Summary:
When things aren’t going well in life, we often find ourselves asking: “How did this happen? Whose fault is this mess? How did I end up here?
We might look around for someone to blame or perhaps chalk it up to unfortunate circumstances over which we have no control.
The truth is that everything that happens in your life happens as a result of the decisions and actions that YOU make each and every day. Your situation in life is in fact an aggregate of all your past decisions and actions. You are where you are in life solely because of all the past decisions you have made.
Understanding that your life is solely created by your decisions and actions is incredibly empowering. Once you realize that your decisions have the power to create your life and future, you can take charge of it with determination and actually begin to create the future you desire.
Think of yourself as a business, You Inc.. As the CEO and sole decision maker, you have the ultimate power and responsibility over the decisions you make. You are in charge of your life and have the power to start making decisions today that will create the future you want. So invest in yourself, be informed and conduct proper due diligence whenever making important decisions. And appreciate that you can only be in charge of your own decisions, not other people’s.
It all starts with YOU, you taking charge and taking responsibility for what happens in your life. Excuses are for people who are willing to let outside influences decide their future. Simply decide right now that you are the one in control of your life and the one who makes all the important decisions. You are the one who will create the life you want. Take a stand for being the best YOU, you can be. And remember, you are always the one in control of You Inc.!
Transcript:
Those darn banks, it’s their fault! They leant me almost three million dollars and just because I asked for it.
It’s true. I was in my early twenties and banks were awash with money. They were handing it out to almost anyone then, even me! I guess they liked my idea for developing and selling real estate although it wasn’t written down anywhere in the form of a business plan, it was all in my head.
I gladly took the money and began to build and renovate homes for resale.
I was on my way to the “big-time” and I was going to become a BIG real estate developer. I owned several properties that were at the move-in stage and I was enjoying life.
When Things go Wrong…
But then something happened. The real estate market, instead of continuing to go up, up, up as it was doing, turned on a dime and prices started to plunge. They were falling so fast that by the time a price reduction for my homes hit the real estate sheets and newspapers, they were too high again. My ability to pay my construction loan interest each month was gone.
You see, I was using the money the bank was advancing me to pay the interest and there were no further advances coming. Rates were high at 19% and one of my loans was at prime plus 5%, which meant 24%.
How did this happen? Whose fault was this mess?
What could I do?
I was down for the count and the referee had his arm up for the third and final slap to the mat. The banks foreclosed and sold virtually everything I owned. Afterwards, I still owed a million and a half dollars, had no income and no way to pay the banks back. I was bankrupt! Back then bankruptcy was a very dirty word and there was a lot of stigma attached to it. So much so, that two people I knew killed themselves over it.
Obviously the banks weren’t expecting the real estate crash either, but there I was caught in the midst of it.
My head was spinning and I was looking around for someone to blame for this mess. The bank for sure. The building partner I had hired to do my construction, also for sure.
Who’s to Blame?
Have you ever done that? Tried to figure out whose fault something is or was? Or even just tried to figure out how you got into some mess?
In this case I was wiped out completely. Financially done! The financial facts of the situation alone were crushing, but perhaps even more devastating was the damage to my psyche. This wasn’t supposed to happen to “me!” My mother owned a collection agency and schooled my brothers and me on the importance of paying our bills and paying our credit cards off each month. I didn’t want to be looked upon as irresponsible for not paying my bills! I was guilt ridden and basically couldn’t think straight.
It took me several years just to get my head back on straight and even then I wasn’t on any fast track to financial freedom. I began to examine what had happened to me and how I had gotten into the situation that caused me so much pain.
Then my son was born and it was like a light turned on in a dark room.
It wasn’t the banks fault for lending me the money.
It wasn’t my contractor’s fault for the lack of a budget.
And it wasn’t even the housing market’s fault that it happened to crash and take me down with it.
It was MY FAULT!
You might be saying something like; “but wait, you didn’t know the market was going to fall.” Well let me say this. Even if I didn’t know, I should have. There are always clues if you are paying attention. I should and could have sold the properties pre-construction and taken a smaller profit or just thought more about the market. But that’s really not the point.
So what is the point?
Let me ask you this; “Who’s in charge of you?” You are, right! You are the one that makes all your life decisions.
There were a few opportunities along the way that, if I had been open to them, I could have seized and never gone bankrupt. In hindsight I recognize that I was somewhat ignorant and naive back then, being so young. Sure, that played a part. But I should have and could have done things differently. I am not going to make excuses.
Your Decisions Create your Life
When that light went on and I realized that everything that happens in life happens because of the decisions “I” or YOU make each and every day, it was uplifting. It had taken me a few years to come to this realization, but when it came it was truly an epiphany or “aha moment” if you like. I finally understood that my situation in life was an aggregate of all the past decisions that I had made.
The reason it was so uplifting is because the moment I realized that it was only MY past decisions that had made a mess of my life, I also realized that my current and future decisions could make a great life, the life I really wanted. I finally understood that I was capable of creating my own future purely through my own decisions and actions.
You see, you are where you are in your life solely because of all the past decisions you have made.
Own your Decisions & Your Future
When you truly understand that and take responsibility for your current situation, it allows you to also take charge of your future. Understand and know that you are in charge of you and your life, period. Take charge of it with determination and make decisions that will actually begin to create the future you want.
But I want you to think about this a little further. You are in charge of you. I like to call it, You Inc. Think of yourself as a business. If you were, and you are, running You Inc., would you make decisions about your future in the same way as you are now?
Being the CEO and sole decision maker gives you the ultimate responsibility of being right or wrong. The good thing about that, is that you really can make a difference in your future by making different or better decisions today.
People often ask me: “How do I make decisions about the gold, silver, currency and stock markets when they are manipulated?” My response is generally something like this: “Just assume they are manipulated and that changing that any time soon is unlikely. Make your decisions based on the best possible information you have. Understand that this requires you to undertake proper due diligence when it comes to making important decisions regarding your future, and also appreciate that you can only be in charge of your own decisions, not other peoples.”
When it comes to getting ahead and becoming financially free, realize that no one has your interest in the forefront more than you do. This means that YOU must make the decisions that are best for you.
Some might say this is just being selfish, but wait, is it? Accomplishing more and becoming wealthy gives you more opportunity and more power to help the people or animals that you want to help. And, I’ll take that a step further. I personally believe that the amount of money you earn is directly proportional to the number of people you are helping. So if you start a business, the more people you help, the more money you will make.
Decide to Take Charge
But it all starts with you, you taking charge and taking responsibility for what happens in your life. Excuses are for people who are willing to let outside influences decide their future. Not for you and me.
Simply decide right now that you are the one in control of your life and the one who makes all the important decisions. You are the one who will create the life you want. Take a stand for being the best YOU, you can be. And remember, you are always the one in control of You Inc.!
For me this revelation and taking control of my life was a turning point that allowed me to create the financial freedom I had always dreamt of. I know that this one critical success element can be the starting point for you as well.
Please leave your comments and questions below.
Be sure to check out the Retire Rich program on my website. It has been designed and created to really help you take charge of your life and become financially free. And above all, always Live Rich!
