You may not know it – like the proverbial fish that doesn't know it's wet – but your city could be bringing you down.

 
[Milieu]
 

Successful people surround themselves with other successful people.

Artists schmooze with artists. Musicians fraternize with musicians – – you get the picture.

 

Who are you and what are you trying to do? Is the place you live helping you to be that person or do those things? Is it holding you back from it or perhaps more insidiously – is it purgatory, offering no indication either way?
 

Define what you want out of life. Put it on paper.

Now you have a physical call-to-action.

 
 
[Expand Your Paradigm]
 
 

Have you ever been in a place where the energy is totally unique?
 

If you're an entrepreneur, would the flamboyant Latin Quarter of New Orleans suit you just as well as the fog-enveloped Bay Area?

If you're a vegan, cyclist and yoga enthusiast, would Lincoln, Nebraska and Portland, Oregon hold equal promise for you?

 
 

 
 
The truth is – you may not know where “home” is because you've never been there.
 
Don't rely on heresay, either.
 
Take a road trip. Hitchhike along the west coast. Go visit your great-uncle Scooter in Austin and CouchSurf in Seattle.
 
If you don't know that there are other – often better – options out there, you'll be that much more likely to accept the monotony of your current situation.
 
 
Note: For those of you already living in Silicon Valley, you may ignore this. ^_^
 
 

[If you're scared, do it anyway . . . Wussy]
 
 

All growth occurs outside of your comfort zone.

 
 

 
 
You might hear Sinatra's crooning voice beckoning you to make it in New York City (since, if you can make it hear, you'll make it anywhere) but you're scared and the paranoid internal dialogue begins.

 
 

Keep it in perspective and realize that most of these objections are either locally relative, limiting beliefs or simply your inertia talkin'.

 
 

Some examples:

 
 

“What if I don't find a job?”
 

This might be hard to swallow but . . .there's jobs everywhere! Ditch the creative pessimism, ignore hysterical news reports on job statistics and just go on Craigslist (Don't forget to look in the “gigs” section too!)
 
 

(Vendedor de Açaí, Brazil)
 
 

You might be surprised at how many jobs (and different types) are available in the most unexpected locales.

Think abundance!

 
 

A personal example:
 

*****
 
Before landing an internship (with no 4 year degree and no experience) with a tech startup in Silicon Valley, I bussed tables at a waterfront restaurant in San Fran ($100+ a day) and participated in a psychology study at Stanford which consisted of me solving puzzles, drooling in a little cup and walked with over $250, all the while getting to hang out around the beautiful campus and meeting neat people in downtown Palo Alto.
 
*****
 

If you're of the über-cautious variety, get a job or set up multiple interviews PRIOR TO arriving in your new city.

 
“It's too expensive to live there.”
 

It's all relative!
 
 

 
 
If you live in San Francisco, the cost of living is quite high, but the minimum wage is $9.79/hour, one of the highest in the country. Weirdly, minimum wage in Wyoming is $5.50.

 

Also consider this issue non-linearly.

That is, would you rather make a bit more money in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do and nowhere to go?

OR would you prefer to take a paycut and have a ton of options (i.e. have a life) somewhere else?
 

Income isn't just how much money you earn.
 
 

“My friends and family are here.”
 

Totally understandable.

 

Again, think abundance. You've made friends where you live now and you'll make friends elsewhere, too.
 

Family can be great but it also reinforces old patterns of thought and behavior and acts as a human comfort zone, sometimes keeping you from meaningful growth.

 
 

 
 

Hopefully, they'll understand when you decide to seek greener pastures. Even if they don't, live your life for you and don't let the pressure of other peoples' expectations keep you from the life you deserve. It's yours!
 
 

“It's too much trouble.”
 

It may just be the case that it really is too much trouble. But rarely.
 

Allow yourself to consider taking positive action in the direction of improving your life in the long run, even it if seems like a temporary inconvenience.

 

*****
 
 

You are part nature, part nurture.
 

Exert control over the nurture part and you might find yourself feeling empowered, transformed and living an exciting new life in a wonderful new place.
 

Boa Sorte!
 
 

p.s. Also consider other countries. Open a surf shop in Brazil or something!

 
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