The Only Two Things That Determine Your Success In Life (And One Of Them Is More Important Than You Can Ever Imagine)

Most people think success is about mindset.

Get the right mindset...

And everything else falls into place.

But that’s only half the equation.

The other half?

Setting.

Let me explain.

Set & Setting

There’s a concept called “Set & Setting.”

It comes from psychology.

Specifically, from the study of psychedelics.

“Set” = your internal state. Your mindset. Your beliefs.

“Setting” = your external environment. The tools you have. The people around you.

And here’s the truth:

Setting matters MORE than Set.

You can have the best mindset in the world...

But if you’re in a terrible environment...

You’ll fail.

On the other hand...

You can have a mediocre mindset...

But if you’re in a GREAT environment...

You’ll succeed.

Because your environment shapes your behavior.

Where This Came From

I learned this concept when I was young.

From the psychedelic world.

Don’t get me wrong.

I’m not advocating for drug use.

But I AM saying...

There are lessons to be learned from everywhere.

And this one changed my life.

Because it made me realize:

If I wanted to be successful...

I needed to change my SETTING.

Not just my mindset.

Why Setting Matters More Than Mindset

Let me give you an example.

Imagine you’re trying to lose weight.

You have the BEST mindset.

You’re motivated. You’re disciplined. You’re ready.

But...

Your house is filled with junk food.

Your friends are going out to eat every night.

You don’t have a gym membership.

And you work 80 hours a week.

What’s going to happen?

You’re going to fail.

Not because your mindset was wrong.

But because your SETTING was wrong.

Now imagine the opposite.

You have a MEDIOCRE mindset.

You’re not super motivated.

But...

Your house is filled with healthy food.

Your friends are all into fitness.

You have a gym down the street.

And you have a schedule that allows you to work out every day.

What’s going to happen?

You’re going to succeed.

Because your SETTING makes success inevitable.

That’s the power of environment.

The Two Components of Setting

Setting has two components:

1. Your Physical Environment

This includes:

→ Where you live
→ Where you work
→ The tools you have access to
→ The resources available to you

If your physical environment is conducive to success...

You’ll succeed.

If it’s not...

You’ll struggle.

2. Your Social Environment

This includes:

→ The people you spend time with
→ The communities you’re part of
→ The conversations you’re having
→ The standards those around you hold

If your social environment is high-level...

You’ll rise to meet it.

If it’s low-level...

You’ll sink to match it.

How to Engineer Your Setting

So how do you engineer your setting?

Here’s what I do:

Step 1: Audit your current environment.

Look at your physical and social environment.

Ask yourself:

“Is this environment conducive to the success I want?”

If the answer is no...

Change it.

Step 2: Remove obstacles.

What’s in your environment that’s holding you back?

Distractions? Negative people? Lack of resources?

Remove them.

Or minimize their influence.

Step 3: Add accelerators.

What can you add to your environment that will accelerate your success?

Better tools? Better people? Better systems?

Add them.

Step 4: Make success the path of least resistance.

This is the key.

You want your environment to be set up...

So that doing the RIGHT thing is easier than doing the WRONG thing.

For example:

If you want to write every day...

Set up your workspace so that when you sit down...

Your writing tool is right there.

Ready to go.

No friction.

No excuses.

Why This Is More Important Than Mindset

Here’s why setting is more important than mindset:

Mindset requires constant effort.

You have to wake up every day and “get your mind right.”

You have to fight your internal battles.

You have to motivate yourself.

But setting?

Setting is automatic.

Once you engineer the right environment...

Success becomes inevitable.

Because your environment does the heavy lifting FOR you.

You don’t have to rely on willpower.

You don’t have to fight yourself.

You just show up.

And the environment takes care of the rest.

The Mistake Most People Make

Most people focus 100% on mindset.

They read self-help books.

They listen to motivational podcasts.

They hire mindset coaches.

And they wonder why nothing changes.

It’s because they’re ignoring setting.

They’re trying to succeed in an environment that’s set up for failure.

And no amount of mindset work can overcome that.

So if you’re struggling...

Don’t just work on your mindset.

Work on your SETTING.

Change your environment.

Surround yourself with winners.

Get better tools.

Join better communities.

And watch what happens.

The Takeaway

There are only two things that determine your success in life:

Set and Setting.

Your mindset and your environment.

And while both are important...

Setting is MORE important.

Because your environment shapes your behavior.

And your behavior determines your results.

So if you want to be successful...

Stop trying to “fix” your mindset.

Start engineering your SETTING.

Because once you get your environment right...

Everything else falls into place.

I learned this from the psychedelic world when I was very young.

And it changed how I think about success.

Forever.