One of the
first things successful people realize is the old adage, "if
it is to be, it is up to me." That is, for you, the
fact that your success and your course is up to you. This
doesn't mean that you do it all alone. It simply means that
you take responsibility for your life and your career.
Too many people today look at opportunity and figure it is up to
someone else to make sure they get it. They look at
financial security and hope that the government will make sure
they live safely in retirement or in case of disability.
They wait and wait, figuring that it is up to someone else.
And then the wait is over, and it is too late to do anything.
Their life is over and they are filled with regret.
This isn't true for you however. You know that you must take
responsibility for your life. It is up to you.
The fact is that nobody else is going to do it for you--you must
do it yourself.
Now, some people may say, "Jim, that's a lot of
responsibility." Friends, that is the best news you can
ever hear. You get to choose your life. Hundreds of
millions of people all around this world would give anything to
live in the situation you do--just for the chance to have the
opportunity to take control of their destiny. "It is up
to you" is a great blessing!
Here's why:
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1. You get to chart your own destiny. Maybe you
want to start a small business and stay there. That's great
because you can choose that. Maybe you want to create a
small chain of stores. Maybe you want to have a net worth of
$100 million. That's okay, too. The idea is that you get to
choose. You can do whatever you like. Different people
have different dreams and they should live them accordingly.
2. You can reap what you sow. Sleep in and go to
work late and reap the return. Or get up early and outwork
the others and earn a greater return. Place your capital at
risk and earn a return--or place it at greater risk and perhaps
reap a greater return. You decide what you will sow and thus
what you will reap.
3. No one else can stop you from getting your
dream. Yes, there will always be things that come up and
people who may not like what you are doing, but you can just move
on and chart your own course. There is great freedom in
that.
4. You experience the joy of self-determination.
There is no greater pride than knowing you set your mind on
something and accomplished it. Those who live with a victim
mentality never get to experience the joy of accomplishment
because they are always waiting for someone else to come to the
rescue. Those who take responsibility get to live the joy of
seeing a job well done.
Let me ask you a question: Where will you be in 5
years? 10 years? Or 25 years? Do you know?
DO you have an idea? Have you ever dreamed about it or set a
goal for it? Are you willing to take responsibility and
recognize that, "It is up to you?"
You will be wherever you decide to be in those timeframes.
You decide. It is up to you.
And that is very exciting!
Reproduced
with permission from the Jim Rohn Weekly
E-zine.
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