Maybe you’re not wrong, just in the wrong room.

There’s a story behind that.

This is your daily message from Chad number 1087 to upgrade your mental game today by telling yourself a better story, because the most important story you hear is the story you tell yourself. And this message is dedicated to Bern Bertsche who invited me into new rooms.

Here’s the upgrade:

You may think you’re stuck where you are, but upgraded thinking knows that the people around you are either lifting you higher or holding you down—and you get to choose.

Here’s the story:

Mike Tyson was thirteen years old and locked up. Brownsville, Brooklyn had already claimed most of what was left. Thirty-eight arrests by age thirteen. The Tryon School for Boys. No father. No structure. No one who believed in him. Charlie Jones used to say, “You’ll be the same person five years from now that you are today, except for the people you meet and the books you read.” Fortunately Tyson met some good people.

A counselor named Bobby Stewart saw something in the kid. Raw power. Hunger. And he arranged for Tyson to visit Cus D’Amato at the Catskill Boxing Club. Cus saw it too—not just the fighter, but the person who could be saved. First Tyson had to earn it. He had to prove to D’Amato he wanted his help by getting his grades up. And he made Tyson an offer: Come live in my house. Live under my roof. Live the life I’m about to build for you. Tyson moved in. That house in Catskill became his world. The environment changed everything.

Not the boxing. The structure. The discipline. The relentless focus. The man who watched over him, believed in him, and refused to let him out of his sight because Tyson mattered too much to lose. Cus became the father Tyson never had. And in that environment Tyson became a champion. Years later, Tyson would say he wished he had footage of that first meeting with Cus. Because that moment, that environment, saved his life. Without Cus, he says, he would have been nothing. Dead or in prison. Not champion.

We’ve been looking at John Maxwell’s 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth this week. His 6th law is the Law of Environment. Growth thrives in conducive environments. The law is this: If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room. Your surroundings are not neutral. They’re either pulling you up or dragging you down.

The better story to tell yourself is, “The people around me either make me better or they don’t—and I’m brave enough to change rooms.”

Tell me a story of environment to fromchadsmith@gmail.com. Send someone a text and ask them, “Who’s your Cus?” You can get a free copy of my book, The Most Powerful Story in the World, by going to fromchad.gumroad.com. The transcript of this message and hundreds of others are always available at www.fromchad.com.