Are You Accountable or Apathetic in Your Life?

“To be successful, you must decide exactly what you want to accomplish; then resolve to pay the price to get it.” Bunker Hunt I know that the title of this week’s Success Principle might seem a bit harsh to you, but this is one of the biggest areas that most women entrepreneurs seem to have a problem handling, namely being held accountable for making changes they desire in their lives and business. In one of my recent teleclasses, one of the participants commented about the fact that she does a whole lot of reading and she believed everything I said was right on, but still she didn’t do anything to change her situation. It broke my heart to hear that. I could relate because I had been where she was and said the same thing. I’d be willing to bet you that most of you have bought hundreds of “How To...” books on every topic imaginable, from helping to increase your level of self-esteem, to how to lose 10 pounds in 5 days without dieting or exercising. You keep buying book after book, reading and reading, looking for that one magic sentence or word that is going to miraculously transform your life. Don’t get me wrong here. We all start off with the best of intentions and are determined that we are going to ‘change’ whatever it is that we feel needs to be rearranged to improve our lives, but then those wonderful books sit unopened on our coffee tables, nightstands or corners of our desks collecting more dust bunnies than a cage full of canaries in a pet shop! Why do we do this? Why do we keep searching for that magic pixie dust that will instantly change our lives? Well, guess what? It ain’t happening. You may get a tip or two, but it does not effect an overall change in your life. Books don’t make you accountable for your actions, therefore you procrastinate. And you keep lamenting because you’re not getting where you want to go. Sound familiar? You keep saying:nn• I wish I had more time. n• I wish I had more money.n• I wish I could say No.n• I wish I had more confidence.n• I wish had someone to support me. And nothing changes. So what’s the bottom line here? You are where you are because of the choices you have made. You are accountable. If you want to change what’s not working in your life, You MUST be willing to do whatever it takes to get there. You must be willing to take calculated risks and make fear your friend. If you don’t have the skills you need to make the changes, then you have to find someone who does. And that means you’re probably going to have to pay for it. Let me give you an example. About two years ago, I was at a place in my business where I needed to hire someone with marketing expertise to take me to the next level. I made the decision to find that person and do what I had to do to work with them. I did not know how I was going to pay for it, but I did it anyhow. And guess what? I let go of the ‘HOW’, got the support I needed, doubled my business, and the money was there every month when I needed it. Was I scared? I sure was, but I would rather be scared than wonder ‘what if’ the rest of my life. Joseph Campbell said, ‘You must be willing to give up the life you’ve planned in order to have the life that is waiting for you.” Here are 4 Steps you can implement to get you unstuck, take action, and make changes to get where you want to be without ever lifting your feather duster. nn1. Determine what you really, really want.n2. Make the decision to have it.n3. Join a Mastermind group to get committed support. n4. Get support. Hire a coach to help you break through those personal limitations that keep you stuck. By ‘putting your money where your mouth is’ I can guarantee you that you will achieve success (whatever that ‘success’ looks like to you) a heck of a lot faster than buying self-help books that you’ll never read or put into practice. Be accountable... to YOU!