I have been studying people for over 2 decades. I watch people and pay attention to their words, their actions, their habits, what they respond to, and what makes them tick.
As I have studied and analyzed people through the years, I have found that there are certain characteristics that all successful people have in common. (And there are characteristics that all unsuccessful people share, as well.)
One thing that I have noticed is that highly successful people have a very unusual way of dealing with issues that arise in their lives. When something goes wrong, when something doesn’t go according to plan, when they make a mistake, they do not freak out! They do not get offended. They do not dig their heels in and refuse to move forward. They do not quit.
They take personal responsibility.
The reality is, things go wrong sometimes. It happens. It’s inevitable! Your prospects change their mind about getting involved in your business. Your client decides to take their business elsewhere. You lose your job. Taxes are raised and your paycheck is lower. You find out someone in your office is gossiping about you behind your back. Your children get into trouble at school. You get into an argument with your spouse.
What is your response? How do you react? Do you get offended? Do you blame your prospects? Blame your clients? Your boss? The government? Your co-workers? Your kids? Your spouse?
Stop blaming other people. Stop getting offended! That is a very low level of leadership. It is a very low level of maturity.
A highly successful person knows that taking offense does not help them to succeed. It does not provide opportunities for them. Highly successful people know that taking offense actually severely limits their opportunities.
You see, when things go wrong, you have a choice to make. You can get your chonies in a wad and throw a 2-year-old temper tantrum. Or you can choose to be a mature adult and take responsibility.
Taking responsibility means you do not wait for someone else to do something for you or to make things right. It means you take things into your own hands and make things happen.
I have to tell you, I truly believe that anything is possible. There is always a way, always a work-around. But if you get offended and throw a fit every time something doesn’t work out, you will never find it.
The bottom line is this: If you take offense, you are losing opportunity. If you take responsibility, you are maximizing opportunity. One keeps you stuck, and the other positions you for massive growth.
So which one are you? Will you take offense or take responsibility?
I can’t wait to see what you do with this. As I have studied people over the last 24 years, I have seen many very successful people who know this very simple, yet very effective strategy. I believe you can be one of them. It’s so simple… All you have to do is follow directions!
So that’s it for me today. Until next time, God bless!
In great faith,
Too many of us buy into a vision of how life SHOULD look and chase that idea relentlessly – never stopping once to think about what success means or looks like for YOU…but KNOWING there must be “more” to life!
Gratitude can have a huge impact on improving morale, increasing profits, creating loyalty in employees and clients, and building confidence for you!
When confronted about forgiveness, I had a choice to make. I could continue with my anger, rage, judgment and distrust, which were NOT helping me to become who I wanted to be. Or, I could choose to FORGIVE!