“This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy.” Susan Polis Schutz.
Have you ever met someone who always has an excuse for everything? They blame the economy, their boss, or their upbringing for all of the lack that they have in life. ...If only my parents had done this or that for me... Or if the economy wasn't so sluggish I could... Or, if my spouse...
The truth is that you can always find people who are succeeding at dreams very close to yours and you can always find people who are giving up. Everyone has circumstances, everyone has challenges. Are you going to let those circumstances define your success level, or are you going to take responsibility for your dream and do what you have to do to overcome them? Successful people do.
I know this lady that, by society’s standards, shouldn’t be successful. She was raised in poverty with a poor education and an unstable home life. Her very environment communicated to her every day that she was a nothing. But, she didn’t accept that future for herself. She wanted her dream and she worked hard, learned what she needed to learn and made something of herself. She took responsibility for her life and her future.
There are resources right under your nose to help you overcome your challenges. Libraries and the internet offer free books and articles. There are experts and people willing to help you along the way if you just take a minute to notice. There are countless rags to riches true stories out there on film and in books. In each case, the person in the story had to overcome great odds to achieve their success. What’s the difference between them and the average Joe or Jane? They didn’t look at where they had come from or where they were, they looked at where they wanted to go, and they did what they needed to do to move in that direction.
Taking responsibility is an active leap of faith. It is a choice to look from this day forward, not to look back, not to blame anyone or anything. (Not even yourself) Forget what has been. What do you want to happen? What would it take to get there? Take responsibility and do what it takes to move in that direction. Get an accountability partner to help you with this one. Have them point out any limiting words you say or excuses you give. Do the same for them. Don’t let yourself sink into the mire of restrictive thinking. What can you do today to take more responsibility for your dream?
Patty Sadallah has 29 years experience as an organization development consultant and executive coach. She is a Dream Partner Catalyst and coaches and consults nonprofits and women owned small business owners around issues of focus and planning, moving them toward her dreams. Find out more about her coaching and consulting at http://www.PattySadallah.com/sq.
She is also the President/Founder of the Redwood Sisterhood, an international women's support community that offers personal and professional development learning opportunities, community bartering through time banking and fun networking events. Here, she brings together the talents and the needs of women and allows these connections to strengthen and uplift the membership. Learn more at (http://www.RedwoodSisterhood.com)
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Patty Sadallah, the Official Guide to Women in Business