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?”

There are many people with the highest degrees from the best schools that are still working dead end jobs. Being well educated or emerge yourself in information does not lead to success.  Don’t get me wrong, education, information and learning about a subject are VERY important.  However, they are not the most important aspects of your success. 

So what is it? What is the one thing that will determine your path to success?

It’s summed up in one word…..ACTION!

I like to keep things REALLY SIMPLE, because I’ve found that if something is complicated, it’s not being done correctly.  Life, success, and creating a reality that exceeds your dreams are all simple, if you follow these simple steps.

We’re going to use the ABC method from now on to break down everything you want to achieve into small, manageable steps.  Here is the ABC method in simple terms.

A = Action

B = Belief

C = Consistency

If you combine these 3 elements, you’re guaranteed to find success in what you want to achieve.  So now I’d like to break down these 3 elements a bit to explain exactly what I mean by each one.

These points are the foundation of this guide and must be the basis of each and every thing that you want to achieve from this moment on.  

Action - Taking action is the point in time where you stop trying.  It’s the very moment when you realize that “Trying” doesn’t exist.  You simply can’t “Try” to do anything.  You either are…..or you’re not.

To make this point I’d like you right now, to take a pen and place it in front of you and try to pick it up…..Go ahead and try.

Now, did you pick it up?  Yes?  Then you didn’t try, you did it.  Place it down again, and try again.  You’ll quickly see that you either are…or you’re not, picking up the pen.

The same goes with “Trying” to do anything. 

People say it all the time….”I’m trying to lose weight” – “I’m trying to quit smoking” – “I’m trying this….I’m trying to do that….” It’s a habit that has been formed over time.  The reality is, if you say that you’re “Trying” to do something, you don’t have the second critical element of success that we’re going to talk about next.

Belief - Belief in yourself, belief that you WILL accomplish your goal, belief that you, and you alone, are responsible for your own success and your own failure.  You must believe that you are the person who creates your life.  It’s YOUR design, and it’s YOUR responsibility to make it the life that exceeds your dreams. 

Once you take action, you must believe that you are going to do what you set out to do.  The best way to do that is through an EXCLAMATION.  When you tell others what you are going to do, you set a standard for yourself and make yourself accountable.  You’ll find that when you begin to make exclamations of your actions, your holding yourself to a higher standard. 

So, for instance, the person that says “I’m trying to lose weight” does not have the belief they need to ultimately succeed.  They have given themselves an out.  And if they ultimately fail to complete their goal, it’s okay, because they said they were just “Trying.”  They never actually said they were going to do it.  Right?

However, let’s look at the statement again.  “I am going to lose weight.”  It’s an exclamation of a specific action and it comes through with conviction and a sense of belief that they are going to accomplish what they say they are going to do. 

Now, can that person also fail to accomplish what they said they were going to do?  Yes, if they don’t apply the third critical element of success…

Consistency – I truly believe that this is the most difficult of the 3 elements.  It’s the word that causes most people to fail.  But it’s also the word that can be the most powerful of the 3 critical elements of success. 

Consistency, is the act of doing a specific action over and over again.  You’ll see that the word “action” exists within this definition.  So if someone consistently follows through on the declared action “I am going to lose weight” then they MUST succeed.  It’s only until they break the cycle of consistency that they can indeed fail.

There is no shortage of excuses in this world. For every task, there is an excuse for not being able to get it done. It is easy to find them and easy to use them in our everyday lives. Excuses are so easy, that for many, they become the first reaction.

We’ve all been in this situation:

You are in a meeting and someone says: “We are going to need each of you to put in X hours to complete project Y.” As you look around the room, you can see the looks on everyone’s face. You can even hear people start to react with words and gestures. It almost becomes easier to go along with the doubters than it is to try and accomplish the task.

This was a group setting, so it is more obvious when there are others to share in the reaction. What many people don’t realize is that we do this in our own minds too.

Think about this situation:

You wake up in the morning and think about all of the things you would like to accomplish and before you even start planning, you find yourself running through the list of reasons you can’t do them. For example: “I would like to go for a run today…but, I have to go to work, pick up the kids, go to the store”…not to mention all the other things that seem to pop into your mind at this moment.”

Why do we do this? I think we do this because it’s easier than taking the steps to accomplish the goals.

You saw how everyone in the room reacted. You also heard all of the thoughts that ran through your head when you decided you wanted to do something. Those voices and words are very loud.

It is easy to listen to them. Why don’t we listen to the voices that say “Yes, I can do that.” Or “This may take some effort, but I think that I can do it.” If we listen to those voices, we can accomplish the goals we set out to accomplish.

Imagine how much better our lives would be if we had that mindset. We would succeed at one thing after another and that would become the habit. When we form habits, things seem easy to us. That is why, mentally, we think it is easier to give up beforehand, but in reality, it’s only easier because we are in the habit of doing it. We don’t have to think about making excuses. It just comes naturally and therefore, we just continue to do it.

As I help people make changes in their lives, excuses become more and more obvious. It has helped me see the situation more clearly. This situation, that we are all dealing with, has caused some major problems in our lives. It has gotten to the point where many people actually spend more time and energy thinking of reasons why they can’t do something than we would spend just doing it.

The key to living a healthy, successful life is to do. If we don’t do, we don’t accomplish. If we don’t accomplish, we don’t succeed. Excused make it easy for us not to do. In our minds, they excuse us from the expectations. The only problem is that we only realize this excuse in the moment that we decide not to move forward. And every time we do this, it becomes more and more acceptable in our minds to keep doing it.

That is the excuse cycle. Health and everything else in life is easier when we are able to do what we want to do. When we let excuses get in the way, we disappoint ourselves and we lose. When we set goals and take action…you guessed it, we win!

Business Health Expert Joe Byrd uses his passion and expertise to bring business and health together. He integrates health education in lifestyle topics such as Stress Management, Weight Management, and Smoking Cessation into businesses in order to accomplish the following: Improving Employee Health, Decreasing Health Care Spending, Increasing Your Employee Productivity, Improving Employee Satisfaction and Retention. Joe applies his craft in the business world by making health part of business strategy. As he helps companies invest in their employees, together they create healthy and successful cultures.