Success is your personal responsibility and not an entitlement! You can not assume nor expect that others will ‘do for you’ in the quest for your own personal desires; that only happens for children and not grown adults! Many who have aspirations of achieving success in various aspects of their lives often times fall short.

All too frequently the cause for this can be traced back to a lack of personal accountability for their own efforts. There is no doubt that having goals and objectives is an important step towards improving yourself or your situation. However setting goals while also taking responsibility for your own efforts to achieve them is how to become successful.

When you take personal accountability of your own actions while planning or pursuing anything worthwhile you have taken the first step towards eventually reaching your goals. Just to want something however is not good enough; this desire MUST be reinforced by some type of proactive behavior on your part. Let’s look at 5 ways taking personal accountability influences and determines the level of success you will achieve

Vision

You and only you know what it is that you want and how it will affect your life. The vision needed to put together a realistic plan can only come from within the person who has the desire to make this vision a reality. This is not something you can ‘outsource’ to another since these visions are rooted in your own dreams.

Goals and Objectives

Once you have established your vision you will next need to put together the ’steps’ you will have to take to make this a real part of your life. Your goals and objectives are the actual steps you will need to take to make your vision your reality.

Once again only you are familiar with the ‘full context’ of what your vision really is and what it means to you so only you can establish the ‘unique’ goals needed to achieve this dream. After all your vision is just that, a dream, until you succeed in making it your reality. It is also important that you keep these goals realistic. They must be something you have the necessary skills and resources to accomplish otherwise you will be wasting your time.

Plan

You now must put together a ‘workable’ plan that will be effective in helping you reach your goals. As with every other step that has come before only you know what it is you are capable of regarding your skills, patience, resolve and resources.

Execution

As we spoke of earlier it is not reasonable or realistic to depend upon the efforts of others for you to accomplish your own goals. The plans you have laid out now require your personal involvement. Nobody can breath, walk or talk for you so why would you expect different in the pursuit of YOUR OWN goals? The actions needed to accomplish these goals must be by you and it is up to you to be sure these actions are carried out correctly.

Charting Progress

If some system is not developed or implemented for charting your progress there is no way of determining how far you have gone and how far you have to go. A sense of measurement is necessary to also keep you motivated by reminding you of the progress you have already made. By taking personal responsibility of your own actions in the pursuit of goals and objectives you have set increases your chances of reaching your goals.

Achieving success in any situation is dependent upon the active role you play in both the planning process and by taking the necessary actions. To become successful in any aspect of your life you MUST become actively involved in the 5 step process as we reviewed above. To believe your personal achievements can be realized through the efforts of others is foolhardy and will only set you up for repeated failure and disappointment.

“When people ask me what really changed my life eight years ago, I tell them that absolutely the most important thing was changing what I demanded of myself.” – Anthony Robbins in Awaken the Giant Within

In the long run, some little things can turn out to mean a lot. Constantly demanding of yourself that you give that little additional effort in most things that you do is certainly one of those “little things” that can make a huge difference in your life.

When we read the biography of successful men and women, one thing soon becomes evident and that is the fact that these people had no room for complacency in their life. They always gave that extra effort and went the extra mile in everything that they did.

Doing our job and doing it well, is no longer enough. It will not even guarantee that we’ll keep that job. There probably are already ten people waiting to take our place at the least sign of faltering.

Even doing an excellent job won’t attract attention or prepare the stage for a promotion. We are expected to do an excellent job and that’s what most people do. So, why should that be ground for advancement?

If we wish to get ahead, there is only one thing that will do it and that’s by being outstanding at what we do. Being outstanding is what spells the difference between a very ordinary life and the life that most of us dream about.

No one ever got to be outstanding overnight. It’s a cumulative process that takes character, dedication and the will to become all that we can be. We don’t get to be outstanding by wishing that we were; we get to be outstanding by demanding a little more of ourselves everyday of our life.

Demanding a little more of ourselves is a state of mind that is created by habit. If we practice demanding a bit more of ourselves for as little as a month, it turns out into a personal characteristic; it becomes part of our personality, part of the way that we see ourselves.

We expect a lot from the people that we admire so why should we not also expect a lot from ourselves? All that it takes is some discipline and some motivation… both of which come naturally when we have a clear vision of what the final outcome will be.

Anything is possible when we have a big enough reason to do it. How hard would you be willing to work if you were certain that ten years down the line you would enjoy the type of life that you’ve always dreamed off?

That life is out there just waiting for you to pay the price. The future is predictable; we are creating it today. We’ve all heard the proverb, “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.” There is more truth than poetry in those words.

If we plant our garden carefully and tend to it with care, we can expect a bountiful crop; if it is planted in haste and only given minimum care, we can only expect meager results. In the end, life follows a logical path of action/reaction; there is nothing mystical about it.

Tomorrow’s success begins with demanding a little more from ourselves today. It’s that little extra effort that will make all the difference on the final outcome. It’s by being a little more that we’ll do more, accomplish more and eventually receive more.

Which one would You spend:

* To have your dreams come true?
* To become an overnight success?
* To have, be or do whatever you desire?

The main reason people don’t have what they want is, they don’t have enough, either time or money, to invest. Do you believe that? Most people you meet are willing to invest maybe one or the other… but not both. But the most successful people in the world, do invest BOTH…TIME AND MONEY!

They continually study, learn, grow, buy programs, hire coaches, seek out mentors and invest in their personal development and education to become who they want to be and the best they can be,… entering the world of their dreams, armed with a breadth of knowledge, practical application and a “never give up” determination and passion to achieve exceptional results.

If you wanted to achieve any physical goal, whether it be get in shape, playing a sport, trekking through Peru! What would you do? Doesn’t it make sense to follow a structured training program and practicing daily, to continually improve your skills and performance? Wouldn’t it make sense to hire a coach or a trainer, to “fine tune” your skills and to bring out and develop your natural talents and abilities?

If you wanted to learn a musical instrument, wouldn’t you would want to hire the best teacher and even then, you would still need to practice the skill and evolve your natural abilities, long before you would feel ready to perform as a musician. Yet these days we are lead to believe that it is natural and normal to do a little and get a lot. Start something new and then receive immediate overnight success.

Unless you have innate natural talent and abilities, like very few people, you will need to develop and grow your skills. Tiger Woods has natural and innate abilities, but he still gets the best coaching and spends the time to stay “on top of his game.” Mozart was a child prodigy, but it still took time and focus to develop his talents.

Who do you know that became an overnight success without a history of development? You will find anyone who has achieved any level of expertise has invested both time and money to develop their skills. Even the “overnight success” stories, usually have up to 10 years of solid learning and skill building prior to their “instant success.”

If you have limited time, then you can invest your money to get the best training programs and personal coaches to fast track your success. There are many people already proficient in so many areas, you can probably find experts who have worked out the quickest and most efficient methods to achieve mastery in an area.

If you have limited money, then you can invest in a home study training program and spend the time going through the proven exercises that are provided for you. There is a saying the “practice makes perfect.” IT IS NOT REALLY TRUE. Practice makes permanent. It is only “perfect” practice that makes perfect. Get a proven, home study program that has been designed to fast track you. Either way if YOU choose a path and stick to it – you will succeed beyond your expectations.

“Your thoughts determine what you want, your actions determine what you get.” Take action today… hire yourself a qualified personal coach to fast track your developments and success, or purchase, at a much lower cost, a proven self study program and invest your time, to become who you want to be and achieve your dreams! Either way you will get what you want – all it takes is your commitment and your focused, continued actions.

“If you don’t believe and invest in you – Who will?” “If not Now – When?”