So you want to be a millionaire? GREAT!
Millionaires and billionaires think differently.
And here’s Millionaire Habit #1″:
“Take 100% Responsibility For Your Life”
Ask ANY billionaire and they will tell you that they take 100% responsibility for their life.
Billionaires take 100% responsibility for their success.
They know that their success is a result of the choices they made. And the work they put in.
And deep down we know this. But it’s soooooo easy to blame others!
It’s so easy that even I fell for it this weekend! Not for long, but long enough that I had to give myself a big kick in the butt!
Here’s what happened:
Both my kids are sailors, and this weekend was the end-of-year regatta in Corpus Christi.
They end-of-year regatta is always a big deal because, in addition to the regular trophies, the kids are also being rewarded for their year-long performance.
We already knew that my son Julius would be the Texas State Champion, no matter how he finished the regatta.
Because Julius and his skipper Lucy did an amazing job all year, and they were so far ahead of everybody else that nobody could take the title from them.
For my daughter Vivian, it was a different story.
She was currently in 4th place, and she needed a win in THIS regatta to move up to 3rd place.
And since only the top 3 kids are getting an award, THIS regatta was a matter of getting a trophy for the overall performance or not.
On the way to the regatta we talked about it: we talked about how she can do it, how the wind conditions will be light and she’s really good in light wind, Julius gave her many tips about sailing in Corpus Christi… in short:
She was all fired up and ready to rock it!
And she did!
The wind conditions were very difficult since the wind would move from North to South throughout the weekend.
And when the wind clocks around like this, it usually starts with strong winds, then the wind dies while it is changing directions and once it has settled in, it picks up again.
And Vivian and her skipper James mastered these tricky conditions.
They pulled it off: 1. Place!
At the end of the regatta, there was the awards ceremony.
And first, they handed out the awards for THIS regatta. Vivian and James are on the right with big smiles:
Now it was time for the “End-of-Year” rewards:
They announced the 5th place.
Then they announced the 4th place.
Then the 3rd place – and it wasn’t Vivian!
“Wow!” I thought to myself, “Vivian must have gotten 2nd!”
They announced the 2nd place – and it wasn’t Vivian!
And then they announced the 1. place, and as expected:
It was Lucy and Julius.
I couldn’t believe it!
Why didn’t Vivian get 3rd place?
I looked at her and could see how disappointed she was.
Since I was standing right next to her coach, I asked him: “What happened? Why didn’t Vivian get 3rd place?”
And he just said: “She wasn’t eligible.”
Turns out that we overlooked a small technicality: In order to be eligible for the award, it’s not only important that you ATTEND at least 7 regattas… it’s also important WHERE you attend them.
Long story short: Because of a small technicality, Vivian didn’t win the award.
And I felt anger and frustration:
“This is not fair! She worked hard for it. She deserves it!”
And then, in my head, I started blaming others:
“These are stupid rules and they don’t make sense!”
“Why didn’t her coach tell her that she had to attend one more regatta? It’s HIS fault!”
… and a bunch of other “it’s their fault” excuses!
But then I realized:
It’s nobody’s fault but mine!
Millionaire Habit #1: Take 100% Responsibility!
I reminded myself: “Take 100 percent responsibility for your life!”
And I realized that instead of relying on her coach, I could have easily looked up the rules!
I realized that if I didn’t like the rules, I could volunteer to be on the Board and maybe make a case for changing the rules.
There are probably a few other things that I could have done.
Long story short: It was MY responsibility.
Stop blaming others!
As I was driving back from Corpus Christi to Austin, I remembered the times in my life when I blamed others:
- When I was working for IBM, I blamed my boss for not making more money.
- I blamed the government because they took so much in taxes.
- I blamed the customers because they were “difficult.”
I had a long list of people and circumstances to blame!
Do you know who wasn’t on that list? – ME!
At that time, I read the book “Awaken the Giant Within” by Tony Robbins. And in this book, Tony talks about taking 100 percent responsibility for your life.
And I started doing it.
I threw away my long list of excuses and people to blame.
I made a new list of people who were responsible for my success – and my failure.
And there was only ONE person on that list: ME!
When I Started Doing THIS, My Life Turned Around
Once I started taking 100% responsibility for my life, things changed:
In 2002, I quit my job at IBM and moved all the way from Munich in Germany to Austin, TX to become a trader.
And in the beginning, I made the same mistakes:
- I blamed the markets for being difficult to trade.
- I blamed my broker for lousy fills.
- I blamed my mentor for not giving me the “real secrets.”
… until I read this quote:
Don’t Wish It Was Easier – Wish That You Were Better
If it was easy, everybody would be doing it!
If it was easy, everybody would be a millionaire!
I stopped blaming others, and I started working on myself.
I followed Warren Buffet’s advice:
I invested in training, education, and coaching.
And the rest – as they say – is history!
How to Take 100 Percent Responsibility For Your Life
- It’s easy to blame others for your life.
- It’s easy to blame “circumstances” like the economy for your life.
- It’s easy to point the finger at other people and say “because of YOU, I am not successful.”
But that’s not true!
The ONLY person who is responsible for your success is YOU!
Once you understand this truth and ACT accordingly, your life will change forever.
Right now, think about the people or circumstances you blame for your current state.
And then take a minute and think about this:
“How can I take 100 percent responsibility for my life? What can I do to change this?”
I know it’s hard. I know that sometimes it feels that there’s nothing YOU can do. But trust me: There is.
It took me a moment, but then I realized this weekend that I was NOT Vivian’s coach’s responsibility…
… and that it was not the “stupid rules” that cause her not getting a trophy…
…it was MY responsibility.
Leave a comment and let me know for what YOU are taking responsibility right now.
Let me know what YOU are changing in your life!
I’m looking forward to reading your comment!