The Power of A Positive Environment
Everybody wants to be successful. At something, with someone. Everyone wants that big break. But success as we know it doesn’t come very easy. And even when it does, it requires a bit of rough handling and making way through the cracks. One thing about success though is that the rules are simple and the guidelines are readily available to anyone looking in the right places.
Speaking of the right places, there’s one factor of success that has to do with being in those places. I’m talking about “environment”. Yes. You know how Silicon Valley is like, you know, Silicon Valley? And all the big companies have some sort of foothold there and all the startups are putting a hand as high above the waters as they can? Have you ever wondered why the start-ups go to Silicon Valley? Okay.
You know how every superhero gets a sidekick at some point and most times — usually later than sooner — this sidekick grows into the shoes of his/her superhero counterpart? Have you ever wondered what makes the sidekick become an equal or sometimes even greater superhero? Okay.
You know how in every teen movie or series, the characters are divided into groups or cliques as they may be called. There’s the cool kids, the smart ones, the popular ones, the rich ones, the rich and popular ones, and even the weird ones. Everybody fits somewhere. Now, it is very easy to assume that those characters are in said groups because of some behavioral traits they possess or some other wild reason.
But I think not. See, those start-ups are at Silicon Valley (which by the way, I think I’ve already mentioned way too much in this article) because the big boys are there. Those cool kids are cool because, well, they cool kids are there. They have the environment. But what is an environment?
An environment, according to BusinessDictionary, is the sum total of all surroundings of a living organism, including natural forces and other living things, which provide conditions for development and growth as well as of danger and damage. Now, in case you skimmed through all of that because it had way too much biology, even for a “business” definition, an environment is basically where something is.
Even as simplified as that definition is, it still doesn’t cover all. Your environment isn’t just where you are, it’s more importantly who you’re there with. It’s the people that make a house or home; and the people that make a mattress a bed. You get the idea.
Well, you see, all these examples have something in common. When a new kid becomes “cool”, he/she is given a set of rules to follow, and more often that not, you hear “You’re one of us now, you have to do everything we do and go everywhere we go” even if paraphrased. The same can almost be said for the superhero situation.
Your environment — immediate or not — defines your success in a way. All the successful people hang out with successful people. Why? So they can be even more successful. The cool kids hang out with other cool kids so they can be even cooler. The sidekick patrols and saves the day with the superhero, because your environment and the people in it make up your success.
This doesn’t mean that people can’t succeed on their own. On the contrary, there are tons of people who’ve made headway on their own, leaving their environment in the dust. But more often than not, there are people whose success can well be traced to a couple of people they hung out with after school, and where they spent their summer holidays.
The amazing thing about this though, is that your environment is mostly defined by you. You choose the people you hang out with. You choose where you live. You choose all of it. Sometimes consciously and other times, not so consciously. But you can choose your environment.
So, how do you make your environment work for you in your quest to become successful? You take charge. That person that tells you you can’t do it, cut that person off. This is one part of your life where the “unlike charges attract” rule should be thrown out of the window. Do away with the negative people, the negative stuff, the negative everything.
Get positive.
Once you’re done with letting go of the negative, attract all the positivity you can find. Listen to positive podcasts. Get to talking with positive people. Meet with like-minded people who have no room for negativity (just in case some negativity kinda tags along) and shoot for the moon. Believe me, those who do, aren’t listening to the negative stuff that comes their way because there always is. But find the good and make it your rocket launcher. You’ll be much happier and pave a path for your success.
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