We all tend to look outside of ourselves for things to change and improve. We are waiting for economy pick up, for the government to create more jobs, for our business partner to take more action, or for someone to finally notice our marketing and buy our stuff.
It's easy to become a victim to circumstances outside of ourselves, spending our time and energy hoping and imagining what our lives would look like if the world around us were different. And believing that these solutions are the keys to increasing our results is why we get stuck.
Yet, the truth is that we don't control any of these things. The only things we control is our thoughts and actions. But those are enough if (and it's a huge if) you are willing to take 100% responsibility for them.
It's interesting when I started working I was about 10 years old. My father was a butcher and my parents had a meat shop. They worked hard and so my brother and I had to work hard too.
I didn't just go to school and have fun with my friends in my free time. I went to school during the day and worked in the shop a couple of nights a week. Since Saturday's were busy, I worked weekends and made Italian sausage on Sunday's. During the summer I worked 5 to 6 days a week.
For 8 years from a young age, I learned to work hard and sell myself and products. I was so confident about my ability to outperform anyone else that I never feared being out of work.
After my father sold the meat shop, I went looking for work. The first job I applied for was considered hard to get. It paid well and was every young man's dream job because it was a retail beer store. But I was confident and kept persisting with the manager checking for openings. I finally got the job and they loved me!
Since it was a part-time job, I decided to look for a full-time job to make more money. I was accustomed to getting paid hundreds of dollars every week from a young age, so another job made sense. So, I applied to work in a nearby factory. Again, I got the job, so I was working 13-hour days. I would work at the beer store in the afternoons and work the midnight shift in the factory.
This is significant because there was a recession. But I didn't even notice because I was too busy working. Due to my ignorance and persistence, I chose not to participate in the economic downturn. Some of my friends were struggling to get work while I had two jobs. I didn't wait for something to change. I created my own circumstances.
Steven Covey said I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.
I believe if you want to be successful, you have to take 100% responsibility for everything you experience in your life. You are either excepting or allowing the things you don't want in your life. And you are taking actions that either pull or push away things from you. Blaming and complaining just makes you a victim. Cut these habits out of your life. You are in control of your life. Create new conditions and circumstances you want.
One of the easiest ways to take 100% responsibility and design your life is to establish core values and principles. They become the foundation for which you live by no matter what the circumstances. I established a value system that I call the Fave 5.
They are:
➣ Faith
➣ Family
➣ Friends
➣ Fitness
➣ Finances
… in that order
Albeit sometimes difficult to live by, these values keep me focused on what matters. They help me keep my eyes open for opportunities to improve these specific areas of my life. The choice is simple, be a victim to your circumstances or follow your inner guidance system. You get to choose values that you can't live without and measuring your success every week.
Since you're still reading, you are likely someone with a greater purpose in life. You have a burning desire to create something timeless. Consider what matters most for you now. Write ten things down and choose three tactics that you can commit to starting now.
Next, grab this free 7 Time Saving Habits guide so that can make space for achieving your commitments. It's down below and it's free.
