Table of Contents
Are you owning your life’s responsibility? If yes, great! but if not, then you are making mistake. Actually, we are all self-made men and women, but only a few own this fundamental truth. I really understand this after my 12th class. Actually, I had secured very good marks in 10th but marks were less by almost 10% in 12th. Though overall it was first division, but I was not owing to these marks. I was in the opinion that, this was because of several other reasons, but not because of me. I was planning to recheck the exam copies. Somehow it didn’t work out & later I dropped the idea.
Later while doing my engineering, in 1st semester itself, I got very less marks in one subject. Progressively improvement was there in the coming semesters. It changed dramatically in the 3rd and 4th years and I secured top positions in the whole college. I was realizing that this pleasant outcome was the result of focused effort. At the same time, I had also realized that the 12th class result was the outcome of my own deed so did was for that particular subject in engineering.
The driver of Own Life
During this phase, I committed to own the things happening in my life. Whatever happening in my life was the reaction of my own action. Believe me, that was the most peaceful time for me mentally. One sort of heavy load had been removed from my shoulder. I was feeling very relax & realizing I was the main driver of my life.
If you practiced the concept of personal responsibility, within two to three years the changes in your life would be so great, your friends and family would have difficulty remembering the “old you.”
(Below excerpt is from the book ‘The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success’ by Darren Hardy)
What Would be Your Answer?
In one seminar on personal responsibility, the speaker asked, “What percentage of shared responsibility do you have in making a relationship work?” so wise in the ways of true love.
“Fifty/fifty!” was the first answer. It was so obvious. Both people must be willing to share the responsibility evenly or someone’s getting ripped off.
“Fifty-one/forty-nine,” yelled someone else, arguing that you’d have to be willing to do more than the other person. Aren’t relationships built on self-sacrifice and generosity?
“Eighty/twenty,” yelled another.
The instructor turned to the easel and wrote 100/0 on the paper in big black letters. “You have to be willing to give 100 percent with zero expectation of receiving anything in return,” he said. “Only when you’re willing to take 100 percent responsibility for making the relationship work will it work. Otherwise, a relationship left to chance will always be vulnerable to disaster.”
Power to Control the Destiny
“Whoa. This wasn’t what I was expecting! But I quickly understood how this concept could transform every area of my life. If I always took 100 percent responsibility for everything I experienced—completely owning all of my choices and all the ways I responded to whatever happened to me—I held the power. Everything was up to me. I was responsible for everything I did, didn’t do, or how I responded to what was done to me.
I know you think you take responsibility for your life. I’ve yet to ask anybody who doesn’t say, “Of course, I take responsibility for my life.” But then you look at how most people operate in the world; there’s a lot of finger-pointing, victimhood, blaming, and expecting someone else or the government to solve their problems. If you’ve ever blamed traffic for being late or decided you are in a bad mood because of something your kid, spouse, or co-worker did, you’re not taking 100 percent personal responsibility.
You alone are responsible for what you do or don’t do, or how you respond to what’s done to you. This empowering mindset revolutionized my life. Luck, circumstances or the right situation wasn’t what mattered. If it was to be, it was up to me. I was free to fly. No matter who was elected president or prime minister, how badly the economy tanked, or what anybody said, did or didn’t do, I was still 100 percent in control of myself. By choosing to be officially liberated from past, present, and future victimhood, I’d hit the jackpot. I had the unlimited power to control my destiny.”
What is Luck?
Maybe you believe you’re simply unlucky. But really, that’s just another excuse. The only difference between becoming fabulously rich, happy, and healthy versus ending up broke, depressed, and unhealthy are the choices you make. Nothing else will make the difference. Here’s the thing about luck: We’re all lucky. If you are on the right side of the dirt, have your health, and a little food in your cupboard, you are incredibly lucky. Everyone has the opportunity to be “lucky,” because beyond having the basics of health and sustenance, luck simply comes down to a series of choices.
Richard Branson once responded if he felt luck played a part in his success, he answered, “Yes, of course, we are all lucky. If you live in a free society, you are lucky. Luck surrounds us every day; we are constantly having lucky things happen to us, whether we recognize it or not. I have not been any more lucky or unlucky than anyone else. The difference is when luck came my way, I took advantage of it.”
Darren Hardy describes Luck as a mixture of four things put together i.e. Preparation, Attitude, Opportunity, and Action
Preparation
Winners are those, who are consistent in practice. Be consistent in improving and preparing yourself—your skills, knowledge, expertise, relationships, and resources. It is a must so that once opportunities arise (when luck “strikes”), you are ready to grab them. You can be like Beyoncé, who famously said, “I don’t like to gamble, but if there’s one thing I’m willing to bet on, it’s myself.”
Attitude
This is where luck evades most people, and where Sir Richard is spot-on with his belief that luck is all around us. It’s simply a matter of seeing situations, conversations, and circumstances as fortuitous. You cannot see what you don’t look for, and you cannot look for what you don’t believe in.
Opportunity
It’s possible to make your own luck, but the luck I’m talking about here isn’t planned for, or it comes faster or differently than expected. It’s a natural occurrence and it often shows up seemingly of its own accord. Also, It’s a universal law, that if you wish for something, it can come to you by several means. We shall call such an occurrence an opportunity.
Action
Action is the most important part of the luck formula. Nothing move in life without taking action. We shall not be lucky if we don’t take action when opportunity strike. This is what separates the Richard Branson from the Mr. Xyz. That’s because Mr. Xyz failed to take action on all the lucky things that happened to him.
So no more complaining about the cards you were dealt, the great defeats you suffered, or any other circumstances. Countless people have more disadvantages and greater obstacles than you, and yet they’re wealthier and more fulfilled. Luck is an equal-opportunity distributor, so start owning your life’s responsibility.
“Action is the foundational key to all success.” – Pablo Picasso
