"The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today.The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer." – Nolan Bushnell
Your environment is a hidden determinant of success or failure.
Imagine what your life would be like if you were born in a different country or at a different time period, say 200 years ago. Would you be different? Why?
You're swimming in your environment and you hardly even notice it. What happens to a fish when the water is dirty?
What happens to teenagers when they hang out with the wrong crowd?
Environment is a very subtle thing, yet its impact is powerful.
Step 1. Assess Your Environment
As you review your environment, consider how they are affecting your goals. How are they affecting your success?
There are 3 main types of environments. Review each area for areas needing improvement to create a nurturing and inspiring environment.
You may add other categories that I have not listed...go for it!
a. Physical
i. Your body
ii. Your physical surroundings
1. Aesthetics of your office or home
2. Office Furnishings
3. Climate
iii. Technology
1. Cell phone
2. Cordless phone
3. Software
4. Car
5. Computer
b. Your Mental Environment-The Messages You are Bringing In to Your Mind…What are you watching, reading?
i. Television
ii. Radio
iii. Books
iv. Movies
v. Magazines
vi. Old beliefs/conditioning
c. People
i. Friends
ii. Spouse/Significant other
iii. Business team/associates
Step 2. Create a simple Optimize Your Environment plan.
This does not have to be very difficult. For instance, after evaluating your physical surroundings, you may make a plan to change your office to make it more feng shui or to put up pictures that are inspiring to you, move your desk to take advantage of a better view that is more relaxing or calming. You may not be able to buy a new car, but keeping it clean and neat can make a dramatic difference in how you feel.
In the area of Mental Environment you may notice that you are spending many hours in the car, not even aware of the music you have playing on the radio. Purchasing (or renting…Public Library’s have this option) audio books on cd that can inspire and create new learning and thinking is one way of changing your mental environment.
Importantly and sometimes very difficult to assess is the People Category. Who you are is a direct result of who you spend your time with. It creates a very strong environmental force. This is a physical law of nature, even the stars and planets are affected by the force of their neighbor’s gravitational pull. Although it can at times be hard to make a major break, there are ways to change this environment not by moving away from friends, but by developing new friends and spending time with this new group. Developing a mastermind group that will keep you on track and focused works well for many in their pursuit of development, and hiring a coach is a (I am of course slightly jaded) fantastic way to improve your People environment.
Improvements you can make to your environment will reap a lifetime of happiness and success! Take the plunge!
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