I have no expectations, my desire is to become more than I currently am. I feel my desire will be fulfilled by placing myself in this arena, good teachers, the proper books, and like-minded seekers.
It is all an illusion. However we can impact this illusion by the three things you mentioned, the environment that we place ourselves in (what we feed ourselves-books and other media, people we choose to be around, and the people we choose to teach us)