Statue of Responsibility

New York has its Statue of Liberty. California should have a “Statue of Responsibility” standing as a greeting.

Dave Ramsey, recently featured on the cover of Success magazine, described his credentials as a PhD in DUMB. Dave said, “My wife and I graduated from college broke and started buying and selling real estate. Since that was the beginning of the ‘go go 80s’ we owned 4 million dollars of real estate and about a million net worth by the time I was 26. We borrowed too much money. Our bank was sold to another bank and they called our notes. We spent the next 2 ½ years losing everything. We were sued and foreclosed upon. Soon we had a new baby, a marriage hanging on by a thread and bankrupt. I know what dumb looks like up close and personal.” Dave took responsibility for his success and then his failure.

Now he has the privilege of take credit for his renewed and intensified success. You can also.

We know our economy is a disaster right now and everyone points the finger at someone else as the responsible party. We blame our parents, our boss, the president, the economy, the congress, or the dog catcher. Jim Rohn, noted business philosopher and icon in the personal development industry, was 25 when he met with his mentor, Earl Schoff. Earl asked Jim to make a list of his problems and the causes of those problems. Earl reviewed the list carefully and with a puzzled expression and a furrowed brow said, “Jim, there is one problem with this list. . . You are not on it.”

You are responsible for your own choices and thus your own results. Playing the blame game instead of taking responsibility just prolongs the agony.

Dave Ramsey, Jim Rohn, and every successful leader accept responsibility for all of their choices – good or bad. We teach children to be responsible for their choices and yet once we become adults, it suddenly becomes some else’s fault. Abigail Van Buren said, “If you want children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders.”

The issue is not the economy, the political party in office or even your environment; it is clearly your responsibility for your choices. You chose to go to school or not, to study or not, to do your best at work or do the minimum and just skate by.

There are three classifications of employees. These classifications extend beyond employees to almost every phase of life.

White Knights – The white knights go above and beyond their duty assignments. They take total responsibility for every aspect of their professional and personal life. They are always the first ones to lend a helping hand to others. They arrive early and stay a little late. They do their best at all times.

Milk Toast – The milk toast is more typical of the average worker. They show up on time but not a minute early. By 5 o’clock and 30 seconds they are gone for the day. They do their job but nothing extra. Frequently it is just enough to get by. Milk toast workers do not cause any discord but neither are they the cheerleaders of the team.

Red Ants – Red ants are always stirring up trouble. They are the whiners and complainers. Every company and every organization has a few such irritants. Nothing ever quite pleases them. Bottom line is “fire the red ants.” If one of these happens to be in your circle of friends, minimize time with them. Rarely will you change the attitude of a red ant; they will drag you down to their level. Red ants never take responsibility for anything.

You will become the average of your five closest associates. Spend time with White Knights and your life will become more responsible and profitable. Spend time with Red Ants and you will sink down to the grumbling depths.

You are responsible for your choices. You are responsible for your results. For personal assistance on reaching your highest potential, join me at www.Elaine4Success.com.