountable is by developing a mastermind group. A mastermind group is a collection of people, either from the same professional field or different fields, who meet regularly to learn from one another, keep each other accountable and discuss ways to become better.

Your job is to keep up your curiosity, to look for challenges and hobbies, to challenge the status quo and maneuver yourself into an environment where you can learn to shine as bright as you can.

In short, if you want to be an entrepreneur then surround yourself with entrepreneurs. If you want to be an actor, surround yourself with actors. Your surroundings are important. Dont take them for granted.