You’re Probably NOT doing the #1 Thing All Successful Do
Successful people don’t achieve greatness by accident.
They all work their faces off to accomplish amazing feats. But they have the habits to back them up.
Some swear by meditation.
Some love morning routines (me too).
And others use journals to help manifest their future.
But the one number one thing all successful people do isn’t a habit but a principle of success.
The principle is echoed by some of the most successful people including business leaders like Tony Robbins, Tom Bilyeu, and Jack Canfield.
And that principle is the first of 67 in the best-seller, “The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.”
That principle is simple:
Take 100% responsibility for your life.
As Jim Rohn said, “You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself.”
Why You Have to Take 100% Responsibility
You are 100% responsible for the quality of your life.
If you give responsibility away to others you’ll never be able to make the changes you need in life.
If you don’t use this principle in your life then you use the opposite one —you think anything that isn’t going right is NOT your fault.
- You aren’t rich because of the 2008 stock market collapse.
- You aren’t thin and fit because it’s too hard to workout 4 or 5 times per week.
- You aren’t happy because your (insert significant other, kids, boss, etc) keep doing stuff you hate.
These excuses are just not true.
You aren’t rich because you probably buy too much stuff online, don’t budget, and aren’t clear on your financial goals.
You aren’t thin and fit because you try fad diets for a few days, eat out too much, and don’t plan your meals or exercise routines in advance.
And you aren’t happy because you give your happiness away to other people in your life.
This is a losing formula.
You are at the mercy of everyone else around you.
But it’s not entirely your fault.
As Jack Canfield said in the Success Principles, “Most of us have been conditioned to blame something outside of ourselves for the parts of our life we don’t like. We blame our parent, our bosses, our friends, our coworker, our spouse, the weather, the economy, the government, our astrological chart, our lack of money — anyone or anything we can pin the blame on.”
The reason?
We don’t want to look at the biggest problem in our lives — ourselves.
Simply put, you have to take 100% responsibility for EVERYTHING in your life. Not 80, 90 or even 99% — 100% responsibility.
Give Up Excuses
Excuses are easy. We all make them, all the time.
But if you want to create an amazing life you have to give up excuses. Because with excuses comes the victim mentality.
Once you become the victim, you are setting yourself up for failure.
Everyone goes through tough times, events, and even periods of their lives. The most successful people in the world usually had the hardest times.
Oprah Winfrey was sexually abused.
Tony Robbins was verbally, physically, and emotionally abused by his mother.
Les Brown was given up for adoption with his twin brother after being born in an abandoned building. He was labeled “EMR” and held back twice.
But they didn’t let their horrendous circumstances shape their life.
Instead, Oprah is a billionaire who has inspired millions around the world.
Tony Robbins has used his pain to help end suffering for millions because he suffered a ton.
Les Brown is a top motivational speaker and coach who has helped others learn how to share their messages with the world.
They all could have used these tough times to create a story for their failure. They could have used these horrendous events as fuel to be a victims their entire lives.
And no one would have judged them for it.
Because, as the co-founder of the billion-dollar brand, Quest Nutrition Tom Bilyeu said, “The thing with excuses, is that they’re true.”
The next time something bad, depressing or unfortunate happens in your life you need to take 100% responsibility. Ask yourself the following questions:
- How did I create this event?
- What was I thinking?
- What were my beliefs that set up this happening?
- What did I do (or not do) to create this result?
- What do I need to do differently? How can I learn from this result?
Asking these kinds of questions creates EMPOWERING answers which leads to positive results.
As Tony Robbins said, “The quality of your life determined by the quality of your questions.”
Instead of switching to the poor me, victim mentality, position yourself into a place of power.
From this position, you can be on the offense by learning, adapting, and moving forward. You will have no more excuses holding you back from creating the life that you want.
“Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses.” — George Washington Carver
The Equation for 100% Responsibility
To take 100% responsibility into your life use this simple equation from Jack Canfield:
E (Event)+R (Response) =O (Outcome)
Event = Whatever happened (i.e. traffic or got fired from a job)
Response = How you responded (i.e. angry, frustrated, sad, depressed)
Outcome = How the event and response created the eventual outcome
As you know, bad events will always happen in your life, no matter who you are.
You can’t change bad events. Sure, you can minimize them, but you can’t eliminate them entirely.
But your response to the event greatly determines the outcome.
Example: Traffic
Event: Traffic is backed up, but it’s part of many peoples lives
Response
- Option 1: Get mad, frustrated, upset or even resort to road rage.
- Option 2: Know that it’s out of your control, focus on something you’re grateful for while driving or listening to a podcast or motivational video. You will end up happy, motivated and ready for work.
Outcome
- Option 1: Get pissed, flustered, and stressed before you even get to work.
- Option 2: Get energized, learn something new and overcome a potentially bad situation. You will show up to work in a good mood and most likely produce better results.
“You can only control three things in your life — the thoughts you think , the images you visualize, and the actions you take (your behavior).” — Jack Canfield
CHOOSE to have a better response by taking 100% responsibility.
To avoid the traffic you could have left earlier, planned ahead, or not scheduled a meeting first thing in the morning.
Once you learn how to change your responses you will change your life.
If you want a different result, you have to respond differently — simple as that.
As “The Worlds’ Most Productive Man” Craig Ballantyne said:
“You control your behavior. Your success is your personal responsibility. Take action. Do the first things first. Do what matters even if you don’t feel like it. Get up and give your number one priority the focus it deserves for at least fifteen minutes every morning.”
Final Thoughts
If you want to change your life you need to take responsibility for it.
Most people settle, blame others, and never put much pressure on themselves. Hence, they live an average, “normal” life.
But not you.
You CAN take action.
Because remember, you only get ONE life.
You can control the outcomes.
You can control your future.
You can become the creator of your life, once you take full responsibility for EVERYTHING that happens in it.
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