The Mecca. The Holy Land. The Fountain of Never-ending Technology.

That’s where I’m headed this Sunday — to brush elbows with the best of the best technology minds out there, in Silicon Valley.

In preparation for my trip, I spent this morning’s coffee time reading up on the Valley on Quora. I started searching, finding some great content, but then something stood out like a sore thumb.

An incredibly positive sore thumb, mind you.

The question asked something that could potentially revolutionize industries everywhere — not just the California tech industry.

Why does Silicon Valley have such a cooperative atmosphere?

What an amazing concept, no?

What we hear in the media revolves around all of the innovative technologies and ideas that were born in Silicon Valley. Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter — they’re all based in the Valley. They might not have started out there, but they moved there because that’s where the action was (and still is).

I had never stopped to analyze what kept these companies there — all bottled up together in techie reverie — until I read this Quora question.

The crux of the answer was that the technology space is very different from most other industries — in a way that drives the majority of all human behavior as we know it!

Here’s the logic:

Much of what drives human behavior is monetary gain.

In Silicon Valley, if one company makes revenues, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is taking that revenue away from another company.

In fact, as one company makes more revenues through more clients, more clients are becoming more techie and will be more likely to create revenue for another company!

In short, high tides lift all boats. What a novel concept!

Competition still exists, but it’s friendly and encouraging for tech engineers, designers, and innovators to keep pushing the limits of what’s possible — together.

Could that cooperative model be recreated elsewhere?

Here’s to hoping!

The unique mix of what is out there in Silicon Valley is probably hard to duplicate exactly, and there have been a lot of research done and literature written up about creating micro-cosms of Valley-like atmosphere’s elsewhere throughout the world. There are attempts to do so in New York City, Chile, and many more — but do all these places house that level of cooperation and encouraged learning?

I haven’t been there yet, but it sure sounds like I’ll meet more helping hands than I can imagine.

Being more cooperative is definitely the first step to any Silicon Valley-like results. Living in a time where no boundaries exist — when just hopping on a plane is enough to brush elbows with an incredibly inspiring crowd — what is holding us back from learning and contributing to each other?

Is the point to beat each other out? Or is it to help people solve their problems better, easier, faster?

What can I do to help accelerate that model?

That’s what I’m going to find out, peeps. It’s time to break out of the geographic constraints our feet tie us to. It’s time to keep digging and building a network that is world-class — not just here-class.

I’ll put myself there and see what happens. It’s time to raise the tide for all of us.

I’ll be posting updates every few days because I’m sure I’ll be dying to share all of my adventures at Google’s HQ, PayPal’s offices, and more.

Also, if you know of anyone in the Valley that I should meet up, please let me know. Meeting amazing people can happen anywhere — and I trust you all to help me “level up”!

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A big resounding THANK YOU! to Claro Nicaragua for making this trip possible. It’s incredibly inspiring and enlightening when a company makes bold moves to push for innovation and technological progress.

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