A month ago, I read an article featuring an interview with author Jack Canfield, known for “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories to Warm the Heart and Uplift the Spirit.”
In it, he talked about a conversation he once had with his mentor, Clement Stone.
Jack Canfield:
In 1969, just a year after graduating high school, I had the incredible opportunity to work for W. Clement Stone.
At the time, he was already a self-made millionaire, with a fortune valued at around 600 million dollars.
He was also considered America’s leading success guru, the publisher of Success Magazine, the author of The Success System That Never Fails, and co-author with Napoleon Hill of Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude.
“At the end of my first week of orientation,” Mr. Stone asked me,
‘Do you take 100% responsibility for your life?’
“I think so,” I replied.
“That’s not a yes-or-no answer, young man.
You either do… or you don’t.”
“Uh… I don’t think so.”
“Have you ever blamed anyone for anything in your life?
Have you ever complained about anything?”
“Uh… yes… I guess I have.”
“Don’t guess — think!”
“Yes, I have.”
“Alright then. That means you don’t take 100% responsibility for your life.
Taking full responsibility means recognizing that you are the primary cause of everything that happens to you.
It means you understand that you are fully responsible for all your actions. If you truly want to succeed, you must stop blaming, stop complaining, and take complete ownership of your life — that means both your successes and your failures.
That’s the prerequisite for creating a successful life.
Only when you acknowledge that you’ve created everything up to this point can you start building the future you want.”
“Do you understand that?
Are you willing to take 100% responsibility for your life?”
“Yes, sir, I am! And I did.”
Taking 100% responsibility for your life is a simple concept — but a profoundly powerful one.
When we commit to it, there are no excuses left.
It forces us to take control of our agenda and start planning our future intentionally.
It also pushes us to think deeply about what we truly want and helps us design concrete actions to achieve those goals.
Moreover, it compels us to honestly assess what we’ve actually done to reach our objectives — and to separate real action from all the useless “blah, blah, blah.”
