“The economy is bad.”
“Things are just way too expensive now days!”
“Now is not the time to start a business.”
There are a lot of things we can blame our business blunders on.
And a lot of them are valid, and there are solid arguments out there for why we may not be doing as good as we hoped.
But.
We still need to own our current circumstances.
We have to take responsibility for where we are. All of it. Including the things we can’t control. “But that’s unfair!”
Sure it’s unfair to own the negative consequences of uncontrollable things.
But isn’t all of life unfair? But do we still have to deal with it?
Yes.
Here’s the deal.
There is always going to be someone who has the same (or similar enough) circumstances to yours right now.
But outcome between their life and yours may be totally different.
Did you know that the now billionaire (that’s right billion) and founder of Starbuck grew up in poverty?
In fact, a lot of famous people like Oprah Winfrey, and the founder of Forever 21 grew up in less than ideal circumstances. Now look where they are!
So what separates them from everyone else who grew up in the same neighborhoods, had nearly identical circumstances, but who never became billionaires?
If circumstances were the determining factor of someone’s success, then we wouldn’t have successful people who grew up with nothing.
So, this means circumstances do not equal our level of success.
It may mean we have to do some extra work and have more determination if we are starting at the bottom to climb our way up.
But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
So what do I mean by take responsibility?
I want you to know where you are. The good and the bad. Take it all in.
Now ask yourself, where do you want to be?
What steps do you need to take to go from Step A to Step Z? How can you overcome the difficult circumstances you are faced with?
Think of it this way. You are in the middle of a desert, with nothing but sand in sight. You have no idea where you are, but you know you need to get to the oasis to get some food and water.
Now imagine your phone updates, showing your location clearly on a map.
You can look at the map and see where you are, where the oasis is, and figure out what way you need to walk to get there. You now have direction.
But if you didn’t know where you were, you would have to aimlessly pick a direction and hope is was the right one. There are about a million other directions you could go, so chances of you finding the Oasis are close to 0.
Own your now, so you can create your tomorrow.
Take control of the things you have power over
You have no control over how far away the Oasis is.
But, you do have control over how you get there. You can walk in a direct path instead of taking detours, you can use your map for guidance, and you can reduce the hardship of the trip by choosing to walk during the night instead of in the day time to avoid the extreme heat of the day.
You do have control over some things in your life.
No matter how little control you actually have, use that to your advantage. Find ways to make progress, no matter how small your steps are.
Take charge of your life.
Divert energy from complaining and finding excuses, to taking action to help you get out of the situation.
Don’t be the victim of your own story and lie down helplessly hoping someone might happen to come across your sad little state and drag you to paradise.
That’s not how it happens.
You have to do the work. You have to find a way. Yes, get help from others when you need it, but ultimately it’s up to you.
And it is possible. Whatever your dreams, no matter how far away they seem, can be obtainable.
Own your now, so you can create your tomorrow.