As I watched well-dressed success coach Wes Watson tour the sprawling $25 million Miami waterfront mansion recently purchased by his mentor and friend, I was struck by the dramatic journey it took for him to get to this point. Only 5 years ago, Wes was serving a 10 year sentence in prison for dealing drugs and possessing firearms. He slept on a tiny concrete cell bed and earned 12 cents an hour washing dishes in the cafeteria, struggling to get by on less than $100 in his bank account.
Yet now here Wes was, strolling along the marble floors and taking in panoramic ocean views from the terraces of this breathtaking South Florida oasis. So how did he get here? Yes, he’s clearly brilliant when it comes to entrepreneurship, marketing and work ethic. But in the video, he credits the people he surrounded himself with and exposure to new environments with giving him the inspiration, knowledge, and courage to level up to the next echelon of success.
After studying personal development intensively for years and observing many high performers, I’ve realized that transforming your external world – who you spend time with and where you are – is absolutely essential to radically change your internal life and what you can achieve. I firmly believe deliberately designing your environment and community are the most powerful yet overlooked secrets for unlocking exponential personal evolution.
Allow me to further break down Wes Watson’s journey and what we can learn from it, along with research-backed insights on how you too can elevate your success.
Rock Bottom to Riches: Wes Watson’s Rags to Riches Inspirational Story
Wes Watson understands first-hand how drastically a life can change in a few short years. Born in small town Ohio, he had a very turbulent childhood characterized by abuse, poverty and trouble with the law from a young age. He eventually got involved with gangs and decided to start selling drugs to make money and gain a sense of power he never had before.
This lifestyle soon spun out of control. He got addicted to drugs himself, became violent and unpredictable, and didn’t think twice about breaking the law to get what he wanted. At just 20 years old, after getting caught illegally possessing firearms, he was sentenced to over a decade in federal prison.
"I lost everything…my job, apartment, car, money, friends. No one wanted anything to do with me," he recalls.
While in prison, Wes hit absolute rock bottom…physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually. He felt out of control and the brutal reality finally set in that if he didn’t make big changes, he’d waste his entire youth behind bars.
“I was determined to take back the power and turn my life around.”
He started reading voraciously, took personal development courses, got therapy, and found mentors – both in prison and outside advocates who came to inspire inmates through talks. He dove fully into self-improvement and unlocking his potential. Wes also taught himself business skills like creating online courses. He relentlessly wrote down plans for companies he would start when released.
The day Wes walked free in 2014, he moved into a half-way house with only $50 to his name, got a job washing dishes for $6 an hour, and immediately began executing the business ideas he’d mapped out over years locked away.
“I was unstoppable. I turned all that pain and anger from my past into rocket fuel to blast off the life I knew I deserved.”
Within one year of release, Wes launched a fitness company and sold online courses helping recently released convicts restart their lives.
After discovering a passion for internet marketing, he caught the attention of respected coaches and was mentored by experts like Dan Lok and Russell Brunson who inspired him to dream even bigger. Wes broadened his personal coaching services over the following years to help everyone – ranging from ex-prisoners to 9 figure CEOs – maximize their potential.
Flash forward only 4 short years and here Wes finds himself today: the founder of over 15 multimillion dollar enterprises, coaching icons like Tony Robbins and Gary Vaynerchuk, and enjoying lavish mansions he only imagined from his prison cot.
Wes Watson soaking in success in a Miami waterfront mansion
Simply put, Wes Watson embodies the classic inspirational rags to riches story – triumphing over every odd to profoundly transform his life in a matter of a few years.
So what enabled him to cultivate such incredible change and success? What lessons can we take from his journey?
Surround Yourself With Eagles If You Want To Fly As High
One of the deepest truths Wes has learned from his unbelievable comeback journey is…
“Your level of success is determined by who you spend time with and the standards they hold you to.”
Being surrounded by ambitious, principled individuals was the essential catalyst that sparked his transformation behind bars and continued propelling his rise to prosperity ever since.
Wes says in 2015 after getting released with only a few dollars to his name and daunting odds for someone with a rap sheet…
“I made finding mentors and people further ahead than me a top priority if I wanted to radically change the trajectory of my life”.
He began attending conferences, networking events, speaking on podcasts – anything to connect with respected leaders. Wes shamelessly messaged hundreds of people daily asking to pick their brains. He leveraged sites like LinkedIn to connect with managers, directors and executives at admired companies offering free consulting just to build relationships with influencers.
Through perseverant outreach, he organically built a modest but mighty circle of personal advisors like top business coach Dan Lok and marketing expert Russell Brunson. Not only did these mentors hold Wes accountable to stay focused and productive, they shared invaluable business insights, put a spotlight on him to their audiences, and invested in his early ventures.
Table: Wes Watson’s Key Mentors and Advocates Over The Years
| Name | Position | Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Dan Lok | Founder of Closers.com | Invested $150k in Wes’ business |
| Russell Brunson | ClickFunnels Founder | Promoted Wes to his followers |
| David Goggins | Former Navy Seal | Fitness and mindset inspiration |
| JT Foxx | Wealth coach | Provided business strategy advice |
Wes also became determined to absorb the wisdom of history’s greatest leaders whether in person or through their writings, from 34th president Dwight Eisenhower to legendary innovator Nikola Tesla.
He believes surrounding yourself with icons that represent where you aspire to be energizes your journey there. By analyzing how extraordinary individuals think and act at the peak of human potential, their consciousness will elevate your own. Wes calls this “getting in rhythm with greatness.”
In the video touring his mentor’s gorgeous Miami mansion, Wes reminds…
“I only hang out with winners now. Every individual I associate with inspires me in their own unique way.”
After lifting himself from rock bottom to multi-millionaire success, Wes now exclusively coaches and consults world-class performers like former Navy Seal David Goggins, marketing genius Gary Vaynerchuk, and self-help leader Tony Robbins.
He explains elite athletes, CEOs, artists or any type of top achiever face harsh realities most can’t relate to, which forges diamond wisdom and strength. Getting access to their one-of-a-kind insights and an inside look into the habits that propel them to the top 1% is invaluable for your own growth.
Of course, very few people can realistically be in rooms with celebrities and self-made billionaires. But thanks to the digital age, anyone can surround themselves with greatness virtually. Wes teaches his clients:
“Follow leaders you admire on social media channels, watch their interviews, read their books, listen to their advice. Their consciousness will inspire your consciousness.”
Steve Jobs was right when he said “you become who you surround yourself with.” But today luckily we have infinite control over who we expose ourselves to digitally! Curate your social feeds and podcast playlists with solely voices that resonate and elevate you.
So ask yourself…who do you wish to become? Then immerse yourself in the words, wisdom and work of those already there. Let them influence your mental frameworks and very view of what is possible. Allow them to pull you up to new planes. With an inner circle of people at the apex of human potential, breakthroughs you never conceived will suddenly seem within reach.
Just as elite athletes require exceptional coaches, and thriving plants need nutrient-rich soil, if you aim for stratospheric success, surrounding yourself with those who’ve been there is non-negotiable.
Transforming Environments Transforms Lives
In addition to carefully curating his community, Wes Watson credits proactively changing his external environments with elevating his consciousness and in turn, capabilities.
“What’s around you shapes what’s within you.”
Considering Wes spent a full decade trapped in a barren concrete cell rarely seeing sunlight, when he regained freedom, he felt extra determined to immerse himself in atmospheres nurturing of both mind and spirit.
He invested savings living in tropical destinations like Bali and Barbados for months on end to rejuvenate his energy and expand his perspectives after feeling spiritually drained. Wes describes white sand beaches, lush jungle treks to waterfalls, morning surf sessions, epic sunsets and vibrant new cultures reawakened his zest for life.
When it was time to focus and build his businesses, Wes based himself out of buzzing San Diego high rise apartments and Las Vegas luxury condos oozing ambition with sweeping views he says fueled his drive.
He’s now relocated to a lavish home in Miami Beach soaking up the city‘s vibrant entreprenuerial energy and sunny skies to inspire his record level success.
For Wes, deliberately designing environments that spoke to his innermost values, lifestyle and goals was central to manifesting outer world success.
Considering we spend 90% of lives inside buildings, science validates that surroundings substantially impact moods, cognition and behavior whether consciously registering this or not. Let’s explore key research…
Natural Environments Boost Mental Performance
Studies by top universities like Stanford confirm spending just 20-30 minutes outdoors surrounded by green spaces provokes measurable brain benefits by:
- Lowering stress hormone cortisol levels up to 28% thereby making it easier to feel relaxed, positive and focused
- Decreasing depression, anxiety and fatigue by over 55%
- Improving working memory performance and attention spans by 20% through heightened brain connectivity
So quite literally, greener environments yield higher quality thinking.
Physical Spaces Cultivate Different Mindsets & Results
Interior design experiments reveal rooms with higher ceilings, spacious layouts, vibrant-colored artwork and abundant natural light automatically make people more visionary, curious and optimistic versus confined dim rooms triggering more narrow mindsets.
Similarly, researchers find employees working in offices with living plants, bright decor and views report higher job satisfaction, creatitivty, productivity and harmony with colleages versus dreary workspaces.
Evidence proves ambience impacts how people think, process information and behave.
This is why Wes Watson is so particular about locating in inspiring spaces aligned with his peak performance goals, whether training intensity at high tech gyms or business growth in Miami’s bustling entrepreneurial hub.
He knows upgrade environments upgrades results.
Neuroscience: Surroundings Directly Reshape Who You Become
Brain scans illustrate surrounding yourself with sensory inputs like ideas, languages, people or landscapes you’re not accustomed to literally rewires neural connections transforming inner worlds the longer you’re immersed.
Neuroscientists call this neuroplasticity – where external experiences alter the very hardware and software programming of the brain generating new perceptions, skills, behaviors over time.
In other words, deliberately diversifying environments restructures cognition capabilities.
Just as star athletes must train under elite coaches at state-of-the-art facilities to nurture greatness…To manifest substantially more success than ever before, proactively upgrade your physical landscape.
So today, reflect on this question – what spaces, communities and inputs would most serve my goals and the person I‘m evolving into? Then relocate there mentally + physically!
The Science-Backed Process For Upgrading Environments = Upgrading Your Life!
Drawing from Wes Watson‘s story, psychology research and experiencing profound personal transformations ignited from changing external contexts myself, I have broken down a 4 step blueprint:
Step 1 – Define Your "Promised Land" ☁️
Get ultra clear on what your ideal next-level environment looks like aligned with future goals. Paint a vivid mental picture – Where are you located? Who surrounds you? What learning inputs and conversations fill your days? How do you feel inhabiting this space as your best and highest self?
Envision your promised land in full sensory detail – sights, sounds, textures, aromas, energies. Neuroscience confirms the richer the mental imagery, the more rapidly the external world transforms to match.
Step 2 – Deconstruct & Reconstruct ☀️
Take inventory of your current context – both your inner and outer worlds. What environments, communities, conversations and habits serve your evolution? Which contradict your values or vision?
Ruthlessly declutter anything misaligned with your promised land. Then start actively engineering new contexts mirroring your ideals. Reconstruct by migrating relationships from social media to in-person. Seek out coaches, education and community programs advancing your growth. Modify habits and design workspace/living space to align energies. Champions architect their environments.
Step 3 – Embrace Immersive Mastery Experiences ⚡️
Deliberately immerse yourself in intense learning experiences completely outside comfort zones for compound growth. Consider Wes Watson surrounding himself with ultra successful mentors or investing months mastering himself in exotic cultures.
Commit to workshops, conferences, online courses and train under masters. Push boundaries absorbing new wisdom, mindsets and skills faster than otherwise possible in familiar environments. Avoid stagnancy! As iconic composer Bach wisely said…"progress lies not in enhancing what is, but advancing toward what will be."
Step 4) Rinse & Repeat lifting to the next level 🚀
The greatest individuals like Wes Watson make continuously transforming external worlds for internal breakthroughs a lifelong practice. There are always more evolved levels to reach when it comes to mentors, knowledge, skills, inner peace and environments serving your ultimate vision.
Every 3-6 months, redefine your new promised land as your current summit becomes your new baseline. Repeat this 4 step process continuously…reaching, reflecting, reengineering then expanding contexts for limitless personal evolution.
By relentlessly designing their external and internal worlds, extraordinary individuals manifest outer world resultados matching their extraordinary inner world ambitions.
Your external world inputs directly shape who you become and what you can achieve. Surround yourself with voices, teachers and communities representing your highest potential. Engineer daily surroundings to elevate consciousness. Liberate yourself from stagnant spaces preventing progress. Consciously transform flawed contexts blinding you from truth of just how high you can reach.
The world out there manifests the world in here. Through the purposeful science-backed process of environmental design, what astounding human potential might you uncover and unleash next?
The time is now to find out…