Tag Archives: responsiblility

What Happens When You Combine Tough Circumstances With Responsibility?

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Processed with VSCOcam with x4 presetLast week’s blog was about taking responsibility at the time you initiate an action not just when you get caught. (When Do You Take Responsibility for Your Actions?)

One of the responses to the blog was a surprising answer and it pointed to the value of taking responsibility.  Responsibility is defined as: the state of being the person who caused something to happen (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

The response was from a reader who has been very ill.  Recently, her adult daughter died.  She was communicating about that in direct response to the blog.  What she said points to the value of taking responsibility, in real time vs in theory, “I am in a place where I need to work hard in my life, and I will do it.”

Clearly, this person is willing to be responsible for her life NOW, not in the some far off future.  This type of responsibility gave her direction and the ability to move forward.  It provided a “not going to happen anyway” possibility for her life.

Does this drawing a line in the sand take courage?  Yes.  Will there be pitfalls as she moves forward?  Of course.  But, because her intention and responsibility are palpable, there will be other people standing with her. Her communication is so real and raw that there is no way that her intentionality can be missed.

I will be there cheering her on.  This is exactly what coaching and mentoring are for.  A coach is a committed listener who knows that you are totally capable of accomplishing your goal, especially at those times when you forget.  A coach is the one who stands beside you as you move forward towards a solid vision that will make a difference in your life.

Although, it took a dramatic life changing event to open up a path for this woman, a change in your life does not have to be so dramatic.  What it takes is seeing what is missing, saying what action you will take, and then being responsible for taking that action.

I look forward to hearing your comments.  Thank you, as always, for taking time to respond.

Hiring Yourself Forever

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HiredI have a colleague who says that the first step for any entrepreneur to take is to “Hire yourself forever”.  I’ve never quite thought about that way.  She’s right.  Before you can do anything, first you must have “you” on your side.  You need to hire yourself forever.

This sounds easier than it is—at least for me.  I find it hard to keep myself from being fired.  Yes, that’s what I said: I constantly look for ways to fire myself.  Especially when I have made some really stupid mistake.  I am embarrassed and just want to fire myself.  I suspect that it happens to you, too.  One day you are hired and the next day you are fired, from your business.

Being fired lets you off the hook.  You no longer have to make the contributions necessary to keep your business going.  On some days, being fired sounds like heaven to me.  Off the hook and playing tennis or whatever, every day!  Lunch with the girls!  Shopping!  Reading!  Taking long walks on the beach!  Now, every day is Saturday!

What?  Have you ever been “let off “either by redundancy firing, or actually fired?  At first, the freedom from the job responsibility is wonderful.  Then after about two weeks it becomes tedious.  After a month, you are either tearing out either your hair or someone else’s!  You are not the type the person who wants to be “off” forever, nor do you do well when you are.  How do I know that?  You are reading this blog.

The way out of this maze is to do just as my colleague friend says: Hire your self forever.  There is no back door here.  There is no going back—there is the joy of being responsible for your life.  This type of permanency allows for creation to occur.  When things get tough, confronting then, given your permanent status of being hired, you are focused on what is next.  What to do next.  How to implement what to do and then implementing it.  When you keep it up all sorts of miracles do appear.  You are a success with your employer, which is you.

In the comments below, let me know what you think about being hired forever.  I look forward to hearing from you.